Chickpea Growing Guide
Chickpea At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Vegetable
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Hardy
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -7°C
Plant Family
Fabaceae
Growing Season
Warm Season
Plant Lifecycle
Annual
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Sow direct 4 cm deep, 12 cm apart, in spring once the soil has warmed a little. They tolerate cool starts and dry conditions; don't overwater.
A long-season, drought-tolerant legume that fixes nitrogen and shrugs off heat and poor soil. Each pod holds just one or two peas, so you need a decent patch for a real harvest. Avoid wetting the foliage — it dislikes humidity.
When To Start
Chickpea needs warmth. Wait until your last frost has passed and the soil has warmed before sowing.
We do not have exact sowing dates for this one yet.
When should you plant Chickpea?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Chickpea Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Chickpea Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Sow chickpeas (spring)
Around your last frost
Harvest chickpeas (green, or dried on the plant)
About 100 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Chickpea's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Expect sprouts in 10–14 days
Growing Tips
- 1Chickpeas are forgiving — sun, lean soil, and not much water.
- 2Keep water off the leaves to avoid blight, don't feed extra nitrogen, and be patient; the long season is the only catch.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~100
Days to Maturity
50 cm
Mature Height
25 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
21 days
When to Pick
Pick green for fresh, or leave to dry on the plant for dried chickpeas
How to Harvest
- 1Pick pods young and green to eat fresh, or — more usual — leave them until the whole plant yellows and the pods rattle dry, then pull it and shell out the chickpeas.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
Let pods dry fully on the plant, then shell out the dried chickpeas and store — they're both your seed and your harvest.
Seed Production
Ready to grow this?
Grow chickpea with us.
This page is free and stays free. An account adds the one thing a guide cannot do on its own: your own frost dates, so it tells you the weeks to sow chickpea where you live.
