Jim's Favorite Garden Cowpeas Vegetable Seeds

Cowpea Seeds

Useful gardening information

Cowpea is one of the most ancient crops known to man. Its origin and subsequent domestication is associated with pearl millet and sorghum in Africa. It is now a broadly adapted and highly variable crop, cultivated around the world primarily for seed, but also as a vegetable (for leafy greens, green pods, fresh shelled green peas, and shelled dried peas), a cover crop and for fodder. Cowpea has a number of common names, including crowder pea, black-eyed pea and southern pea.

All cultivated cowpea varieties are considered warm season and adapted to heat and drought conditions. Cowpeas typically reach a canopy height of 30 to 36 inches, although the more determinate bush types may reach only 24 inches. The seed pods are borne above the leaf axil, making the pods very visible. The seed pod is typically 3 to 6 inches long and has 6 to 13 seeds per pod. The seed weight per bushel is 60 pounds with about 3,000 to 4,000 seeds per pound. The germination of the seed is rapid at soil temperatures above 65° F.

Sowing Instructions

Plant cowpeas outdoors directly in the garden after last frost date. Germination is improved when soil temperature is above 65 F. Cowpeas require a long growing season with 4 months of warm days. They are drought resistant and basically can grow anywhere corn can grow. Plants can grow 8 to 36" tall. Do not plant in cold wet soil or you may experience poor germination.

Informative articles found on the web:

How to grow Cowpeas
Black-eyed Peas and Rice Recipe
Black-eyed Baby Cakes Recipe
More Cowpea Recipes

Seeds

TST052 Big Red Ripper

Good flavored table pea with 10 in. pods containing as many as 18 large peas per pod! Use fresh or dried. Reddish-green pods are borne high and are easy to see in the foliage.
Resistant to very hot, dry summers. Vigorous, sprawling vines.

1 pound pack $24.95

TST166 Pinkeyed Purple Hull

Considered to be one of the most delicious cowpeas, we look forward each summer to the first harvest and cooking of these peas. Vigorous bush type to semi-vining plant grows 18-24 inches tall.
Pods turn purple at shell stage, are 6 to 7 inches long, and slightly above foliage. Peas light green with red eye at green shell stage, turn white with maroon eye when dry. Medium size, rounded on ends. Good producer. 63-65 days.

TST167 Top Pick Pinkeyed Purple Hull

Grows on semi-bushy plants that can reach anywhere from 1' to 2' tall. The 1/2" long pods grow in clusters at the top of green, leafy stems, and contain 10 to 13 small beans. Pea pods mature from a light green to a medium-purple color. They are harvested at both the immature and mature stages, and some are left on the plant to begin the drying process. The young peas are harvested when the pods are green and the peas are small and just a shade lighter than the hull itself. As the pods mature, the peas grow larger and turn a creamy white color. The rounded, slightly kidney-shaped beans have a pink “eye” where they connect to the pod. As the peas mature, the eye becomes darker and turns a bright magenta color. The pods are picked for shelling when they are a pale purple. Top Pick Pinkeye Purple Hull peas are said to have a superior taste to other pinkeye varieties; somewhat sweet and earthy. 50 days.