Growing chickpeas!

Chick pea, (Cicer arietinum), is an annual that belongs to the legume family and it is also known as garbanzo beans, although they are neither peas nor beans. But who cares?

I planted a pot of chickpeas this morning. Four little chickpeas in a medium-sized pot. Growing chickpeas is difficult in this region, as it requires long, hot growing seasons to flower and bear fruit.

Knowing this, I may just feed the plants a high-nitrogen fertilizer to encourage the gorgeous, fernlike leafy growth that chickpeas put out, and just forget about getting food from it. But this is a first time and an experiment.

Chickpeas are usually ready for harvest about 100 days after planting. That would put us into September. So, there’s a chance I may get some pods for drying. Wouldn’t it be cool to make my own hummus from chickpeas I grew in my garden? Sweet.