Lentils are a super food that contains large amounts of protein. Fortunately, lentils are easy to grow and care for. Start by preparing quality dried beans or lentils. Plant these beans in a container or garden that gets plenty of sun and plenty of water. If you're lucky, you can harvest them in about 100 days.
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Part 1 of 3: Choosing a Planting Location
Step 1. Prepare dried seeds or lentils
Sometimes it's not easy to find packaged lentil seeds in a farm store. Maybe you should visit a specialty retailer or buy organic lentil seeds online. However, if you simply want to grow them, you can use whole, dried lentil seeds sold at the grocery store.
Broken lentils will not grow. So, make sure you choose whole seeds
Step 2. Rinse and sort the seeds
Put the seeds in a colander and rinse with water. Remove and discard seeds that are damaged, cracked, or discolored.
Step 3. Plant at the start of the rainy season
Lentils thrive in areas with cool weather, and will reach maturity when the weather is warm. For lentil seeds to survive, the soil temperature should not be below 4 degrees Celsius when you plant them. If you live in the highlands and it's very cold in your area when you're done planting, don't worry. Under these conditions lentil seeds will be able to live even though the plant must start growth from its root system.
If you want to grow them without worrying about the weather, grow lentils indoors by keeping the room temperature at around 20 degrees Celsius. If the weather is very cold, you can use indoor garden lights to keep the temperature consistent
Step 4. Choose a location that is sunny and has good drainage
Lentils do well in open gardens or in containers. The key is to place the plant in an area that gets a lot of full sun. It's a good idea to place it next to a plant that doesn't grow tall enough so it doesn't block sun exposure. Make sure the soil stays moist, but don't get too waterlogged, as this can rot the roots.
- If you are growing it in a container, use a container that is at least 20 cm deep so that the roots can fully grow and reach full maturity.
- If you're concerned that the soil is too acidic or alkaline, do a soil pH test. Purchase a test kit at a farm shop. Lentils do well in soils that have a pH between 6.0 to 6.5.
Part 2 of 3: Growing Lentils
Step 1. Apply special treatment before planting it with inoculant
Before you plant lentil seeds, sprinkle or spray a mixture of healthy bacteria (also called an inoculant, which can be purchased at a farm store) on the lentil seeds. You can use the inoculant commonly used for peas and chickpeas. This pre-planting treatment can cause lentil seeds to grow nodules or extensions on the roots. This makes lentils more resistant to weather changes and produces a better crop.
Step 2. Plant the seeds with a depth of at least 3 cm
If the soil is moist with good conditions, plant the seeds to a depth of about 3 cm. If the soil is dry at the top, plant the seeds a maximum of 6 cm deep. Don't go any deeper than this because lentil seeds won't grow if you plant them too deep.
Step 3. Follow the planting plan
If using a container, plant the seeds with a distance of at least 3 cm between each seed. If you plant them in rows, also follow these guidelines and leave the rows about 15 cm apart. With this planting method, you can harvest about kg of dry lentils for every 30 square meters).
Part 3 of 3: Caring for Lentil Plants
Step 1. Give a trellis to mature plants
Lentils that have grown up can reach a height of about 80 cm. If the stem droops, the flowers and seeds may fall off or touch the ground. The trellis is used as a support and to wrap the stems of the plant between the gaps of the trellis. You can also support the plant using bamboo that is interwoven with cotton threads.
To make a quick trellis, prepare a few sticks of bamboo, then stick them into the soil near the lentils. Tie the lentil stalks to the bamboo using cotton thread. Next, join the bamboo sticks with the other stems using cotton or nylon thread
Step 2. Water the lentils twice a week
Like other heat-loving plants, lentils can survive in dry conditions. However, lentils will grow best if you water them until they look moist. When you press your finger into the soil, the soil should feel moist with no water pooling in the area where you were pressed.
Step 3. Weed and clean the lentil growing area regularly
Lentils can die quickly and become covered in weeds that compete for food. To prevent this from happening, take time each week to clear weeds from the planting area. When the lentils have grown on top of one another, do the pruning for a good yield.
Smooth air circulation will also reduce the possibility of fungus and other diseases growing in overcrowded soil
Step 4. Get rid of pests
Aphids (small pear-like insects that suck plant sap) are attracted to lentils and can eat them. If you encounter aphids, spray the pests with water until they are removed from the plant. If beetles are present on the lentil plant, cut off the affected plant parts and dispose of them quickly.
If deer or other animals are intruding on the lentil growing area, fence it or place a mosquito net over the top of the plant
Step 5. Harvest lentils about 80 to 100 days after planting
Go to the planting area, then cut the lentils above ground level when the lower third of the wrapper crackles when shaken. The color also looks yellow-brown. Next, peel off the skin and remove the lentil seeds. Let the seeds dry a little before you rinse them.
