Kitchen Garden Magazine

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Taste of the unusual

Sue Stickland takes a look at some alternative pea and bean crops you can grow on your plot

On British veg plots, the ‘legume’ patch is traditionally filled with broad and French beans, garden peas, and of course the ubiquitous runner bean. However, these are not necessarily the only podding crops that we can grow. A whole range of different legumes are popular in other parts of the world – important because they have a high protein content and can be used in such a wide variety of ways.

They include those familiar to us as dried pulses – chickpeas, azuki beans and soya beans, for example – and some such as yard long beans only found here in local Asian markets. Many of the others we wouldn’t recognise at all. With the prospect of hotter summers and longer milder autumns, and with seeds of different varieties ever more readily available from abroad, it can be worth giving a few of these more exotic crops a try. I have grown a number of them over the years on various sites – usually when they have been brought in as novelties by UK catalogues – and last year I put in all the different ones I could find. It was not the best year for sun-loving species in my north Midlands garden, but it certainly sorted the toughest from the really tender, and some still gave good results.

Adventurous cooking

You will get the most from these unusual crops if you are prepared to experiment not just in the garden but in the kitchen too. Think beyond the familiar: growing your own chickpeas for drying, for example, is rarely a good use of space, because yields are low and they are easy to buy. Freshly podded green chickpeas, however, are unlikely to be found in the supermarket, but are sweet and delicious. The plants’ tender young green shoots can also be used as spinach-like leafy greens. Both these alternative harvests can be made in shorter summers than it takes to produce dried seeds.

Even if they are less productive than traditional peas and beans, some of the alternative legumes make attractive edible additions to the garden. Among the most decorative are asparagus peas; with their compact habit and striking rusty red flowers, they can look good as a bed edging or in patio pots. Similarly, lablab beans are sometimes listed in catalogues as ornamentals because of their abundant clusters of purple and lilac flowers. I usually let two or three plants twine around with the cucumbers in my greenhouse – they give an eye-catching display and a bonus crop.
At the very least, it can be fascinating to bring some of the commonplace names to life – to discover what the chickpeas that go into hummus, or the soya beans that make soy sauce actually look like ‘in the green’.

Asparagus pea (Winged pea or bean)

Tetragonobulus purpureus. Native to southern Europe, these are relatively easy to grow and delicious. However, they give low yields, and are best value if you exploit their decorative appearance and long harvest period. The plants are low and spreading with downy foliage, bright rusty-red flowers, and wacky-looking ribbed pods. These are picked young and cooked whole by steaming for a few minutes or stir-frying.
Varieties
There are no named varieties, but asparagus peas are comparatively easy to find – mine came from Suffolk Herbs.
Sowing
Germination can be slow and erratic, so seeds are best sown in 5cm (2in) pots or modules during April in a greenhouse or May outdoors. Early growth can be slow; don’t over water them or the roots will rot.
Site and spacing
Asparagus peas need a sunny spot and well-drained soil. Space plants about 25-30cm (10-12in) apart each way. Keep well weeded at first, but plants will form a good ground cover once established. They are surprisingly hardy and healthy, and will go on flowering and podding until the first hard frost.
Harvest
Pick pods when young – later they develop a tough parchment layer which is impossible to chew and makes them unpleasant to eat. Usually this means that pods are harvested when only about 2.5cm (1in) long, but they can be longer under good growing conditions.

 

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