How to Grow Chickpeas: Planting, Care & Harvest

Quick answer

Direct sow after last frost when soil has warmed — prefer ≥50°F (Purdue HO-175). About 100 days to harvest (Purdue). Home-garden row spacing inches are not sourced on that page — follow your seed packet. Distinct from fava, lima, and southern peas.

Chickpeas at a glance

PlantDirect sow: last frost
SpacingNo home-garden in-row spacing inches are clearly tabulated in Purdue HO-175’s garbanzo section.
Days to harvest~100 days (Purdue HO-175); OSU commercial 84–125
-3-2-1LF+1+2+3
■ Start indoors   ■ Plant out   ■ Harvest
Weeks relative to last frost (LF). Colored weeks show when our ZIP planner schedules each step.
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Updated

Planting dates for your ZIP: the ZIP planting planner counts each window from your local frost dates.

Organic pests and diseases: see also organic pest control. Use any product as the label directs.

Chickpeas / garbanzo (Cicer arietinum). Not fava, lima, or southern peas.

Chickpea plant
Chickpea plant (Cicer arietinum). Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (resized).

Planting timing

Purdue HO-175 (garbanzo section): garbanzo beans “require a long, warm growing season (about 100 days to harvest).” Same publication’s bean planting rule: plant after all danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed. “Poor germination and rot are likely if the soil temperature is below 50°F.” (Purdue HO-175-W) Planner: Direct sow last frost 0 with soil ≥50°F. Footnote: OSU commercial PNW plantings may go earlier when soil is about 41–45°F because seedlings are frost-tolerant — that is commercial timing, not a home-garden negative frost-week rule. (OSU EM 8791)

Depth and spacing

No home-garden in-row spacing inches are clearly tabulated in Purdue HO-175’s garbanzo section. Commercial seeding rates (OSU) are production-scale and are not converted into home inches here. Follow your seed packet for depth and spacing.

Sun, soil and water

Long warm season (Purdue). OSU: deep taproot; relatively drought resistant; inoculate with chickpea-specific Rhizobium (pea/lentil inoculant will not nodulate chickpea).

Care

Use a chickpea-matched inoculant (OSU). Rotate; avoid sowing into cold wet soil (Purdue). Purdue notes garbanzo is not particularly well-adapted to Indiana’s climate — set expectations in short cool summers.

Harvest

Purdue: pods at green ripe stage, or dry on the plant (~100 days). OSU commercial maturity about 84–125 days for PNW-adapted types.

Pests and diseases

Prefer cultural controls: warm soil at sow, drainage, rotation. No insecticide spray recipes here — see organic pest control for labeled product patterns.

Related: fava beans · southern peas · lima beans · ZIP planner · organic pest control

Frequently asked questions

When do I sow chickpeas in a home garden?

After last frost when soil is warm. About 100 days to harvest.

Same as garden peas or favas?

No — Cicer arietinum; separate from fava, southern peas, and lima.

What spacing should I use?

Home-garden spacing inches are not sourced on Purdue HO-175’s garbanzo section — follow your seed packet.

More grow guides: All grow guides

Sources