Chickpeas are currently more popular than ever. Here you can find out everything about he althy chickpeas and how you can grow them yourself in the garden.
Chickpeas (Cicer arietinum) are particularly important in vegetarian and vegan diets because they provide valuable vegetable protein. But legumes also offer a tasty and welcome change in the kitchen for everyone else. Then why not grow the nutty fruit yourself in the garden? It's not even that difficult! We'll tell you everything you need to know about the origin, different varieties, planting, care, harvesting and use of chickpeas.
Chickpeas are a species of plants in the genus Chickpeas (Cicer), belong to the legume family (Fabacaeae) and belong to the subfamily of Paphiaceae (Faboideae). They are also called real giggles, Roman giggles, Venus giggles or field peas. But the name has nothing to do with the fact that chickpeas are particularly funny. Rather, it comes from Latin. The ancient Romans called the legume "cicer", which is pronounced like "kiker" and means nothing else than pea. "kiker" then became "kicher" in German. So today we call the chickpea “pea-pea”.
But the chickpea has little to do with the pea (Pisum sativum) . They both come from the same legume family. We know the chickpea from exotic dishes from the Orient or India. Hummus (mashed chickpeas) or falafel (fried chickpea balls) are well-known chickpea preparations. Fiery, hot curries with the pithy, nutty legumes are also very popular.
Chickpeas: origin and properties
As early as 8000 years ago, chickpeas were cultivated in Asia Minor. This makes them one of the oldest cultivated plants on earth. From there they began their triumphal procession to all subtropical areas of the world - to India and the Mediterranean region. towe got the special “pea” with merchant ships in the early Middle Ages. While we still consider it an exotic legume, it is a staple food in many regions of the world. Along with other legumes, chickpeas are particularly valued in India and Mexico for their excellent ingredients. The world's largest growing areas for chickpeas are in India, North Africa and Mexico.
The chickpea is an annual, herbaceous, upright plant with a strong taproot. It can reach a height of 40 to 60 centimeters. The leaves are imparipinnate, alternate and five to ten millimeters long. All parts of the chickpea plant are covered with small, sticky hairs. Depending on the variety, the flowers are white, red or purple. This forms thin-skinned pods that resemble hairy pea pods. Each pod contains one to three irregular, wrinkled seeds with a beige, brown, or black skin.
Chickpea Varieties
Depending on the climatic conditions in your region, different types of chickpeas are suitable for cultivation. The choice of variety also determines the size and color of the seeds.
The following chickpea varieties are best known:
- ˈKabuliˈ: This variety is mainly found in the Mediterranean and Latin America; the seeds are medium to large and beige
- ˈAmethystˈ: A popular variety in Australia, it tolerates drought particularly well; the seeds are rather small
- ˈDesiˈ: This variety, which is particularly popular in India, produces small, dark to black seeds
- ˈGulabiˈ: This chickpea variety produces small to medium-sized seeds with a smooth, beige skin
- ˈGarbanzo Black Kabulˈ: This variety is from the Middle East, the seeds have a black skin
- ˈSarahˈ: This variety from the USA is characterized by its special drought tolerance
Buy Chickpea Plant
Because chickpeas are relatively new to our garden landscape, it is very difficult to find pre-cultivated young plants that are available for purchase. Hardly any chickpea plants are even offered on the internet. Fortunately, it is all the easier to grow chickpea plants yourself. All you need is suitable seeds. The easiestyou can use unroasted chickpeas from the supermarket and grow them from these plants. We will explain exactly how to do this in the next section.
Plant Chickpeas
The best time to plant chickpeas is in spring. If you want to grow young plants indoors, you can start from mid-April. The legumes can then be planted outdoors from mid-May or sown directly. Chickpeas need it particularly warm and light. The ideal temperature for cultivation is 25 °C, but it should always be above 5 °C. The false pea does not tolerate frost and is therefore not hardy. The plant tolerates drought well, but not too humid conditions. In addition, the soil for cultivation should be loose, permeable and poor in nutrients.
Plant chickpea instructions:
- Pregerminate seeds if necessary
- Initiate in pots indoors from mid-April
- Direct sowing outdoors from mid-May
- Loosen up the bed well and remove weeds
- Create seed furrows with 30 cm row spacing
- Seed depth: 5 - 8 cm
- Planting distance: 20 cm
- Water well
You can read detailed instructions on how to plant chickpeas here.
Caring for Chickpeas
Since they are undemanding and robust, the chickpea requires little care after planting. However, it is important to weed the bed regularly and keep it free of weeds so that the legumes can grow undisturbed. The next section will tell you what else you should pay attention to when caring for your chickpeas.
