Cajanus Cajan
Pigeon pea would have to be one of the most versatile permaculture plants. I started growing this legume shrub in my garden because it improves soil fertility by fixing atmospheric nitrogen. But I soon discovered that pigeon pea has many more uses:
- It’s a staple food crop that provides good protein. You can use the green peas like fresh peas, and the dried peas like any other dried peas, beans or lentils. (In India they are actually one of the most popular pulses. Dhal is made from pigeon peas.) The peas can also be sprouted to make them even more nutritious, and they can be ground into flour.
- Leaves, flowers, seed pods and seed all make nutitious animal fodder. My chickens love the peas.
- The flowers attract bees.
- Pigeon peas can be frequently pruned for mulch.
- Every time you prune them (and also when the plant dies) the root nodules release nitrogen that can be used by other plants.
- Their open canopy shelters young, delicate plants, but lets enough light through for things to grow underneath.
- A hedge makes a good windbreak.
- Once established they self seed prolifically. Cut down the ones you don’t really want and use as mulch. Leave the ones that grow in the right spots.
- They can make a living trellis for climbers.
- They have a very deep tap root that is able to break through hard pans and improve the soil structure. It also brings nutrients from the subsoil to the surface.
- Apparently the wood makes really good firewood. (I haven’t tried that. A reader told me about it.) No, you don’t get huge logs for heating, just sticks, but they are great to make small, very hot fires,say for cooking.
That are a lot of uses out of one single plant, and there are probably more.
What Exactly Is Pigeon Pea?
The pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan, family fabaceae) is thought to have originated in India, where it is stillwidely grown as a food crop. It is also used extensively as a cover crop, green manure, inter crop etc. in many sustainable farming systems in the tropics and subtropics, and in many home gardens in warmclimates.
The plant is a short lived perennial shrub. It grows to two to four metres and lives for about five years. Theflowers are yellow or yellow and red. The leaves consist of three leaflets and are a dark green above and silvery underneath.
The fruits are pods, containing four to five seeds. The seeds can be a range of colours. Mine are light brown, but they can be cream, grey, purple or black, depending on the variety.
