Green manure Chickpea ‘Badil’

Description

Green manure Chickpea ‘Badil’. Cicer arietinum.

Green manure Chickpea ‘Badil’ is an annual sown in April/May as it is not frost hardy. This low – medium sized Kabuli-type variety is high yeilding with large, beige seeds. It’s excellent for pollinators, growing to around 40-60cm in height. Fast growing short term green manure for the summer time. Can be dug into the soil which improves soil quality.

How to grow:
Sow in April/May as long as frosts have passed. Prepare the ground by digging it over and taking out weeds. Smooth with a rake and broadcast the chickpeas at about 5g per square metre or so the plants are about 20cms from each other. Firm the seeds into the soil, maybe tramp them using a plank of wood, and protect from birds and mice until germination. It prefers a sunny location but tolerates shade fine, so it’s suitable for understorey sowing. To get the seed crop wait until the first seeds start shedding and then harvest the lot. Spread out onto tarps under cover (polytunnel floor) for a couple of weeks, thresh to extract the seeds and continue drying – out of direct sunlight if you want the seeds to be viable for next year.

Problem solving:
The many flowers attract beneficial insects. Low tendency to develop fungal problems, resistant to lodging and disease tolerant. Grow in a warm location or in a greenhouse.

Favourite ways to use them:
Great as a green manure and also suitable for food production. Dig in at any time you need your soil back, the greatest matter is generated about 6 weeks after flowering. Hull the seed before eating.

Average seed weight: 5 seeds per gram.