Water the chickpeas
The special legume is known for its drought tolerance and should therefore be watered too little rather than too much. After sowing, the bed should of course be kept constantly moist. If the chickpeas are larger, you can reduce the watering. Then only water when it's dry and hot for a long time.
Watering chickpeas summary:
- Keep well moist after sowing
- Do not water large plants too much
- Watering only during prolonged drought and heat
Fertilize chickpeas
Because chickpeas are legumes, they can provide themselves with nitrogen. This works through a symbiosis with nodule bacteria on theroots of the plant. These fix nitrogen from the air and make it available for the chickpea. The legume therefore usually does not need additional fertilization. However, since a high phosphorus content is important for the nodule bacteria, you can use fertilization to ensure that there is enough of it. This works best with our Plantura organic universal fertilizer, which can supply the soil with sufficient phosphorus, or with a mineral phosphorus fertilizer. Just as important as phosphorus is the right pH for the chickpea. If the soil is too acidic, she doesn't feel well at all - only lime helps. Liming in spring creates optimal conditions for your chickpeas.
Summary of fertilizing chickpeas:
- No nitrogen fertilization necessary
- Phosphorus fertilization in spring using fertilizers with organic long-term effects
- Lime in spring if the soil is acidic
Propagating Chickpeas
Chickpeas are easily propagated from seed. After harvest, simply save enough seeds for next year. So you can start sowing your own chickpea seeds in spring.
Harvest Chickpeas
There are two ways to harvest chickpeas: you can either use the seeds or the whole, still green pods. Eight to twelve weeks after sowing, the chickpeas begin to become ready for harvest. For the seeds, let the pods turn yellow. Then you can harvest the whole plant and hang it upside down to dry. Some seeds will fall out of their pods as they dry, others will have to be picked out by hand later. However, chickpeas can also be harvested and used when they are still unripe and green - similar to heirs.
Summary of harvesting chickpeas:
- Maturity: 8 - 12 weeks after sowing
- Yellow Pods
- Harvest the whole plant and let it dry
- Or harvest green pods
Preserving and storing chickpeas
Chickpeas can be dried for four to five years. But there are other ways to preserve chickpeas. To dry the false peas, hang the cut plants upside down in a dry, warm place. When the pods start to open on their own and the seeds fall out, they are dry enough and can be stored in a dry, cool place.
Another way to preserve the legumes is to freeze them. This saves you a lot of time as the dry chickpeas themselves have to be soaked overnight before they can be used in the kitchen. To get around this, you can soak larger amounts of chickpeas, pre-cook them, and then freeze them. The frozen chickpeas can then be used immediately for cooking. Chickpeas that have been pre-cooked and then frozen will keep in the freezer for up to six months.
Roasting is also a way to preserve your chickpeas. This works just as well in the oven as in the pan. The pre-cooked chickpeas are baked in the oven at 180 °C or in a pan with a little oil until crispy and then seasoned as desired. This gives you a delicious snack that will keep for several weeks.
Summary Shelf Life of Chickpeas:
- Dried: 5 - 6 years
- Frozen: Up to 6 weeks
- Roasted: Several weeks
Chickpeas: Ingredients and Use
Chickpeas are true nutritional wonders. They provide valuable vegetable protein and are also full of minerals. Vegetarians and vegans in particular can use chickpeas as a good substitute for animal proteins. Even Hildegard von Bingen wrote about the chickpea and recommended eating it regularly because it is warm and pleasant and is even said to help with fever.
With 100 grams of chickpeas you cover the following daily nutritional needs:
- 70% folic acid
- 25% Iron
- 20% Zinc
- 50% Magnesium
- 50% Calcium
- 50% Fiber
Dried chickpeas always need some preparation time before they can be prepared in the kitchen. They should be soaked in water for 12 hours and then boiled for about 30 minutes. Then many great dishes can be conjured up from the nutty legumes. The oriental dip hummus is pureed with sesame puree, olive oil, lemon, garlic and parsley. With onions, tomatoes, ginger and plenty of curry spices, you can conjure up Indian Chana Masala with chickpeas. And cooked chickpeas are also delicious in a variety of salads.
The myth of thepoisonous chickpea
Is it possibly dangerous to eat chickpeas because they are poisonous? No, do not worry. Nevertheless, there is something to consider when eating chickpeas so that the legumes do not harm you. The reason for this are the ingredients phasin, which is actually poisonous, and the bitter substance saponin. Both are found in the raw, undercooked chickpea. Therefore, raw chickpeas are actually harmful to he alth in large quantities. However, if the legumes are boiled or germinated, the phasin is broken down and consumption is then harmless.
Summary of Chickpea Toxicity:
- Raw: contains phasin, toxic
- Cooked: Phasin is degraded, non-toxic
- Sprouted: phasin is degraded, non-toxic
If you now want to grow chickpeas yourself, you will find all the important information here.