It is easy and simple to grow lentils.Be careful in buying seeds.Buy short season lentil seeds which are sowed in June and will be ready by end of August for harvesting.I believe one of seeds from the group you have mentioned is short season seeds.I had grown lentils few years before.It will grow to a height of 3 to 5 feet and has yellow flora and beans containing 4 seeds.I am posting the pic. of lentil plant from my file.Grow it like any legume plant.

Pic. of lentil plant.

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Pl. refer to: www.hort.purdue/newcorp/afcm/lentil/html for growing Lentils.

I can't imagine you get very many lentils when growing in a home garden. The time and space alone suggests buying organic lentils would be more economical. Unless you are talking about eating them fresh or eating them in the pods . . .

...or just doing it for fun. :-)

Jim

Chaman, I haven't grown lentils and don't really have the space for them, but that picture is gorgeous--what a handsome plant! I might tuck in a couple just for the flowers!

I never grew lentals and I wasn't sure they would even grow where I live, so I took a handfull out of a bag I had in my cupboard. I soaked them and planted them, probably around the middle of June.

They came up and became very pretty plants. Mine were much more delicate than bean plants. They grew about a 1 1/2 feet tall and had pretty white flowers.

The seeds seemed true to what I've been eating. One handfull gave about a pound back.

I do plant them but as a cover crop, with peas and winter rye. I didn't intend on getting any lentils, just hoping for some added nitrogen out of the deal. I grew both peas and lentils from the grocery store.

I have also sown old lentils as a cover crop in florida. They sprout and grow well is all I can say, and make good little greens for eating.

FYI Lentils are perennials in hot weather countries.

Interesting, Chaman. So are they normally cultivated that way, in permanent beds?

Normally not.However depending upon need some people do.The reason could be it will occupy the large chunk of land which may be needed for other crops.I have seen the pics. of Lentils as the hedge.I have seen some farmers planting Lentils in wider rows ( about 60 years ago) and trimming the shruby plants by the end of summer to plant the monsoon crops like Millet etc. between rows.Again by the end of monsoon Millets etc. will be harvested giving room for Lentils to grow.Things have changed by now and I have know idea what is going on now.

Lentils and millet would be a great rotation for my florida gardens, I think.

Yes.Lentils and millet or Lentils and corn will do good as rotation planting.Lentils (legumes) are N (Nitrogen) fixers where as Millet and Corn etc. are N consumers so the rotation will help the soil with even distribution of N.

Are Lentil leaves/stalks edible? Can they be cooked and eaten like pea shoots/tendrils?

I ate the young lentil greens.