Lupinus albus
Sweet lupine
Common names: White lupine, Speiselupine
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 15 cm, rows 40 cm
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Sowing
- Mar–Apr
- Harvest
- Aug–Sep
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below −3 °C
- Water need
- Low
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The Sweet lupine (Lupinus albus) is a tall legume that produces striking white to pale blue flower spikes. It fixes atmospheric nitrogen, enriching the soil, which makes it popular as a green manure. The seeds are high in plant protein and can be processed into a mild snack after soaking. Choose low‑bitter varieties, as wild lupines and some cultivars contain alkaloids that are unpalatable when raw and unsoaked. Unsoaked seeds are therefore unsuitable for children and pets.
Care instructions
Sow the seeds from mid‑April once the soil warms, directly outdoors; a pre‑soak overnight speeds germination. Select a sunny spot with loose, slightly acidic to neutral soil, sweet lupines prefer less calcareous conditions. Water only during extended dry spells; the deep taproot usually accesses moisture on its own. Lightly mound young plants to provide wind support, and harvest the pods when they turn brown and dry. For green manure, cut the plants before seed maturity and incorporate the green material into the soil.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingMar–Apr
HarvestAug–Sep
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 5 °C, ideally 15 °C
- Days to sprout
- 7 to 14 days
- Light
- Needs darkness to sprout
- Sowing depth
- 3 cm
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, sandy, lime-loving, lean
The white lupin likes loose, free-draining and rather lean soil without waterlogging. Unlike most other lupin species, it copes well with calcareous soils. It avoids heavy, compacted or permanently wet sites, where the deep taproots easily rot.
As a green manure and nitrogen fixer, the white lupin prepares the soil ideally for heavy feeders that follow. Do not grow it again directly after other legumes, so that no soil-borne diseases build up.
Feeding
Light feeder
As a legume, the white lupin supplies itself with nitrogen through its root nodules and therefore needs no additional feeding. A starter application of mature compost at sowing is quite enough. Soil that is too rich in nutrients mainly promotes leaf mass and weakens flowering.
Overwintering
The white lupin is annual and is cleared away completely after harvest in autumn. Overwintering in the bed is not intended; store seed cool and dry until the next sowing in spring. It is best to leave the root remains in the soil, where they release the fixed nitrogen to the following crop.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
The white lupin is propagated exclusively from seed, which you sow directly outdoors. Pre-soaking overnight noticeably speeds up germination. From mid-April, once the soil has warmed up, you can sow in rows with sufficient spacing. The taproot does not tolerate transplanting, so starting plants on the windowsill is out.
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 Sweet lupine yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
Free, no time limit
Varieties
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