By Kelly Miller
In North America, chickpeas are most familiar as a canned good. However, you can grow chickpeas in home gardens throughout much of the continent. Homegrown chickpeas add an impressive ingredient upgrade for Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Indian cuisines, all of which feature chickpeas as a staple ingredient.
All About Chickpeas
Chickpeas (also commonly known by their Spanish name, garbanzos) are tasty legumes that were first cultivated in Syria around 10,000 years ago. They were one of the eight founder crops that are thought to be the first cultivated plants in human history. All eight founder crops were self-pollinating species, native to the Fertile Crescent region of West Asia.
Chickpea plants are annuals, meaning they complete their life cycle in one growing season. The edible part of the plant (the chickpea) is a pulse, which refers to the dried edible seed of a legume. Plants produce attractive white or violet-pink flowers, depending on the variety, followed by small pods. The chickpeas grow inside the pods, similar to peas, with 1–3 chickpeas per pod.
Chickpeas are high in protein and store well as dried or canned goods. They’re the main ingredient in hummus, falafel, and Indian chana masala curry. Chickpeas are also commonly used in salads, veggie burgers, and stews.
Growing Chickpeas in Your Garden
Hardiness Zones for Chickpeas
While more than 60% of global chickpea farming occurs in India, a tropical climate isn’t a necessity. In North America, chickpeas grow best in USDA zones 3–9 as a spring-planted crop. You can also grow chickpeas in warmer zones (10–11) as a fall-planted crop.
Starting Chickpeas Indoors
The part of a chickpea plant that we eat is the seed. Thus, you can purchase dried chickpeas from a grocery store and use them as seeds to grow chickpeas.
In areas with long, moderate growing seasons, you can grow chickpeas by direct-sowing the seeds directly into the ground. However, rabbits and other pests might dig them up. Plus, chickpeas are sensitive to both cold and heat. So, in most areas, it’s better to start the plants indoors.
When starting indoors, sow chickpea seeds around two weeks before the expected last frost date. Use starter pots made from paper or other biodegradable material so that the entire pot can be put into the ground without disturbing the roots. You can also use starter trays to grow chickpeas, but you’ll have to be delicate when transplanting to avoid damaging the roots.
Sow seeds around 1 inch (25 mm) deep, and keep the soil moist but not wet.
For better germination results, you can add a step: germinate seeds in a wet paper towel, sealed in a Ziploc bag. This method will get the chickpeas to germinate in around three days, then the seeds can be moved into their trays. Click on this link to view a video demonstrating this chickpea germination method.
Seedlings should sprout after around one week. Transplant into the ground after around two weeks. If you used a biodegradable starter pot, remember to gently tear the bottom off of the pot before inserting it into the ground.
Chickpea Plant Care
Plant chickpeas in a sunny location. In hotter climates, provide afternoon shade. The soil should be fertile and well-draining. However, chickpeas are fairly tolerant of poor soil, and sometimes grow well in soil that struggles to support most garden crops.
Water regularly to keep the top inch or two of soil moist.
Chickpea plants can grow without any fertilization, especially when planted in fertile soil. If you use a fertilizer, choose one designed to promote micronutrients, potassium, and phosphorous, rather than nitrogen. Chickpeas are nitrogen-fixing plants, which means they add this element to the soil on their own.
Chickpeas are not particularly attractive to insect pests. Rabbits and other mammals sometimes feed on the new seeds or young plants. In gardens with mammal pest problems, transplanting is preferable to direct sowing since the more mature plants will have a better chance of surviving some damage caused by mammals.
Harvesting Chickpeas
A chickpea plant is ready for harvesting around 90 days after planting. The plant produces small green pods, similar to pea pods, with one or two chickpeas in each one. While the plant is still green, you can harvest fresh green chickpeas. Eaten raw, green chickpeas are tender, moist, and sweet.
While early-harvest chickpeas make an interesting treat, it’s more common to allow the legumes to mature and begin drying before harvesting. Once the majority of the plant has yellowed, you can pull up the entire plant by the root or snip the stem at its base.
After harvesting chickpeas, lay them out for a few days of additional drying, either in the sunshine or in a dry, warm, ventilated indoor space. Then, it’s time to remove the pods from the plants and thresh the seeds (the chickpeas) from the pods. When performed by hand, these tasks are fairly labor-intensive and messy—a good opportunity to gather a few friends or family members together for a group effort.
Preserving Your Summer Harvest
Chickpea plants grow well close together, and can be highly productive. Even a small plot can produce an impressive volume, so you might be surprised at how many beans you harvest. Fortunately, chickpeas can be easily stored dry, canned, or frozen. Find tips for various storage methods for all of your bumper crops in our guide to Preserving Your Summer Harvest.
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