Chickpeas: 23 good and bad companion plants

Other names

garbanzo bean, bengal gram, Egyptian pea

Botanical name

Cicer arietinum L.

Family / Genus

Fabaceae / Cicer

Plant category

Legumes

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The chickpea needs quite a lot of warmth. In our latitudes, you really need a mild, wine-growing climate and certain early-maturing varieties for them to ripen. The name derives from the Latin "cicer", which simply means pea.

Facts and figures

Light requirements

Sun

Nutrient requirements

Light feeder

Difficulty level

Expert

Culture (according to Gertrud Franck)

A - tall or wide crops, almost year-round

Culture (according to Sister C. Weinrich)

Companion crop

Growing period

110 days

Row spacing

30 cm

Plant spacing

20 cm

Growth height

40 - 100 cm

Sowing depth

2 cm

Germination temperature (minimum)

16 °C

Germination temperature (optimal)

20 - 25 °C

Germination type

Dark

Pre-growing period

21 days

Planting & harvest times of Chickpea

Direct sowing

Pre-grow

Transplant

Harvest

Direct sowing from Mid May to Mid June. Transplant to bed from Mid May to Mid June. Pre-grow about 21 days before transplanting, approximately between Late April and Late May. After a growing period of 110 days, harvest can begin around Mid July and continues until Late September.

Sow and plant Chickpea

The seedlings have a better chance if you start them off in pots.

Location and soil

It prefers sandy, nutrient-poor soil. It can't cope with heavy, wet soils. The spot should be warm and sheltered.

Good and bad companions of Chickpea

Good neighbours

Bad neighbours

Predecessors and successors of Chickpea

Good predecessors

Bad predecessors

Very good successors

Good successors

Bad successors

Very bad successors

Crop rotation

What stood on that bed three years ago is hard to recall come spring. grove remembers. Once you have planned with it for a few seasons it knows your beds and warns you as you plant when a growing break is still running. The other way round, grove points you to the spots where Chickpea fits particularly well right now.

Before Chickpea, grove suggests Tomato good, Broccoli good or Aubergine good among others. After it come Brussels sprouts very good, Cucumber good or Courgette good.

As a preceding crop: Pea poor, Bush bean poor, Sunflower poor and 16 more plants may only return to the same spot after 4 years. grove still remembers that three years from now. As a following crop: Lamb's lettuce very poor, Onion poor, Pea poor and 19 more plants may only return to the same spot after 3 years.

And as soon as next year is planned, the Garden Fairy looks for the right green manure for the cold season in between all by itself, Spinach for example. How the Garden Fairy works

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Varieties

Look out for early-maturing varieties.

Care and fertilising

They don't need any fertiliser and handle drought well.
They work nicely as green manure themselves and leave behind nitrogen-enriched soil, just like other legumes. That makes them a great preceding crop for various heavy feeders.

Harvest and processing

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You should soak raw chickpeas overnight in water to flush out bitter compounds and a toxin called phasin. Throw away the soaking water.

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