How To Develop and Take care of Black-Eyed Pea Crops

Cowpeas have a protracted historical past and are beloved in lots of cultures. They originated in Africa, and within the southern US, it’s stated they carry good luck in the event you eat them on New 12 months’s Day! Whether or not you eat them for luck or for taste, it’s possible you’ll wish to plant this wholesome crop in your backyard.

These drought-tolerant “p eas” are a sun-loving crop you possibly can develop by way of the summer time. They’ll add nitrogen to your soil and produce beans all summer time lengthy. There are totally different varieties to select from, so be happy to experiment to determine which sort you want greatest!

Let’s check out methods to develop cowpeas so you possibly can add them to your backyard!

Fast Care Information

Frequent Identify(s)	Cowpeas, black-eyed pea, crowder peas, southern peas, area peas
Scientific Identify	Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata
Days to Harvest	80+ days
Gentle	6+ hours of full solar
Water	A minimum of 1 inch per week
Soil	Nicely-draining, fertile soil with a pH of 6.0+
Fertilizer	Typically pointless, or 5-10-10
Pests	Aphids, bean leaf beetles, cornstalk borers, cowpea curculios, inexperienced stink bugs, Mexican bean beetles, root knot nematodes, weevils
Ailments	Bacterial canker, cercospora leaf spot, cowpea mosaic virus, fusarium wilt, powdery mildew, rust

All About Cowpeas

Close-up of a Vigna unguiculata plant in the garden. The plant climbs with its vines along the constructed trellises. The plant has large oval dark green leaves with pointed tips and long narrow green pods that contain 10-15 small seeds. — Cowpeas are beans are grown worldwide, primarily used for his or her seeds and for bettering soil well being.

You most likely know Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata as cowpeas or black-eyed peas. They’re really beans – not peas – however most different nicknames for this plant confer with them as peas. They have been first grown in west Africa however at the moment are grown in lots of locations all through the world. Within the US, they’re related to the southern states as a result of they want a protracted, heat rising season.

Cowpeas are available bush and vine varieties. Bush crops sometimes develop 1-2 ft tall, and vining varieties can attain round 3 ft. Bean pods develop in clusters of 2-3 and might attain as much as 10 inches lengthy. The pods can are available quite a lot of colours, together with inexperienced, purple, or yellow.

The kidney-shaped beans will be white, cream, inexperienced, black, or red-brown, or a mixture of these colours. They usually have a darker colour within the center to create a watch, therefore the “black-eyed pea” title.

Cowpeas are a southern pea normally grown for the seeds, however the pods and leaves may also be cooked and eaten. They’re additionally grown in summer time cowl crop mixtures to enhance soil well being and soil tilth, or they’re grown as fodder for animals. Worldwide manufacturing of cowpea varieties tops out at hundreds of thousands of tons yearly.

Kinds of Cowpeas

Close-up of the ripening pods of the cowpea plant in the garden. The plant has climbing vines with large oval green leaves. The pods are long, thin, green. — Vigna unguiculata has edible catjang and yardlong bean varieties, together with subsp. textilis.

Vigna unguiculata accommodates a number of totally different styles of beans. Subsp. biflora is catjang or sow-pea, which is thought for its shrubby development behavior. Although it’s usually grown as fodder for animals, it’s edible and scrumptious. These beans are additionally helpful as cowl crops.

Subsp. sesquipedalis is named the yardlong bean, asparagus bean, and Chinese language long-bean. It will get its title from being lengthy; pods can develop as much as 3 ft, though they’re normally 1.5 ft. This selection is believed to have originated from southeast Asia.

The cowpea cultivar subsp. textilis isn’t as common nowadays, but it surely was as soon as used for its fibers to make rope and materials. These beans may also be nice cowl crops for bettering soil well being and weed management too.

Planting Cowpeas

Close-up of small sprouts of a cowpea plant growing in moist soil. The sprouts have vertical thin pale green stems with two tiny oval smooth green leaves. — Plant cowpea seeds outside in heat, well-draining soil with direct daylight, 1-2 inches deep.

