Name: Prepper Garden: Garbanzo Harvesting
Uploaded: 2024-05-21T23:10:11+00:00
Duration: 10 min 49 s
Description: Garbanzo beans aka chickpeas can be considered one of the ultimate prepper staple foods. They are packed with protein, caloric horsepower, and can be used in numerous recipes. They are used to make so

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Garbanzo beans aka chickpeas can be considered one of the ultimate prepper staple foods. They are packed with protein, caloric horsepower, and can be used in numerous recipes.

They are used to make soups, stews, sandwich spread, etc. Some famous dishes are Indian Chana Masala and Greek Hummus. Also the young leaves are edible. Washing the leaves can remove any sour taste. Garbanzo beans are a legume. A legume combined with a grain makes a complete protein which feeds most of the planet.

Easy to grow by planting in a 5 gallon bucket with drain holes, raised bed, or in ground. You can find the organic seeds in the bulk section of the health food store. Seeds are planted directly in soil at 1 to 2 inch depth. Container 4 inches apart. Ground 3-6 inches apart. Rows 18-24 inches apart. No stake or trellis required.

Requires full sun and moderate water. Grows into a bush about 30-36 inches high. USDA grow zones 2 through 10b in the Spring. Zones 10b through 11 can plant in the Fall. Garbanzos can be picked green and eaten raw in salad or cooked. At maturity about 100 days, the plant will dry brown.

For the 3 step harvest process, first cut the pods from the tops of each tendril and separate the bulk of the plant. For threshing, put the dry plant on a sturdy flat plastic tray or tarp, stand on one end of the plant and shuffle over the rest of it with one foot. The pods crack open and separate from the stem.

Some place in a bag and step on bag, plus use metal screen on top of container with holes of screen large enough for beans to pass through while rubbing with hand.

Beans, chaff, and stems will remain for the winnowing. Place in bucket or tray, pour into second bucket or tray with natural wind or a house fan blowing away chaff and stems. The dry beans are now ready for storage.

One hundred square feet or 10 feet by 10 feet of garbanzo plants will produce about 5.5 pounds of beans. Using this figure you would need about 2,700 square feet to produce 150 pounds of beans, enough for one person for one year.