|
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.
|
|
|
Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 1, 2022 11:59:29 GMT -6
That row looks beautiful. I agree about the flowers on cowpeas. They are absolutely gorgeous.
Climbing 9 foot poles sounds pretty rampant to me. I hope you have a great season with these and are able to have plenty for seed and for eating.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Aug 1, 2022 13:02:32 GMT -6
When grown without support this one is much more restrained.
Here's a picture of pods and seed.
|
|
|
Post by hmoosek on Aug 1, 2022 13:22:55 GMT -6
Good write up. I have a few seeds somewhere around here.
I need to order every cowpea sand hill has this year. Just to have on hand.
|
|
|
Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 2, 2022 13:17:31 GMT -6
Good write up. I have a few seeds somewhere around here. I need to order every cowpea sand hill has this year. Just to have on hand. Are you really going to order every cowpea Sand Hill has? I think their page said 43 varieties. They mentioned that Penny Rile (which they spell as one word Pennyrile) makes good eating pod and all like a yardlong bean. Do you ever eat them that way, macmex?
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Aug 2, 2022 13:19:24 GMT -6
I probably have, though I haven't grown them specifically for snaps. Most cowpeas seem to do okay as snaps if picked small.
|
|
|
Post by hmoosek on Aug 2, 2022 13:24:00 GMT -6
chrysanthemumWill I? Probably not. Would I like to? Yes, definitely! I like snaps in my fresh Shelly’s. I kind of frown if I don’t have any.
|
|
|
Post by woodeye on Aug 2, 2022 18:29:27 GMT -6
chrysanthemum Will I? Probably not. Would I like to? Yes, definitely! I like snaps in my fresh Shelly’s. I kind of frown if I don’t have any. moose, when you posted that you were going to order every cowpea variety they had, I went to look at all the kinds they have. I didn't order all of the varieties, but I did order these 3...
COWPEAS- Rattlesnake, Calcutta, Nicks Italian
|
|
|
Post by hmoosek on Aug 2, 2022 19:21:57 GMT -6
woodeyeI’ve Been out watering the peas. I also fixed a place for the Grey eyed beans. I need more string though. If I could find my bushcraft box, I know I have a bunch in there, but it might take me a month of Sundays to find it. Im going to go look at the varieties you ordered. I don’t know how many varieties that I already have, but it’s more than 20 and less than 50.
|
|
|
Post by hmoosek on Aug 2, 2022 19:42:27 GMT -6
woodeyeI think Nicks Italian might be a yard long type, but I’m not sure. I like the looks of the other 2 as well.
|
|
|
Post by woodeye on Aug 2, 2022 19:57:00 GMT -6
woodeye I think Nicks Italian might be a yard long type, but I’m not sure. I like the looks of the other 2 as well. That's true, it may be a yard long type, but the reason I wanted to try it because it is supposed to have black-eyed type peas. I love black-eyed peas, but for some reason here, the grasshoppers eat black-eyed peas way worse than other varieties. So I wanted to see if this one was not as tasty to grasshoppers, plus I like that it grows on tall vines...
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Jun 27, 2024 6:32:36 GMT -6
Here's a photo I should have added, here, long ago. It shows Penny Rile growing on corn. All cowpeas are beautiful in my opinion, but for some reason I am really drawn to this variety.
|
|