Cowpeas want heat climate and don’t transplant properly, so that you’ll have to sow dried peas outdoors after the hazard of frost has handed and the soil temperature is constantly above 65°F. The time of yr in your cowpea planting will differ relying on the place you reside, however it would possible be between April and June.

The video above walks by way of a number of strategies of rising beans vertically.

Plant your cowpea seed in an space with well-draining soil that can get direct daylight for no less than 6 hours. Plant the seeds with the attention dealing with down 1-2 inches deep with not more than 8 crops per 1 foot in a row and 30 inches between rows. Cowpeas develop properly in containers with trellises, so that you’re not simply restricted to the bottom!

A cowpea planting that features succession planting will can help you get a continuing harvest fairly than getting most of your beans without delay.

Plant seeds outdoors each two weeks in the course of the planting season so you possibly can stagger the crops. You possibly can interplant them amongst different crops which are good companions, like pearl millet or wheat.

Caring For Cowpeas

Cowpeas develop fairly simply in the event you give them sufficient daylight. Let’s have a look at how one can make these “peas” glad and have fast development!

Solar and Temperature

Close-up of a growing cowpea plant in a sunny garden. The bushes are lush, have climbing vines covered with large oval green leaves with oblong narrowed tips. The pods are long, narrow, green and contain about 10 small edible seeds. — Cowpeas want heat climate and 6-8 hours of direct daylight.

Like different beans, cowpeas want plenty of sunny climate and solely develop within the heat season. They are often grown in USDA zones 5-10 and might solely be grown as perennials in zones 7-10.

They want a naked minimal of 6 hours of direct gentle, however in the event you can present them with 8 hours or extra, you’ll get higher outcomes and better yields.

Soil temperatures needs to be 65°F or hotter, however keep away from letting it get too sizzling, or the crops received’t set pods anymore. If the soil temperature goes over 90°F, think about using a shade fabric in the course of the hottest a part of the day.

Water and Humidity

A close-up of a growing cowpea plant in a garden, climbing a trellis. The plant has climbing vines with large, oval, dark green leaves with pointed tips. The soil is moist at the base of the plant. — To advertise deep root development, water cowpeas when the soil is dry.

Cowpeas want a bit of larger moisture than some crops do, with no less than 1 inch of water per week, and can possible want extra on hotter days. Water your cowpeas when the soil is dry, and provides them an excellent soak to encourage deep root development.

Keep away from getting their leaves moist or letting the water type puddles to forestall ailments. Make sure you monitor the soil moisture of your crops so the crops don’t get too moist or dry.

Soil

Cowpea crops like nutrient-rich soil with a impartial or barely alkaline pH. Ensure that the soil has a pH of 6.0 or larger, or your cowpea plant received’t be pleased with the acidity.

The soil must be well-draining, so it received’t cling onto an excessive amount of moisture. Loamy or barely sandy soil will work properly for cowpeas.

In the event you can present your crops with loads of natural supplies, like compost, from the beginning, it’s possible you’ll not have to fertilize your crops in any respect.

Fertilizing Cowpeas

Close-up of young Cowpea sprouts growing in two rows near a trellis in a garden. The plant has erect stems with medium oval smooth leaves of bright green color. The soil is strewn with small black fertilizer granules. — Restrict nitrogen fertilizer on cowpeas, as this could result in extra leaves and fewer beans.

Cowpeas are nitrogen-fixing, that means they create nitrogen and return it to the soil. In the event you fertilize your cowpeas, keep away from giving them an excessive amount of nitrogen, or they’ll develop too many leaves and never sufficient beans!

As talked about within the final part, it’s possible you’ll not should fertilize your crops in any respect if there are sufficient vitamins within the soil from natural matter. In case your soil lacks vitamins, nonetheless, you possibly can feed your crops an all-purpose fertilizer that’s low in nitrogen, like a 5-10-10 or 3-5-5 fertilizer. You’ll most likely solely have to fertilize them as soon as once they’re younger since they aren’t heavy feeders.

