I'm surprised it's taking 6 weeks to get a test back. With out a test and since your county agent say everybody is using lime here is what I would do. I'd get as small a bag of hydrated lime as I could, go to the link I posted and figure out how much lime you'll need for half a square yard to raise the ph from 5.5 to 6.5. It depends on what kind of soil you have. I'd then dig up a pot full dirt from that treated area and one from a untreated are, bring them in where it is warm and plant some bean seed in them. Dry beans from the store will work. I'd also be tempted to add enough more lime to the 1/2 square yard so that it would move the Ph from 5 to 6.5, remember that you have already put lime in it and also remember that you only need about 70% as much hydrated lime as ag lime. Take another pot full from the further amended soil. In two weeks you should see if the beans in the amended soil are doing better. I'd try to keep the beans about 80 if I could and give them plenty of light so that the are trying to grow quickly.
Another possibility is if your lawn is growing you could experiment on that. I assume it has the same soil as your garden.
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