Most masses know the comestible legumes : soy , lentil , peanut , chickpeas , black - eyed peas , black bean , white beans , green beans , lima bean plant , fava noggin , and Asiatic chiliad - foresightful beans , among many others . Carob and licorice are also legumes , and are conceive by many to be eatable . Other legume , like alfalfa and clover , are used to feed stock – and honeybees . Some trees are leguminous plant , including redbud , locust tree , mesquite , and many tropical trees , such as Tamarindus indica . Finally , a few encroaching species in North America , for example kudzu and wisteria , are leguminous plant .
In add-on to their worldwide use as food for thought crops , legumes are critical for soil aliment . legume are symbiotic hosts for rhizobial bacterium that live in root nodule and “ make ” atmospheric nitrogen . That is , rhizobia convert nitrogen from a chemically torpid form ( N2 , i.e. nitrogen gas ) to a responsive shape ( NH3 , i.e. ammonia ) that can be metabolise by plants , animals , and microbes . Not only does this provide atomic number 7 for the legume itself , but it can boost the nitrogen depicted object of the surrounding soil .
This article commence with a agile run - down of legumes normally get in home gardens . It will then handle how to sow legumes for in force results . It ’ll then hash out common diseases and insect pests of legume and how to control them . Finally , it will touch on using legume as soil - construction cover version harvest .
Varieties
pea plant ( Pisum sativum):The pea belonging to this specie originated in Europe . example admit English peas / garden peas , snow peas , and refined sugar tear peas . Other legumes called “ peas ” , like chickpea and bleak - eyed pea , are from dissimilar species and are cover below .
Peas are cool - time of year crop . This makes them a swell nominee for early planting in Virginia . ( That ’s why we ’re publishing this clause in February ! ) jibe out Virginia Tech’splanting docket ( PDF link)for target dates for spring sowing in yourhardiness zona . Personally , I plant pea seeds in former March and they unremarkably germinate by the close of the month . The seedlings can wield a meek frost , but if there ’s a hard icing in April , I ’ll cover them . Typically I ’ll do just one round of harvest home and pull up the plants in May , then produce beans in the same spot .
southerly pea , e.g. black - eyed peas ( Vigna unguiculatavarunguiculata):These peas have a mountain of other names , like cowpeas , crowder peas , and cream peas . originate in India or southerly Asia , they were introduced to North America via the hard worker trade .
southerly peas are warm - season crops , so do n’t sow in until the soil has reached 60 ℉ , around mid - May in piedmont Virginia . They will thrive in hot summer weather . Expect about 50 - 55 days until new peas can be harvested , and 65 - 75 days for dry pea .
Yard - foresighted / asparagus beans ( Vigna unguiculatavar.sesquipedalia):These bean were probably cover in Southeast Asia . As the Latin name indicates , they ’re closely related to Southern pea plant . Like Southern peas , they ’re warm - weather crop , so plant in tender grime . They form farsighted vines , up to 10 foot long . Support accordingly – or trim when they reach the tops of their supports .
grounds - long beans should be harvest before the semen reach adulthood . Pods contain unripe seeds will look and feel a small puffy . As the seminal fluid mature , they will swell and fill up the pods .
Chickpeas / Garbanzo beans ( Cicer arietinum):Chickpeas are n’t a good option for home gardeners in Virginia because they favour teetotal clime and sandy loam soil , and postulate a mint of space . Nevertheless , Penn State has a nice writeup on mature chickpeas at home base .
peanut ( Arachis hypogaea):A classic Virginia crop that originated in South America , peanuts produce best in light , sandy soil , a la southeastern United States Virginia . The “ Tennessee Red ” assortment , however , boom even in the Lucius DuBignon Clay territory of the piedmont . That said , they will do better in soil that ’s been amended with ample constitutive matter .
Peanuts are frost - sensible and have a long growing season , 110 – 130 day . They transplant well , though , so a good scheme is to depart them inside 4 week before planting outdoors . look until the grease has warmed to 60 ℉ before transplanting . As the works maturate , mound stain a few inches high around the base of operations .
The growth use of peanut is riveting . Peanut flowers ego - pollinate , after which the end of the flower chaff elongates to form a structure called a “ peg ” . The pin droops down and penetrates the terra firma , where the peanut pod develop . It ’s important to keep the plants well - irrigate ( about 1 ” per week ) as the peg elongates and develops . The peanut will be ready to harvest after the leafage turn yellow in late summer or former autumn . A couple of weeks before harvest time , terminate watering the flora .
glean by pulling the whole plant out of the dirt . Dry for a week in a lovesome spot with good air trend . Then cut the peanut off the pegs and spread out them out to cure for a few weeks in a nerveless , dry situation . Store in a cool , ironic billet , ideally in a mesh bag .
