David Hare-Scott wrote:

Does anybody have any experience of growing lentils and pulses? What
climate do they work well in? Of the hundreds of varieties do any suit a
warm temperate region with hot humid summers? How about soil type?

they grow a lot of lentils in Canada so i would guess
they'd grow in a wide range of climates. my own one year
attempt at them didn't get any results. i think they
were overgrown by the surrounding plants. i liked the
plant itself though.

i've grown a large variety of dry beans.

most seem to need pretty good soil and regular
moisture (shallow root structure) to produce well and
i don't think they do particularly well at high
temperatures. too much late season rain is a real
bugger for dry bean production (sometimes i have to
pick them when they are close to being done and dry
them inside).

the pinto bean works well here. it seems more
tolerant of poorer soils.

if you have enough moisture through the summer to keep
plants alive then you could try adzuki, edamame soy, mung,
chick peas, blackeyed peas, as i think these will all
out-produce lentils for the same space. these need a
little longer season than what i have here and will like
a dry spell to finish.

if you want to try to get a crop in before the hot
season hits i'd try field peas, some are edible at pod,
seed and dry stage making them a very useful alternative.
i have some soup peas that will finish that quickly too
but the pods aren't as good.


songbird