Lentils
Companion plant herbs like summer savory, basil, or chives, which repel aphids.

Harvest: You’ll know that it’s time to start harvesting lentils when the plant turns yellow and the pods begin to turn brown. It’s similar to harvesting dried peas or beans. It takes 80-110 days to harvest lentils as a dried plant, though a few varieties take up to 130 days.

You also can eat and harvest lentils as a snap bean. If that’s your plan, harvest 70-80 days after sowing. They’ll still be green at this point, but they taste amazing.

When you harvest the lentils, be sure to hold the stem and gently pull the pod. You don’t want to snap the entire stem. You also could use gardening scissors to clip off the pods. If you plant to dry them, lay them out in the sun or in an area with good circulation in a single layer. You can also bundle and hang plants to dry, but if you go this route, be sure to cut the pods with a bit of stem attached. Thrash the lentils by rubbing them between your hands until the seed separates from the stem. Winnow the remaining seeds and chaff by turning on a fan and pouring the lentils from one buck to another until all the extra stuff blows away, leaving just the seeds.

Blue Butterfly Pea
This is a fast-growing tropical legume that is a stunning member of the garden. Butterfly pea plants can grow six to ten feet tall and spread slightly over three feet wide. The flowers can be dried as a soothing, nervine tea or added to clear liquors to produce a gorgeous purple, floral flavored drink. The purple liquor turns bright pink when citrus or tonic water is added.

Can be a a finicky germinator. The seeds have a thick, waxy outer coating that can make germination hard. When you’re starting butterfly pea seeds, nick each seed once with a knife and soak the seeds in warm water for 24 hours before planting.

When starting indoors, use a warming mat to start the seeds. Butterfly peas are a tropical plant. It germinates best in warm weather. Soil temperatures between 80-86°F produce the best and most consistent germination.

When the young plants are fully established and about six inches tall, transplant them outdoors after hardening them off.

Like many legumes, butterfly peas improve the soil themselves. These peas draw nitrogen from the atmosphere and build nutrients into the soil.

In fact, you can use butterfly peas as a cover crop, similar to clover, and rotate it through the garden to boost soil nutrients and improve the soil overall.

Allow about 8-10 inches between butterfly pea plants. While they can be left to trail along the ground, butterfly peas do best with something to climb on.

Butterfly peas need about 90 days between germination and flowering. Once flowering begins, it’s abundant and long-lasting. 

Once the flowers bloom, they’re harvestable for a day or two before starting to fade. Allow a few flowers to stay on the vine if you want to have pea-pods and seeds to save. Once the flowers are harvested, they’re easy to dry on a screen.

Let them sit in a dry place, out of the sun, until they’ve dried out. This usually takes about one to two weeks. Then, store them in a sealed jar.

The young pea pods are edible as well. Pick the pods while they are small and tender, then cook them before eating. They’re most often cooked in curries or tempered and fried. The pods are not very flavorful, though. They taste best when incorporated into flavorful Indian and Southeast Asian dishes.

Butterfly pea flowers, like daylily flowers or squash blossoms, can also be battered and fried. Lemon juice can add nuance to the light, floral flavor of the blossoms.

Can be dried for tea.