Chickpea seed

General tips / questions on seeding & planting

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Pawty
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Hi,

New year, new seeds!

I think it was Westi who mentioned growing chickpeas as an allotment snack. So I thought they could be this years new thing.

However, they don't seem to be the easiest thing to source ( even Father Christmas failed!).

So, I've been looking around the web - the range on amazon varies between £2 to £30 for 15 seeds! This seems a bit ridiculous.

Unwins have 'sprouting' chickpeas - am I right to think theses are the same?? Children seeds have an Italian variety for £2.99 (+postage).

Daft question coming up ........ I know people who have grown peas from a pack of dried peas from the supermarket. Do you think you could do this with dried chickpeas???

All thoughts and advice would be much appreciated.

Pawty
sally wright
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Dear Pawty,
seeds of italy do a four ounce bag.
Regards Sally Wright.
Westi
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I buy my chickpeas from Holland & Barrett, but they are in the other health food shop in the High St, but I got more peas from these H & B ones. In with all the other dried legumes & stuff. Organic ones. They cost about £2 for a bag that is probably about 500 grams & are just the dried ones you cook with. I had 100% germination, sown straight into the soil, although I am going to start the first sowing this year by soaking them first, probably just overnight. (If you find your way in there try their Quick Soup Mix - lentils, oats, barley, split peas to thicken up soups & turn them into stews or just a hearty meal - not that quick though, maybe 25 - 30 mins).

There are probably about 500 seeds/chickpeas in each bag & they last for the next year is sealed tightly. Blimey shows the rip off seed market doesn't it? You could actually just go to Sainsbury's or any other supermarket, but go for the organic as expect germination could be affected from pesticides & stuff.
Westi
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Pawty
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Thank you,

Yes, certainly shows the huge mark up! We have a holland and Barrett in my town so I'll pop in see what they have. It's good to know that you don't have to buy the really expensive ones from seed suppliers! Great tip! It's got me wondering what other dried seed you can buy from the supermarket to grow??

Pawty
sally wright
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Dear Pawty,
breadseed poppy, coriander (use it for more seeds mainly), hull-less squash seeds, cumin, fenugreek, caraway seed and don't forget all those bean seeds.......
Regards Sally Wright
PLUMPUDDING
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Good suggestions Sally, the only one I've had problems I've had are squash and pumpkin seeds which can be a bit variable from grocery packets.
Westi
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Hi PP!

I expect with a bit of 'collective knowledge' we can find something that could be successful! Trouble is they never tell you the variety? You could end up with a world record pumpkin from them, but I hear those seeds sell for quite an amount so may not be a wasted adventure!

Hi Sally!

What do you look for to recognise 'hull-less' squash seeds? Probably obvious but I do like to hide behind the blonde!
Westi
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Pawty
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Hi,

One slight flaw with buying seed from holland and Barrett .... no instructions!

Do you plant chick peas straight in the ground or soak overnight then into pots in the cold Frame? How big to the plants get - do they need support? Also, any idea about when's the best time to start them off?

Quite excited about this as my new veg of the year. Just dug out the last years KG mags to look for tips and start planning - too wet to get anything done at the lotty.... haven't found anything about chick peas though ... maybe one for a future edition in a 'try something a bit different section'.

Many thanks

Pawty
Westi
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Hi Pawty,

I just put them straight into the ground when it warms up, but am going to experiment with soaking some to see if they pop up earlier so can save more of them from the mice. I grow them about 4 inches apart in rows about 6 - 8 inches apart, so you can squeeze quite a few in which is good as they don't produce a lot of peas per plant. They grew about a foot in height & stand proud without any help, but my researching has shown they can double that height. I'm not sure if I have any pictures but will have a look & post if I can find any. They are quick to produce so I get about 3 sowings in each year.

I reckon you could pot sow them earlier & put them in the cold frame to get a early start.
Westi
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Pawty
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Hi,

Sally - you mentioned you can grow cumin from supermarket/shop seeds? Really want to try some this year but limited suppliers (unwind have). But, we have a pack in the cupboard - should I just give these a go or are some treated or not suitable for growing in the uk?

Thanks

Pawty
sally wright
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Dear Pawty,
cumin seed for human consumption will not have been treated post harvest so should be OK to plant. That said I would wait until the weather warms up hopefully by mid April then sow direct where they are to grow. As far as I know there are no cumin varieties that are grown for leaf production as coriander and dill are; so cumin seeds from your cupboard will produce seeds as they should.
Regards Sally Wright.
ps Moles seeds do 10g packets for £1.90.
PLUMPUDDING
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I've soaked and sown two rows of chick peas in the greenhouse following Westi's advice. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that they grow. Might try some soya beans too.
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Pawty
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Hi,

Bought a huge pack of Waitrose finest for £1.40. I did a trial by putting a few in a pot in the windowsill and they germinated. So last weekend I put a couple of small rows where I had just removed a fence and the soil is pretty poor. Apparently they don't like lots of nutrients.

Found quite a useful fact sheet at

https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/sites/ ... ickpes.pdf

Pawty
Westi
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Put mine in on the 6th but have a feeling I may have been feeding the birds or mice as no show on Sunday when I was down & netting had blown off. I will give them another week especially as we have had some rain which should have helped them burst into life, if not will just re-sow (& secure netting a bit more initially). I've not pre-soaked mine but it may have speed up the process, especially when so dry - message to self for later sowings! I have also sown my soya beans as soil temp was right for them, but they are still snug under their net tunnel just peeking through - that little flash of a green bend in the soil!

Peanuts next, but not for a bit looking at the weather. Going to experiment with these, putting half in whole in the shell & half podded as conflicting information out there. Note it's just us girlies posting on this thread? More adventurous & risk taking or just more optimistic? Whatever wait to you taste fresh chickpeas, not to mention a few dried for the hummus! ;)
Westi
PLUMPUDDING
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I grew peanuts ages ago and germinated them on wet tissue. They grew ok but never produced anything.
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