Beans, Garbanzo or Gram; Chickpea
Cicer arietinum (FABACEAE)
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Gram Beans and Chickpeas
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow garbanzo and gram beans or chickpeas in the accompanying table’s tabs:
-
- How many garbanzo and gram beans or chickpeas to plant
- Growing conditions for garbanzo and gram beans or chickpeas
- When to plant garbanzo and gram beans or chickpeas
- How to plant garbanzo and gram beans or chickpeas
- Watering, fertilizing, and pruning garbanzo and gram beans or chickpeas
- Companion plantings for garbanzo and gram beans or chickpeas
- How to harvest, store, and use garbanzo and gram beans or chickpeas
Growing Gram Beans and Chickpeas
Garbanzo beans are a warm season annual. They grow on a fernlike bush, 2–2-1/2-ft. (60–75-cm) tall with bulging green pods containing 1–2 tan-colored, pealike seeds, and are related to true beans and peas. Although edible when green, garbanzos most often are dried for later use. Their unique flavor and texture make them popular for use whole in salads; baked with grains, they make a nutritious, protein-rich, cholesterol-free meat substitute for vegan and vegetarian diets.
Gram Beans Plant and Care Guide
How Much to Plant
Allow 4–8 plants per household member for eating fresh; for drying, allow 10–15 plants, yielding 2 lbs. (0.9 kg).
How to Plant
Seed germinates in 7–12 days. Average Climates: Sow seed in partial shade in spring, transplant to garden soil when soil warms to 65–80°F (18–27°C) and plants reach 3–4 in. (75-100 mm) tall. Mild-Winter Climates: Sow seed in late autumn. Sow seed in garden soil 1-1/2–2 in. (38–50 mm) deep, 3–6 in. (75–150 mm) apart, thinning to 8–12 in. (20–30 cm) apart, in rows 2 ft. (60 cm) apart.
Best Conditions for Growth
Growing temperature: 60–70°F (16–21°C). Flowers may fail to set seed pods at temperatures above 90°F (32°C).
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained loam. Fertility: Rich. 6.0–6.8 pH. Prepare soil at least 18 in. (45 cm) deep. Rotate legume crops throughout the garden to naturally boost soil nitrogen levels.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist during flowering and pod formation; allow soil surface to dry between waterings thereafter. Fertilize semi-monthly with 5–10–10 formula. Avoid deep cultivation that could cut through the shallow, widespread roots. Pest and disease resistant.
Pairing Recommendations
Celery, corn, cucumbers, potatoes, strawberries, and summer savory.
Maturity, Picking and Gathering
100 days. Pick pods when 1 in. (25 mm) long for use fresh; picked after pods have dried on the vine orwhen mature pods have withered, spread on a flat surface in a warm, protected spot, as for dried beans.
How to Store and Preserve
Fresh in the vegetable keeper of a refrigerator for 5–7 days; dried in porous, fabric bags stored in a cool, dry location, to 1 year; blanched, sealed in plastic bags, and frozen, to 6 months; canned using a pressure cooker, 3 years. Fresh, boiled garbanzo beans, mashed to a paste with tahini spices, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil, provide a tasty Middle-Eastern dip known as hummus for crudités, crackers, chips, and crisps.