chick peas/garbanzo beans

[sixshooter]

Anyone successful growing these delicioso things? I'm in Michigan, this will be my first attempt.

[Jai_Ganesha]

I've grown them before from seeds I got at the grocery store. They're a difficult crop to grow unless you have 4-5 months of bright sunshine and relatively cool temperatures and each plant produces surprisingly little food, even with inoculant added to the soil. Basically, they're identical to beans or peas in how they grow, although they're actually closer related to lentils. Use a stake/trellis, plant early and plan to plant again 3 weeks later "just in case" the early ones get taken by cold/frost. Then wait a long, long, time.

[sixshooter]

Thanks Jai!

[applestar]

I wasn't very successful. They were frustratingly slow to grow, kind of wimpy, and only managed one or two peas to a pod and 3-4 pods per plant.

...I may try again, but probably not this year. I'm concentrating on growing regular green peas, snap peas, and snow peas.

[Mr green]

I had the very same results as applestar. My plants didnt get tall at all, and 2-4pods a plant.

Sugar snap peas are my thing.

[Jai_Ganesha]

You're welcome.

The thing to remember about this plant is that despite being called "chickpea" and "garbanzo bean," they are neither a pea nor a bean. People expect them to grow and produce like one, and that's the mistake. They are native to cool-and-dry areas of the middle east with LOTS of blazing sun. Also remember that they require:

a) A very long growing season (100+ days) with moderate temperatures--above 60, below 85. If it gets too cold, they will stunt and not set seeds. If it gets too hot (even with lots of water) they will wither and die.

b) Sandy, well-draining soil. They can't stand wet feet. They're the "dryest" legume I've ever grown.

c) Lots of room per plant. They need more room than you'd think. I'm not sure why, but if you grow them farther apart and meet the other conditions you'll have more yield.

Last, remember that they really don't produce even 1/2 as much as peas and beans per plant. If I were growing for a family I'd have AT LEAST four plants per person.

If you don't have all these requirements, you might actually try soybeans. I love chickpeas and soybeans, and you can use them in the same recipes usually (no, really). There are a lot more varieties of soybeans which are more suitable to most northern hemisphere gardens.

Good luck!

[applestar]

Thanks for those tip and details for correct growing conditions. Now I want to try again....

[Jai_Ganesha]

The absolute, very worst thing that can happen is that they don't grow...

So do it!

[sixshooter]

Wow thanks again thats alot of good info. Wish me luck, i started 4 inside just to see how long they take to germinate (forever). The rest ill direct sow starting here in a few weeks. Like you said, worst case scenario, i don't grow them next year.

[Susan W]

Interesting that the chick pea/garbanzo brought up. I am headed to Ft Toulouse AL this wkd, this is French outpost 18th c, and native with several villages. A few years ago I thought one of the historians/archeologists said garbanzos were found at a village site. It didn't follow through. I will try to remember to ask a couple of the key people this wkd.

On a side note, they did have an Indian garden and a French garden there. Between lack of staff and critters all has gone south. Deer, raccoons and then wood chucks had the upper hand.

[applestar]

Place holder for a photo collage of the plants as they grew this season

[applestar]

I started harvesting some of the chickpeas. A tiny baby bunny has found a vulnerability in the garden fencing -- adults are excluded -- and has been making its way around here and there. Some of the chickpeas closest to where the bunny is getting in has been munched. Found that dried stalk on the ground for example and a few others in tiny bits including empty pods.

It's been dry, and getting hot, but we have had some rain and I have accidentally flooded the beds once or twice. The pods are filling out but 1 in every 10 plants have yellowed and wilted -- and looking back to Jai_ganesha's tips, it's probably too much water.

Pods are like air bladders, and the wilted ones are empty, immature ones are full of air but soft. I picked ones that felt firm shelled, and in most cases hard with the pea I could feel inside. Most of these had one pea each, though s few contained a 2nd less mature pea also.



I squeezed and popped the pods open without extracting the peas, then put them (along with some broccoli side shoots and leaves) in the hot water after cooking and scooping out farfalle pasta. After they had turned bright dark green, I cooled and extracted the chickpeas from their pods, and added with the broccoli florets, peeled stalks and side leaves to a tuna-pasta salad. They were yummy

[Vanisle_BC]

I grew garbanzos only once. The MOST frustrating thing to me was having to pluck & shell "peas" at the rate of just one-per-pod. Also the plants were very unruly making the pods a pain to find/harvest.