Lotus tetragonolobus
Asparagus pea
Common names: Winged pea
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 20 cm, rows 40 cm
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Sowing
- Apr–May
- Harvest
- Jun–Aug
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 0 °C
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: Magnus Manske · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Description
The asparagus pea (Lotus tetragonolobus) is a low‑growing legume that produces striking dark‑red flowers and distinctive, winged, square pods. Native to the Mediterranean, it thrives in a warm, sunny spot in the garden or in containers. When harvested young, the pods have a mild, nutty flavor reminiscent of a blend of sugar snap pea and green asparagus.
Care instructions
Asparagus peas prefer full sun and a warm climate with well‑drained, loamy soil. Sow directly in the garden from mid‑May (week 20) once night frosts have passed; the plant is frost‑sensitive. Keep the soil consistently moist but avoid waterlogging, especially during flowering and pod development. Harvest the pods young and tender, about 2 to 3 cm long, to encourage continued production over several weeks. A light mulch of straw or shredded leaves can help the trailing plant spread without touching the soil.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingApr–May
HarvestJun–Aug
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 12 °C, ideally 20 °C
- Days to sprout
- 10 to 21 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 2 cm
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, sandy, lean, dry
The asparagus pea likes it light and well-drained and hardly forgives heavy, waterlogged soils. A sunny, warm spot with sandy loam is quite enough for it, and a lean substrate even promotes flower set. Avoid waterlogging in the root zone best by mixing in sand or fine grit to loosen the soil.
Grow the asparagus pea on the same spot again after 4 years at the earliest, so that no soil-borne diseases build up. As a legume, it is a valuable preceding crop for heavy feeders such as cabbage or tomato.
Feeding
Light feeder
As a legume, the asparagus pea fixes nitrogen from the air itself through its root nodules and therefore needs hardly any feeding. A dose of compost at planting in spring is usually quite enough. If you want to pamper the soil further, work some mature compost shallowly into the top layer of soil.
Overwintering
The asparagus pea is sensitive to frost and does not survive the Central European winter outdoors. Clear away the plant remains after harvest in autumn and lay out the bed afresh for the next season. Overwintering only makes sense as seed for sowing the following year, stored cool and dry.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
Propagation works by seed only. Start the plants in a warm room from mid-April · week 16 to 17, or sow directly outdoors from mid-May · week 20, as soon as night frosts are no longer a threat. Germination takes about 10 to 14 days at temperatures around 18 to 20 degrees. After the last frosts you can set the pre-grown young plants in the bed.
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 CarrotCeleriacDillParsleyFlorence fennelCoriander and 21 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 GarlicOnionLeekChivesWild daffodilRocambole and 12 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 Asparagus pea yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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