Post by macmex on Aug 1, 2022 11:46:00 GMT -6
This is a cowpea (Southern pea) which I've grown since the mid 90s. I can't lay hands on the documentation at the moment but my memory says that I got it from Frank Martin, a retired Border Patrol agent who had grown up in Kentucky. Might have been the same fellow I got Flossie Powell Lima from. He told me that his parents had survived the Great Depression, in part because they grew this particular cowpea in great quantity. They didn't even take time to shell out the seed in the fall, but rather yanked the plants and stuffed them into a room in their barn. Then, during the winter, they'd shell the seed for food. I grew this pea in Hidalgo, Mexico for a number of years, where it did well for me. I grew it in NJ, and it did well for me. I've grown it in Oklahoma and it has always done well for me. Yet there have been times I've nearly lost the seed. Why? Simply because I get so behind on other plantings that I neglect to plant my cowpeas!
This year I have two cowpeas planted, both got in fairly late. I need to replenish seed. In the future, however, I should plant these wonderful peas all over the place, before the weeds take over. They're about as perfect for our climate as a plant can be!
Here's a picture of some seedlings coming up. (Sown on July 20)
Here's a shot of the row.
Penny Rile is what is called a Cream Pea. The seed isn't particularly flashy. It's just beige colored. The plants are not super rampant, but I've had them climb poles to 9'. The flowers, like some other cowpeas, are absolutely gorgeous, yet extremely difficult to photograph.
I sent seed to Sandhill Preservation Center and they have been offering it for many years now.
This year I have two cowpeas planted, both got in fairly late. I need to replenish seed. In the future, however, I should plant these wonderful peas all over the place, before the weeds take over. They're about as perfect for our climate as a plant can be!
Here's a picture of some seedlings coming up. (Sown on July 20)
Here's a shot of the row.
Penny Rile is what is called a Cream Pea. The seed isn't particularly flashy. It's just beige colored. The plants are not super rampant, but I've had them climb poles to 9'. The flowers, like some other cowpeas, are absolutely gorgeous, yet extremely difficult to photograph.
I sent seed to Sandhill Preservation Center and they have been offering it for many years now.
