One of the first plants that many children discover are chickpeas, lentils and other legumes that are easy to sprout and many kindergartens and schools use them to teach children how a plant can grow out of something. so simple. In that case, if you want to teach your children, or if you want to consume yourself, how about we help you grow a potted chickpea plant.
Let you know that it is not complicated at all and you could have a much richer harvest for your spoon dishes. Shall we get to work? Go for it.
Contents
How to have your chickpea plant in a pot
We will start with the simplest, which is to germinate the chickpeas so that they can be planted in a pot. What do you need?
- Chickpeas.
- A little cotton.
- A glass jar.
- Water.
There is nothing left. For the moment.
chickpea sprouts
The first thing you will need is to germinate the chickpeas. And for that, we recommend the following:
- Take the glass jar and put some cotton in it. You don’t need much, but you need a good base.
- Then pour a little water, it is not necessary to cover it, but at least they are wet.
- When you already have it, add the chickpeas. What some people do is cover them to create a greenhouse effect and thus germinate faster, but this is not necessary.
- In about 5 days you will have the chickpeas sprouted (if there is one that hasn’t, the best thing to do is throw it away as it may not be good).
At this time you will need to take the chickpeas that have already sprouted (you will see them with a small root sticking out). But you will have to repot them to move on.
Plant chickpeas in a pot
As chickpeas are still very weak, we do not recommend planting them in a planter or directly in the ground. It is better to do it in a pot, yes, but small. And as soon as you see it grow, you can transplant it to a medium to large size.
This step isn’t always done, as it’s often left longer in the glass jar and right after it’s put into the final jar, so it’ll be to your liking.
The ultimate pot
We want to make a paragraph to tell you about the ideal pot for those who want to grow the chickpea plant in a pot. In this case, you need to make sure that the pot is at least 30 centimeters deep. If it’s more, it’s even better.
The potted chickpea plant develops fairly long and wide roots and will need space so as not to slow its development and growth. Or worse, die.
Also, you should check that it has drainage holes because although the plant germinates in water, and you may think it likes it, in reality flooding can kill it.
The ideal substrate for your potted chickpea plant
Besides the pot you are going to use, another of the most important things when planting chickpeas is the type of soil you are going to use.
In this case, we recommend that you make a mixture of potting soil with compost and worm humus. Additionally, we would also add a bit of perlite so it’s looser and doesn’t harden or get too wet.
You should plant the chickpeas about 2-3 centimeters deep and also separated from each other by at least 6 centimeters. When covering, do not add too much soil, nor think of crushing it or pouring water on it. It’s best to make a small furrow all around and water that way to avoid rotting the chickpea.
When it comes to seedlings, you can plant them a little deeper but respecting a slightly wider spacing so that the plants do not fight each other.
The most important care of the potted chickpea plant
You already have your chickpea plant in a pot, either in a small one or in the last one. And now you no longer need to disengage. Completely the opposite.
From this moment, and for several weeks, you will have to make sure that your plant grows well and that it succeeds. And for this you must take into account the following precautions:
Location
The plant needs a lot of sun. You might even be told to place it in full sun, but that will depend on whether it gets too hot (to the point of scorching the leaves).
Temperature
Make sure the temperature stays between 25 and 35 ºC. If it falls below these, it can slow down its development, then it would start with some gaps and it might not come to fruition.
Irrigation
Despite what you might think at first, the truth is that the chickpea plant is not very “friendly” with water. In fact, if you go overboard with the watering, you can end up killing it.
We therefore recommend that you establish a watering schedule of approximately 2-3 times per week. Everything will depend on the weather and especially the terrain. If you see that it is not yet dry, do not water. If, on the contrary, it dries out, it’s time to water.
It is better to water several times with little quantity than to do it only once or twice and abundantly. Of course, make sure that when you water it doesn’t fall on the leaves, you have to water on the ground as this could cause them to burn or rot in the sun.
When chickpeas are harvested
If you have taken care of your potted chickpea plant, you will have seen that it has grown bigger and bigger. Well, about 100 days after planting it, or about 3-4 months, you will already be able to get the harvest of chickpeas that you managed to get from your plant.
We can’t tell you if it will be a big or a small harvest, because everything will depend on the care you give it, the variety of chickpeas, the weather… but there are usually has something to enjoy.
Now that you know how to grow the chickpea plant in a pot, would you dare to do it at home? It doesn’t matter whether you have children or not, its cultivation is so easy that it can even be used by beginners to adapt to plant cultivation and gain experience.