Cicer arietinum
chickpea
Common names: garbanzo bean, true chickpea
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 10 cm, rows 40 cm
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Sowing
- Apr–May
- Harvest
- Aug–Sep
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below −2 °C
- Water need
- Low
Photo: Sanjay Acharya · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The chickpea originates from the Near East and thrives in warm, dry conditions, making it increasingly relevant for DACH gardens amid climate change. Each hairy pod typically contains one or two nutty seeds, the basis for hummus and falafel. It requires a long, sunny season to mature.
Care instructions
Sow the seeds only from late April to May in the warmest, full‑sun spot of the garden, in well‑drained, slightly lean soil. Water sparingly, chickpeas cannot tolerate waterlogged conditions. Harvest the plants in late summer when they yellow, then dry the pods completely before extracting the seeds.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingApr–May
HarvestAug–Sep
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 10 °C, ideally 20 °C
- Days to sprout
- 7 to 14 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 4 cm
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
sandy, loamy, well-drained, lean, dry, lime-loving
Give the chickpea a light, well-drained soil, sandy to sandy-loamy, that warms up quickly; it cannot tolerate waterlogging at all and reacts with root rot. The soil may be rather lean, and on acidic soil you lime before sowing, because the chickpea likes neutral to slightly chalky soil, not heavy, clayey sites.
Legumes collect nitrogen via nodule bacteria and are an ideal preceding crop for heavy feeders. They themselves need a break of about 4 years on the same spot.
Feeding
Light feeder
Months
Apr–May
As a legume, the chickpea fixes nitrogen from the air itself via nodule bacteria and needs no nitrogen application. Nitrogen-rich organic fertilisers even inhibit nodule formation, so leave them out. Instead, in spring before sowing, work ripe compost in shallowly, which covers the phosphorus and potassium supply; on very depleted soils, rock dust adds minerals. Note: the suitable nodule bacteria are often missing in Central European soils, and inoculating the seed helps it to supply itself.
Overwintering
The chickpea is an annual: it dies in autumn after harvest and does not survive a winter outdoors in Central Europe. You do not need to store or overwinter anything: harvest the ripe pods when the foliage and plants turn yellow (usually August to September), clear the remains from the bed and sow anew in spring. Start them indoors from mid-April, but put them outdoors only after the Ice Saints in mid-May, when night frost is no longer a threat.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
The chickpea is an annual legume and is propagated only by sowing. As it is self-pollinating, you can keep a variety true through your own seed. You have two options: direct sowing or starting under cover.
Direct sowing outdoors: Sow only when frosts are no longer a threat; in the garden that usually means after the Ice Saints, from mid-May. The chickpea is frost-sensitive and germinates reliably only at a soil temperature of around 12 °C; in theory it works from about 5 °C, but then very slowly and prone to rot. Place the seeds 3 to 5 cm deep in loose, permeable soil that warms up quickly, with about 30 cm between rows and around 20 cm within the row. Depending on warmth, they germinate in about 10 to 21 days. Choose a warm spot in full sun.
Starting under cover is worthwhile with a short summer or slug pressure: from mid to late April, sow seeds in individual pots, ideally pots from which you can plant them out together with the root ball, because the chickpea forms a delicate taproot and tolerates root disturbance poorly. Let them germinate warm and bright at around 20 to 22 °C. After the Ice Saints, from mid-May, set the young plants with undisturbed root ball into the bed; this gives you a head start of about two to three weeks.
Seed preparation: Soak the seeds in lukewarm water for about 12 to 24 hours before sowing, which speeds up germination. Use unroasted chickpeas or proper vegetable seed; roasted or cooked ones do not germinate.
Nodule bacteria: Chickpeas enter a nitrogen symbiosis with the species-specific soil bacterium Mesorhizobium ciceri. This bacterium is often not naturally present in Central European soils, which is why nitrogen fixation can be weaker when growing them for the first time on the same site. If you have grown chickpeas successfully in a spot before, the bacteria are usually present there.
Protect the seedlings at night with fleece in the first weeks if late frost threatens.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
particularly well establishedLeguminous plants collect nitrogen in the soil, from which Brassicaceae benefit as heavy feeders.
For example White cabbageKohlrabiRadishKalebroccolicauliflower and 41 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
carrot family (Apiaceae)
Peas and beans provide carrot and celery with nitrogen and grow as shallow-rooted plants without competition next to each other.
For example DillParsleyFlorence fennelCorianderCelery (Stalk Celery)Caraway and 19 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
Rather not
amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae)
particularly well establishedAllium species inhibit the nitrogen‑fixing rhizobia of legumes through their root exudates, which slows their growth.
For example ChivesWild daffodilRocamboleElephant garlicRed OnionShallot and 9 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop‑rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow chickpea yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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