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Post by woodeye on Jul 3, 2023 7:14:40 GMT -6
Finally! It has been at least 10 years since I've been able to say "the cowpeas are blooming". This picture shows the #1 reason I built the Iron Curtain. They are not blossoming heavily yet, but the number of blossoms is increasing each day. At least they have a chance this year. Yay!
These are Top Pick Purple Hull Cowpeas...
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Post by rdback on Jul 3, 2023 9:27:15 GMT -6
Wow woodeye! You're gonna have a mess of cowpeas, lol. I love 'em too. I have moved to growing pole varieties, since the back ain't what it used to be. Your plants look great!
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Post by FrostyTurnip on Jul 3, 2023 15:43:08 GMT -6
They look fantastic!
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 3, 2023 22:29:53 GMT -6
Those look just great, Woodeye. Your plant photos always look so intensely green. Wow. Good job.
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Post by woodeye on Jul 7, 2023 8:58:00 GMT -6
Thank you, ladies. I took a picture from the north end of the Iron Curtain yesterday afternoon. It shows that there was not any washouts from the rain yesterday morning. I haven't been able to go out there yet this morning, I'm hoping for the same results after the rain I got this morning. The cowpeas are blossoming lots more now and I hope for a decent crop. I have time, theoretically at least, to have a second sowing when these are done. I'm going to try some Top Pick Cream Cowpeas next because of the speed of them maturing. Next year I plan to grow out several vining cowpeas in addition to the bush varieties that I have planted this year. The short part of a row on the right is Ozark Razorback cowpeas, with Heavy Hitter Okra plants in between the cowpea plants. I was backed up all the way to the north end of the Iron Curtain, so this picture doesn't show all of the okra and cowpeas in that row. There are 7 okra stalks in the row. (going to be late to produce pods)
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Post by macmex on Jul 7, 2023 9:40:11 GMT -6
We need a "love button" to hit on this one! That's sure encouraging!
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Post by woodeye on Jul 7, 2023 11:16:12 GMT -6
Thank you, George. I gotta agree, seeing cowpeas doing well makes it all worth it.
I forgot to mention that I had used up all of the bagged wood chip mulch I had and there was just half of the row mulched. It was about a week before I managed to go to Chandler to buy a couple more bags and during that week the half of the row that had been mulched grew fast. The plants were almost twice as big as the half of the row that I had not mulched. The second half of plants is catching up now, but it was a valuable lesson for me to see how much the cowpeas enjoy being mulched...
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 7, 2023 20:21:43 GMT -6
Woodeye,
I zoomed in on your pea vine photos. WOW! Look at all of those blooms!
Back when I used to grow custom orders for restaurants, I had a chef that wanted me to harvest black-eyed pea pods at the 'wooden match stick' phase. He paid a premium price per pound, so it made them worthwhile to grow just for him. Before I got that order, it never occurred to me to eat them at that stage. They are better than green beans when they are so young that the seeds have not begun swelling yet. Melt in your mouth tender and sweet too.
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Post by woodeye on Jul 7, 2023 20:56:27 GMT -6
That sounds great, heavyhitterokra. I am now wishing I had made the 4th row inside the Iron Curtain this year. At the time I made the rows, I was not enthused about gardening at all and figured I had made more rows that I needed. The enthusiasm is back, but there's not enough enough room for the row because I spaced out the other rows extra wide. IF I had made that 4th row, I'd plant it full length in cowpeas. I will try some of the small pea pods that way, I'm sure they are a delicacy...
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Post by woodeye on Jul 12, 2023 9:57:27 GMT -6
An update on the cowpeas, they are still just a' gettin' it, still blossoming and setting pods. I had hoped that they would get the blossoming out of their system so that they would all mature in time for me to plant a crop of Top Pick cream cowpeas in their place. I'm still hoping to, but it will depend on how soon the first frost gets here this fall as to whether I can squeeze in another crop or not. Oh, I got rid of the black aphids for now, will keep a close eye on the plants for future infestations.
 The north end of the row, I installed a trellis for the cucumbers to climb up. I had planted the cucumbers quite awhile ago, but they never grew much until I mulched them.
 The south end of the row, I drove a t-post for some cowpeas to climb, I'm not sure what variety the climbers are, I hope they know.
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Post by woodeye on Jul 19, 2023 8:17:20 GMT -6
And we have Purple Hull Cowpeas in the house! Mama deer hasn't gotten to eat any of them this year. 
There will be more to pick tomorrow morning, but I can tell that the vines are starting to fade now, 100°+ temps is accelerating their demise. But that's okay, at least I'll have some peas for a few suppers...Yay!
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Post by FrostyTurnip on Jul 19, 2023 9:55:46 GMT -6
Those look wonderful! I’m so happy the fence is working. You put so much effort into it.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 20, 2023 5:40:49 GMT -6
That’s great news, Woodeye. That looks like a good-sized mess of beans. Please give us an update after you’ve shelled them.
Did you ever make a bean shelling/counting tray for yourself?
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Post by woodeye on Jul 20, 2023 6:40:48 GMT -6
That’s great news, Woodeye. That looks like a good-sized mess of beans. Please give us an update after you’ve shelled them. Did you ever make a bean shelling/counting tray for yourself?
I'll shell them all and post a picture of the finished product.
This picture is the 2nd picking. The grasshoppers are starting to work them over more now, so I'm picking them just a tad bit greener than I usually do, but it's either that or have more grasshopper damage, so I'm opting for harvesting them like this. As long as the peas feel a bit loose in the pod, they're ripe enough, regardless of the purple pod color.
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Post by woodeye on Jul 20, 2023 6:51:48 GMT -6
Those look wonderful! I’m so happy the fence is working. You put so much effort into it. |
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