Growing Chickpeas in Australia: The Complete Guide
Chickpeas is an easy legume to grow, needing full sun with low–moderate, drought-tolerant once established watering.
We get asked about chickpeas often enough that it's worth setting out the full picture here, beyond what fits on our printable card.
Nitrogen fixers
Chickpeas are unusually drought-tolerant for a legume and, like their relatives, leave the soil richer in nitrogen for whatever's planted next.
Planting Chickpeas
Method — direct sow once soil has warmed. Soil — well-drained; tolerates poorer soil than most legumes. Timing — sow in spring after frost risk passes.
Keeping It Growing Well
The key things to get right:
- Water while establishing; ease off once plants are growing well.
- Avoid overhead watering, which encourages fungal issues.
- Weed while young — plants are slow to cover the ground.
- Leave roots in place after harvest for the nitrogen benefit.
Common Problems
A few things matter most here:
- Botrytis/fungal rot — humid, wet conditions; avoid overhead watering.
- Pod borer — larvae in developing pods; monitor and hand-pick.
- Poor pod fill — waterlogging; ensure good drainage.
- Few pests otherwise — a relatively trouble-free crop.
Picking and Keeping Your Harvest
Signs — pods dry and rattle, plants yellow and die back. Method — pull whole plants once fully dry, then thresh pods. Curing — dry thoroughly on the plant or spread out after pulling. Storage — airtight, cool, dark — keeps a year or more dried.
That's the full picture behind chickpeas. The printable A4 version of this guide — with the quick-reference gauges and diagram in one page — is available on the main guide page below.