Pruning & Coaching Cowpeas

Close-up of young Cowpea bushes growing near the trellis in the garden. The bushes are low, lush, have large, oval green leaves with pointed tips. The soil is covered with straw mulch. — You possibly can take away broken components of cowpea crops and help vining cowpeas with trellises.

Pruning isn’t vital for cowpeas, however you possibly can take away broken or diseased leaves and stems. If leaves are touching the bottom and look sickly, eradicating them will forestall the illness from spreading.

Vining cowpeas will should be supported by a trellis or different form of help. Bush varieties may profit from a trellis, however they received’t want it just like the vining varieties do.

Cowpea Propagation

The tried-and-true methodology of planting cowpea seeds is admittedly the one propagation methodology you’ll want, particularly since they’re sometimes grown as annual crops in most areas. Enable a number of pods to dry on the plant. Harvest the dried seeds and save them to plant subsequent yr.

Harvesting and Storing Cowpeas

Now, for the necessary half: getting the cowpeas onto your plate! There are a number of other ways you possibly can harvest and retailer your beans (or peas).

Harvesting Cowpeas

Close-up of a male hand plucking the pods of Cowpea leguminous plants against a blurred background of a sunny garden. Pods are thin, long, green, contain 10-15 small edible seeds. — Harvest cowpeas when the pods are 6-10 inches lengthy, both immature or dry.

You possibly can select to reap inexperienced pods (which are literally immature pods) or wait till all of the beans are dry on the plant. You may even harvest someplace in between.

Cowpeas are prepared when the pods are 6-10 inches lengthy, agency, and inexperienced. You possibly can decide the pods proper off the plant or minimize them with scissors.

If you wish to wait till the beans are dry, you possibly can depart them on the plant till each pod is dried. Then, minimize the plant on the base and cling the plant the wrong way up for a number of days to verify they’re positively dry. Take away the seeds from the seed pods and retailer them.

Storing Cowpeas

Top view, closeup of cowpeas seeds in a large wooden box. Seeds are firm, oval, cream-colored with a smooth shiny surface and with a black halo on each seed. — Retailer dried cowpeas in an hermetic container in a cool, dry place.

Dried beans (technically dry seed) needs to be saved in an hermetic container in a cool, dry place. Ensure that moisture can’t get to the beans, otherwise you’ll danger getting them moldy.

In the event you decide the pods whereas they’re inexperienced, you possibly can retailer them in containers or freezer luggage within the freezer for a number of months. Ensure that the beans don’t have extra moisture on them in order that they received’t flip into an ice block. You can too retailer cooked cowpeas in an identical method and they need to additionally have the ability to final for a number of months.

Troubleshooting

You might have some issues whereas rising cowpeas, so let’s speak about them! A lot of them will be prevented if you realize what to look out for.

Rising Issues

Vigna unguiculata on agricultural land. Close-up of a young plant with large, elongated, oval, bright green leaves with smooth edges. The leaves have small pale green and brownish spots. — Verify soil temperature, alter moisture ranges, and keep away from extra nitrogen from earlier crops.

There are a lot of the reason why your cowpea crops don’t produce pods. First, verify the soil temperature. Temperatures under 65°F or above 90°F aren’t perfect and are prone to trigger the crops to cease producing pods. Frost covers and shade covers will help you right the temperatures.

If the soil temperature isn’t the issue, verify the water state of affairs. Soil that’s too dry or moist may cause many issues and stress out the plant. Alter moisture ranges as wanted.

An excessive amount of nitrogen might be an issue in the event you’ve grown legumes in the identical spot as cowpeas inside the final three years or in the event you gave your crops an excessive amount of fertilizer this yr. You possibly can absorb nitrogen by planting leafy greens between your beans and including a layer of wooden chip mulch. Rotate your beans with different crops annually to forestall nitrogen from build up.

