Growing Asparagus Pea, also Winged bean

Lotus tetragonobolus : Fabaceae / the pea or legume family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
    P P P P            

(Best months for growing Asparagus Pea in Australia - tropical regions)

  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 15°C and 20°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 20 - 25 cm apart
  • Harvest in 8-11 weeks. Pick early, pick often.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Best grown in separate bed

Your comments and tips

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23 Dec 13, P Chinn (Australia - temperate climate)
When do you grow Asparagus Pea in Perth?....would our dry hot summer be suitable or do I wait for Autumn?
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19 Nov 13, Taya (Canada - Zone 6a Temperate Warm Summer climate)
Dear Gardener: I live in Vancouver zone 6, can you tell me where can i find Winged bean in my area.
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15 Oct 13, Angel (Australia - temperate climate)
Hey, fellow Melbournians, if you have had success growing the winged beans, can you please give me some tips on how to get mine going? I have been trying to germinate my seeds and not been successful. I have soaked them for a day or two until they swell but they don't seem to be sprouting yet. It's been a couple of weeks :-( I even have a controlled environment for them in a heat tray! What do you guys do?
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24 Mar 13, Rana hay (New Zealand - temperate climate)
The seed packet indicates they can be seeded in late Summer or early Autumn. I live in Hamilton which I consider to be a cool temperate zone. Can I seed in April? Rana hay
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03 Nov 12, Dirk Visser (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Asparagus Pea: I'd like to contact distributors of this seed in South Africa, as well as any information on theveg.
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16 Aug 19, Howard Rees (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Hi Dirk, If you have found this Asparagus Pea seed in South Africa please let me know. [email protected] or cel 0824478509 Thank You!
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22 Aug 12, Thomas Ting (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Hi, can we grow tropical Psophocarpus tetragonolobus Goa bean in Hamilton NZ?
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13 Aug 12, Diane (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
The Asparagus pea is a totally edible plant: leaves, flowers, bean pods as well as the roots. I knew them from the Highlands of PNG as a child. I remember well chatting to a Native gardener as he tended his garden. He told me if you want the bean pods, leave the flowers and the beans will grow. If you want the roots to develop, pick the flowers and eat them, but you get no beans. I loved the roots when cooked by the natives. Im not 100% sure but I think it was in the ground oven. His wing bean plants were tall and supported by sapling poles formed into a teepee shape. The flowers were pale and pretty in the pink-mauve-blue type shade, not red. The Highland's temperature was an even 20C to 22C almost year round with wet and dry seasons. Im keen to grow them in NZ as soon as I get them from King Seeds. I'd really like to get the seed from the PNG plants though...
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02 Aug 12, Kate (Australia - arid climate)
The page refers to 'lotus tetragonolobus' as being asparagus pea, but other web sites have indicated it is 'psophocarpus tetragonolobus' which is asparagus pea. Are they the same? If not are they interchangeable? Do they grow in the same conditions? Wikipedia indicates that only the pod of the lotus version is edible and pretty much all of the psophocarpus version is edible. Can you confirmed?
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05 Aug 12, Chris (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
There is confusion between the two. The 'Lotus' variety (aka purpurea) grows in cooler climates and just the pods are edible. Seedsavers suggest it originated in Africa. The 'Psophocarpus' variety is a tropical plant and most of it is edible. Wikipedia suggests it originated in New Guinea.
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Showing 81 - 90 of 120 comments
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I believe beans (winged beans or winged peas as they are called) are medium rooting depth --> that is 18" to 24". You can go online and search for rooting depth of vegetables and you'll get a table that shows: very shallow, shallow, medium, deep and, very deep rooted vegetables. Where very shallow is under 12" , shallow: 12"-18", medium 18"-24", deep 24"-36", very deep 36+". This is also what they call the EFFECTIVE root zone -- so in reality the plant can go deeper. Tomatoes are deep or very deep rooted (and tend toward the 36+" side) -- but many people grow them in containers that are about 18" deep -- the growth is a bit stunted, but other than that they look fine. So when you see that beans like about 24" of depth, that does not mean you can't successfully grow them in a 15" deep pot. I have found that VOLUME of soil is more important than total depth (it's a bit of a give and take) -- but lets say a 10" deep half barrel would be better suited for winged beans than a 24" deep narrow fluted container. Plants sent out roots to collect the necessities of life; water, macro nutrients (N, P, K, calcium etc.) and micronutrients (boron, iron, zinc etc.) - the roots also provide stability. Beans fix their own nitrogen but still need all the other nutrients and I have found benefit greatly from an application of micro nutrients. Whatever container size or shape you choose you need to ensure all the necessities of life are available for the plant; good aeration in the soil (look at orchid pots if you want to understand really good aeration), enough water, nutrients in a timely fashion. A small pot with little soil volume will need to have nutrition added regularly, as the plant will quickly use up all the supplies available in the soil. Further, I have found that pots with a lot of surface area give me plenty of room to top up the plant with compost or manure -- if you don't have room to top up the soil you need to use liquid fertilizers (like making you own leachate - or buying some commercial fertilizers). I remember when I wanted a container garden (my first ever container garden in the city - having always planted plants directly in the soil as containers tend to be expensive) -- anyhow, I learned the hard way HOW FAST the nutrients get used up in containers -- containers tend to require a lot of amendments (fertilizer) compared to plants in the soil for two reasons: 1. plants in the soil can send their roots out further scooping up nutrients, and using what is already there -- like minerals from rocks 2. nutrients tend to also LEACH out of containers when you water; and you are less likely to leach out your nutrients even in raised beds as you need have "run off" to do so. Hope this helps with your decision on size and shape of your pot !!!

- Celeste Archer

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