Pigeon pea – Cajanus cajun is a drought tolerant nitrogen fixing shrubby perennial legume that can live for about 5 years. It is widely grown in India, Africa and central america where it is a staple crop and also used for making dal. Also known as Congo peas, no-eye peas, red gram and gandules. It is also frost tender which makes it tricky to grow in the UK, with pods and seeds not usually forming in time as flowering is usually triggered by shortening day length just as the autumn frosts arrive. Last year we grew a number of plants which grew vigorously but didn’t flower and sadly were killed off by the frosts in January even with protection in the polytunnel. This year ( 2022) marks a second trial, this time with a northern adapted pigeon pea which is not so sensitive to day length and can flower and produce pods within 120 days of planting, giving it a much better chance of producing a harvest of seeds by early autumn.
We planted trial plants both outside and undercover in our polytunnel. The outdoor plants survived the long hot summer without any irrigation and have flowered profusely and produced just a tiny handful of pods. We may be lucky and get a few to ripen to save the seed. The plants grown undercover have flowered and produced numerous pods, many which have dried nicely. We have harvested the ripe seeds and there are still more to come, so should have a sizable amount to work with next year.
We will try and select the earliest flowering and most vigorous plants, and over time we hope to be able to offer our own seeds for sale. Pigeon peas can be picked while the peas are still green making it a drought tolerant alternative to regular pea crops. It also has the potential to be grown on until maturity and be processed as a dried pea and used as a lentil ( Toor dal in India is made from split pigeon peas). Seeds can also be sprouted before cooking.
As our summers get warmer, maybe there is a place for this legume to be grown more widely and provide a drought tolerant source of vegetable protein. Watch this space!