Pests

Close-up of a Mexican bean beetle on a leaf, against a blurred green background. The Mexican bean bug is a small, yellowish-orange beetle with black spots and long, spiny legs that feeds on leguminous plants. — Mexican bean beetles are a standard pest that may harm and destroy bean crops.

The commonest pest discovered on cowpeas is the cowpea curculio. Adults feed on pods and seeds, which wreck the crops. In addition they lay their eggs contained in the pods, and the larvae will eat their method out.

Prevention is essential – eliminate the adults earlier than they lay eggs! It’s frequent to spray pesticides as a preventative measure. For a pure method, attempt eradicating them by hand or spraying neem oil to suffocate them. Encourage helpful bugs that eat the curculio (like tachinid flies) by planting yarrow, asters, feverfew, and oxeye daisy.

Different pests you may encounter prefer to suck sap from leaves, stems, and pods. Mexican bean beetles and bean leaf beetles are prone to be round for the legumes, whereas aphids and inexperienced stink bugs can be attracted by different crops however feast on cowpeas simply because they will.

Most of those pests can simply be eliminated with water or by hand, and neem oil can also be fairly efficient. You can too search for pesticides that can goal particular pests.

Cornstalk borers will solely be current in the event you even have corn planted, so planting cowpeas and corn away from one another will assist. Weevils are solely a storage drawback and will be averted through the use of an hermetic container.

Disadvantageous nematodes trigger nodules on roots and yellowing and wilting foliage. Useful nematodes will be added to the soil to kill the nematodes. You can too take away roots from outdated crops and add natural matter to the soil to assist scale back the inhabitants.

Ailments

Close-up of leaves of a Cowpea plant affected by mosaic virus in a garden. The leaves are large, elongated, oval in shape, with pointed tips. Dark green leaves with yellow-green mottling — The mosaic virus may cause stunted development and lowered yields in cowpeas crops.

Most ailments cowpeas get can’t be reversed, however they are often prevented. As soon as a plant is diseased, it’s greatest to take away the plant to forestall it from spreading. You possibly can forestall fungal ailments with a fungicide spray and forestall most ailments by conserving the pest inhabitants beneath management.

Frequent ailments that may simply be recognized on the leaves are powdery mildew (white powder), rust fungus (red-brown spots), cercospora leaf spot (brown spots), and mosaic virus (mottled yellow and inexperienced leaves). Fusarium wilt seems just like the plant is dying with wilted crunchy leaves. This will trigger root rot in your crowder pea crops.

Bacterial canker is a goopy-looking lump generally discovered on fruit bushes, however can generally seem on a cowpea plant. Southern stem blight is a fungus that assaults the stem just under the soil line and may have an effect on each a part of the plant that touches the soil.

Often Requested Questions

Q: What’s the distinction between cowpeas and black-eyed peas?

A: Black-eyed peas are cowpeas, and are referred to as that as a result of they appear like they’ve a black eye. Nevertheless, not each cowpea is a black-eyed pea since some are one strong colour.

Q: What are cowpeas used for?

A: Cowpeas are utilized in cooking or as animal fodder.

Q: Why are they referred to as cowpeas?

A: It’s believed that they earned their title attributable to them usually being grown to feed cows and so they have been used as early as 1798!

Q: Are cowpeas edible?

A: Sure! The seeds, pods, and leaves are edible, however you’ll wish to prepare dinner the leaves first.

Q: What do cowpeas style like?

A: Cowpeas have an earthy taste that’s a bit nutty.

Q: What’s the distinction between cowpeas and peas?

A: Cowpeas are literally beans, and beans and peas are each legumes, in order that they share many similarities.

Q: Are cowpeas and area peas the identical?

A: Area peas are simply one other title for cowpeas.

Q: Do cowpeas add nitrogen to soil?

A: Cowpeas are a legume, in order that they add nitrogen to the soil. They can be utilized as a canopy crop to enhance soil high quality and scale back weed strain.