Consult the article heel in the References section for more detail about peanut cultivation .
“ Common ” bean ( genus Phaseolus vulgaris):Originating in North America , these are the noodle most gardener are familiar with . There are two main type : perch beans , which require living for their vines , or bush bean , which can produce without documentation . Half - stolon beans are in between ; they do n’t grow as tall as pole beans , but sprawl without backing . Amongst these category , there are many , many varieties , with various dome and pod size of it , bod , and color . Snap edible bean , like greenish beans , over-embellished edible bean , and sensationalistic or wax bean plant , belong to this coinage . So do bootleg , bloodless / cannellini , Great Northern , navy / Boston , kidney , and pinto beans . Personally , I usually turn good old Blue Lake magnetic pole beans .
How to support perch beans ? One option is to run electrical conduit ( or roofy or wire cable television service ) horizontally between the tops of fencing place at least 6 feet mellow ( see photograph below ) , then link up string to the conduit and attach it to post or another firearm of conduit on the ground . Plant the ejaculate in a line near the bottom of the twine . Another usual method is to fashion a tripod from long sticks or pieces of sturdy bamboo . Plant the seeds around the tripod .
vulgar beans are lovesome - time of year crops , so wait to sow until the dirt reaches about 60 ℉ .
One significant difference between pole and bush beans : pole dome “ yield ” all through their growing season , whereas bush beans develop only for a short clock time , just a couple of weeks .
Lima beans ( Phaseolus lunatus):Lima bean – call for the urban center – are noted for their pantry feel . Growing them is not too different from “ common ” beans . plant life seed once the land has warmed up . They come in pole and bush variety .
A caution about lima dome is that rude capital of Peru contain minor amounts of toxin scream glucoside . Though the degree are low , it ’s best to never eat naked as a jaybird lima beans . preparation destroys these toxins .
Fava beans ( Vicia faba):Somewhat notorious because the beans themselves are covered by a fibrous membrane that must be take , one attic at a prison term , fava beans ’ rich , nutty flavor is worth the exertion . Some people make hummus with fava beans in place of chickpeas .
Fava dome , like peas , are cool - time of year crops and should be set early in the season , i.e. the commencement of March in piedmont Virginia . wait for salmagundi that get on comparatively apace , from 75 – 80 days , because live summertime weather impair pollenation and makes the plants disease - prone .
Fava bean plants are 2 – 4 ’ high-pitched and are hardy , not viny . They wo n’t need a trellis but might benefit from back or a“Florida waver ” support .
Soybeans ( Glycine max):Soybeans are a great choice for home gardens in Virginia , in particular when they ’re glean young and corrode as edamame . ( Boil pods for 7 – 10 minutes in salt water , then shell before eating as snacks or in salads . ) wait for miscellanea that are breed for eat impertinent , not dried . The plants are very productive : by one estimate , a dozen plants will yield enough for a family of four .
flora soya seed once the soil has warmed to 60 ℉ . The plants resemble bush bean and do n’t demand a trellis . Most varieties can be harvested within 80 days .
Sowing
Soil preparation : Most legumes can palm Virginia Lucius Clay , but will do better if the filth is well - drained . The honorable way to ameliorate drain is with organic matter , i.e. compost . A good rule of ovolo is to solve about 4 ” of compost into the top 12 ” of soil when preparing a new bed for planting . This is a pot of compost , and a great deal of work , but the improved stain grain will be worth it . After the first year , consider theno - till method that Piedmont Master Gardeners Fern and Cleve Campbell role in their home garden , as describe by Ralph Morini .
legume acquire ripe in gently acidic soil , pH 6.0 to 7.0 , but are n’t too finical about grunge pH. That enjoin , it ’s always a good idea tohave your soil testedto guarantee that pH and nutriment level are within fairish compass .
When amending soil , use fertilizer that ’s low in nitrogen . ( That ’s the first phone number on the recording label . ) This is because , as mentioned above , leguminous plant ( or , rather , their symbiotic rhizobia ) specify their own nitrogen . Adding surplus nitrogen will promote leaf and stem turn growth at the expense of blossom and yield .
Timing : As discourse above , some legumes are cool - time of year harvest and should be establish early , as early as the beginning of March in piedmont Virginia . Others are strong - time of year crops and should n’t be sown until the soil has warmed up to around 60 ℉ .
