A new article on SFGate provides step-by-step instructions on how to grow chickpeas in your own garden year-round, including directions on how to plant the seeds 1-2 inches deep and 3-6 inches apart, as well as strategies for watering and fertilizing the plants. The most important step is to plant another batch of chickpeas every month, which will ensure a continual harvest.
Note that these instructions were written with the San Francisco climate in mind — the continual growing and harvesting would not work in a region with freezing winters. However, it is possible to start the chickpeas indoors in peat pots and then transplant the pots outdoors about two weeks before the last expected spring frost.
Chickpeas take about 100 days from seed to harvest, and are perfect for a Mediterranean climate where they can grow outdoors year-round. Dried chickpeas store well for a year.
