Grow tepary beans and cowpeas as dry-season protein crops that fix their own nitrogen, chickpeas where establishment moisture exists, and lentils where the season is short, and cook every dried bean thoroughly, since raw or undercooked dried beans can make people ill. Tepary beans come from the Sonoran Desert and cowpeas tolerate heat and drought. Store the dried seed in sealed, dry containers, because cowpea weevils and other seed pests breed in stored beans.
Drought-tolerant legumes are bean and pea crops that yield protein with little water and add nitrogen to the soil through root nodules.
Legumes Add Protein And Nitrogen To A Dry-Farmed Rotation
The carrier guide (Drought Resilience & Water-Efficient Agriculture) lists tepary beans (native to the Sonoran Desert, “one of the most drought-tolerant food crops on earth”, producing on 3-5 inches of rain), cowpeas (black-eyed peas; heat and drought tolerant, nitrogen-fixing, with edible pods and dried seeds), chickpeas (Mediterranean origin, dry-tolerant after establishment) and lentils (short season, maturing before peak summer drought in most climates).
The tepary figure of 3-5 inches (76-127 mm) of rain has no source in the carrier; rainfall needs vary with soil, timing and temperature. Treat it as an indication that the crop is among the least thirsty, not as a rule.
For the nitrogen they fix, see Nitrogen Fixation and Legumes.
What You Need
- Seed, preferably local.
- A warm soil for beans and cowpeas; chickpeas and lentils tolerate cooler.
- A weed-free bed.
- Dry storage in sealed vessels.
Method
Step 1: Sow after the last frost and when the soil has warmed (beans and cowpeas); sow lentils and chickpeas early where the season allows. Use your own frost record (Season Extension Crops).
Step 2: Space widely in dry conditions, and keep weeds down while plants are small.
Step 3: Check nodules at flowering by digging a plant and cutting a nodule; pink inside means it is fixing.
Step 4: Harvest when pods are dry, pull or cut the plants, finish drying, and thresh.
Step 5: Dry the seed fully and store it sealed to stop weevils and moulds.
Step 6: Leave the roots in the soil after harvest, so the nitrogen in them stays.
Common Mistakes
- Giving a legume rich nitrogen soil — it fixes less.
- Storing damp seed — mould.
- Eating beans under-cooked — see the safety note.
- Treating the figures as fixed — the 3-5 inches is unsourced.
Safety
Dried beans must be boiled thoroughly
Raw or undercooked dried beans of the Phaseolus genus, which includes common beans and tepary beans, contain a lectin that causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea. Soak them, discard the soaking water, and boil them vigorously for a good length of time until soft, not merely heated. Do not cook them only in a slow cooker at low heat.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Root Crops and Vegetables for Dry Conditions — the rest of the dry-land garden
- Combine with: Crop Rotation — placing legumes in the sequence