Inoculation : Sometimes the nitrogen - fixing genus Rhizobium need avail getting start . you may encourage their ontogenesis by coating seed with an inoculant before plant . This is especially important if you have n’t grown legumes in your garden before . These bacterium can be found at garden stores or online . Be certain to get the correct variety of inoculum , because different legumes host different Rhizobium .
Pests and Diseases
Insect pestsThere are three main insect pesterer of legume :
– Aphids , which give suck nectar out of leaves and stems and can spread out diseases . control condition by knock them off plants with a sprayer of pee , or with horticultural oils like neem oil .
– Cutworms , which lop stems near the territory line . Control by inspecting your plants , and if necessary protecting the base of the works with a collar made from aluminium foil .
– Bean beetles , which jaw swelled trap in leave-taking ( see picture ) . To me they look a lot like lady beetle , but with a red principal , not black . Control by planting in rows where no legume have been planted for the past two years . Delayed sowing can also aid : over - wintering grownup emerge in mid - May and will vaporize away if no seedling are around . Minor infestations can be controlled by picking the beetles off plant .
DiseasesLegumes can suffer from radical rots , which can be prevented by maintaining expert drainage in the grease as describe above , and by not over - watering . Various bacterial and fungal blight can also affect legume . These can be prevented by planting repellent kind and by keeping plants properly spaced , to promote air motion and keep the leaves dry . If irrigation is necessary , water the base of the industrial plant and do n’t slop soil on the foliage . Finally , leguminous plant can be taint by computer virus . These are unremarkably spread by dirt ball , especially aphids , so controlling plague should keep plants computer virus - free .
These diseases are well-nigh out of the question to cure , so bar is the only way to keep your plants goodly . confer theVirginia Cooperative Extension ’s Pest Management Guide ( PDF link)for more entropy .
Use as cover craw / immature manure
Finally , legumes make a great covering fire harvest that can boost the N content of soil . These soil - building cover crops are sometimes send for “ unripe manures ” .
The choice of legume depends on when the covering harvest will be planted . For summer planting , expend tender - time of year legume like southerly peas or soybeans . For planting in the fall , opt dusty - hardy legume like peas . trefoil and alfalfa are classic blanket crops ; both germinate best at warm temperatures . It ’s a good idea to also plant “ tillage ” Japanese radish , to untie dense or hard grime , and a tight - growing eatage like yearly rye whiskey , Polygonum fagopyrum , or oats , to impart constitutional matter and suppress weeds .
Consult the articles in the Reference section below for more contingent about cut across crops .
Final thoughts
Legumes are garden raw material for many good reasons : they ’re wanton to grow , rich , and of course of instruction delectable . It ’s well-nigh sentence to implant peas , and beans wo n’t be far behind . And hopefully this article will provide some inspiration to try growing a leguminous plant that ’s a lilliputian off the bunk path . Enjoy .
citation
Featured figure : Serge96 , Wikimedia Commons . permission : CC BY - SA 4.0 .
Arachis hypogaea ( peanuts)North Carolina State Extension
Bean foliage beetleIowa State University Extension and Outreach
Bean leaf beetles in habitation gardensUniversity of Minnesota Extension
ChickpeaPenn State PlantVillage
screening cropping in Virginia ( PDF link)USDA
Cover cropsCleve Campbell , Piedmont Master Gardener
track crops as atomic number 7 sourceMichigan State Extension
Edamame – a great increase to your gardenNorth Carolina Cooperative Extension
Edamame : an gentle craw to introduce to your vegetable gardenUniversity of Missouri Extension
A nurseryman ’s guidebook to peasPenn State telephone extension
Green noggin : How to grow itSouth Dakota State University Extension
Grow your own peanutsJan Rhoades , University of California Master Gardener
uprise edible bean in abode gardensUniversity of Minnesota Extension
mature deal crop for nitrogen on veggie farmsPenn State Extension
house garden green beansUniversity of Georgia Extension
Inoculating garden legumesUniversity of Minnesota Extension
Is nitrogen fixation oversold with legume cover crops?Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Legume seed inoculantsColorado State University lengthiness
Long bean – an Asian veg egress in FloridaUniversity of Florida , Institute of Food and Agricultural Services Extension
PeanutClemson Cooperative Extension
Pest Management Guide – Home Grounds and Animals ( PDF link)Virginia Cooperative lengthiness
Plant continue crop ( PDF link)University of Maryland Extension
set hardiness zone mapUSDA
Recommended planting day of the month ( PDF link)Virginia Cooperative reference
southerly peasClemson Cooperative Extension
southerly peas ( Black - eyed peas)University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service
Vicia faba ( fava beans)North Carolina State Extension
