How to Grow African Locust Beans Canada
On this page
African locust beans (Parkia biglobosa) — Long-lived savanna tree.
African Locust Bean (Parkia biglobosa)
2 sources cited
Quick Facts
Soil & Growing Conditions
Harvest & Storage
African locust bean through the season
What the research guides add
This is a savanna tree, not a garden bean, and the World Agroforestry profile lists the limits it grows within.
- It occurs from tropical forests with high rainfall to arid zones where mean annual rainfall may be under 400 mm. Biophysical limits are altitude 0 to 300 m, rainfall 400 to 700 mm and mean annual temperature 24 to 28°C. (World Agroforestry (ICRAF))
- It prefers well-drained, deep, cultivated soils but is also found on shallow, skeletal soils and thick laterites; it is a fire-resistant heliophyte (a sun-loving plant). (World Agroforestry (ICRAF))
- Pods are about 45 cm long and may hold up to 30 seeds. The seeds are fermented to make dawadawa, a strong-smelling, high-protein food. (World Agroforestry (ICRAF))
African locust bean in Canada: climate data
| Station | Last spring frost | First fall frost | Frost-free days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton, AB | 24 May | 12 Sep | 110 |
| Winnipeg, MB | 23 May | 22 Sep | 121 |
| Charlottetown, PE | 16 May | 17 Oct | 153 |
| Toronto, ON | 30 Apr | 16 Oct | 168 |
| Vancouver, BC | 18 Mar | 10 Nov | 237 |
Frost dates and frost-free days are the median values for the stations in Environment and Climate Change Canada climate normals with the highest data-quality rating (1981–2010 normals).
Sources for this section
Section researched and checked on 25 October 2026 by the SoilCommander Editorial Team. How we check facts: editorial policy.
Last verified 2026-10-25
Growing African Locust Bean in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
Sources
The full list of 2 sources behind this guide (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa (PROTA), Useful Tropical Plants (tropical.theferns.info)) is in the references of our UK guide to african locust beans; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
What soil pH do african locust beans need?
A pH of about 4.5–5.5. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.
Plan next season before the problems start
Short-season growing is arithmetic before it is technique: days to maturity against frost-free days decides what will finish at all. The Canada Garden Planner does that subtraction for your region before you sow.
Get the Canada Garden Planner →Instant PDF download · Written for Canadian growing conditions
How this guide is put together
The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against Canadian hardiness-zone and frost-date data, with provincial agriculture and university extension sources cited directly where one exists for a crop. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.
Growing advice for your part of Canada
Timing and conditions change a lot inside one country. These guides cover frost dates and growing seasons region by region.
Where To Go From Here
Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.
Keep going
Plan the next step
Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.