All the rain we have gotten hasn't been a good thing for my garden except for the beans and peas. They are the best I have ever grown...and I;m getting ready to plant another round of them...My rattlesnakes are producing everyday ...and the different peas too...My tomatoes are loaded down...the large ones are pretty good, the paste tomatoes are mushy...

I posted a cowpea picture in the bean forum, trying to see if someone could tell me what kind it is.
Not one serious response so far.
Would anyone be interested in taking a look?

Sorry, ol'pea, afraid I wouldn't have a clue.

Well we finally got a little rain here. And whether or not as a result, the cowpeas are finally starting to flower. Kind of exciting!

Pnbrown,

I don't believe I fully understand factors which affect the growth of cowpeas. But at least with some varieties, *the opportunity to climb* does seem to stimulate longer vines. I'm growing only two of the Vigna unguiculata family, this year: Georgia Long, which is for snaps; and Penny Rile, a "cream pea." They are separated by several hundred feet. Of those, Penny Rile is the only one which behaves like the normal "southern peas." My June 24 planting of Penny Rile is barely starting to send out runners, but it is loaded with flowers. I'm pretty sure, if I planted this one without support, it would simply act like a robust half runner. Perhaps next year I'll try it. That's how I understood it was to be grown, when I first received the seed. However, it just happens that even when not trying, I've always planted it by some sort of support, and... up it goes.

My first planting of Penny Rile(May 14) is starting to really cover the corn, where I planted it. The corn is drying down, letting in more light, and it looks like all of my cowpeas, even those in the most interior parts of the corn patch, have survived and are beginning to climb out the top of the corn. There are lots of "peas" to pick on that planting.

I continue to battle Bermuda grass and have yet to get my whole garden (this is only our 2nd year here) under cultivation. But I've discovered that the corn/cowpea combo is very practical and satisfying. I can run a rototiller over a new patch of ground and plant corn (robust field corn) in that new ground. It will, with only one cultivation, outgrow and shade out weeds and Bermuda grass. At that first cultivation, I inter plant with Penny Rile Cowpeas (I'm sure most others would work as well). Then, when the corn begins to dry down, the cowpeas take over, continuing to crowd out weeds and yet, producing a delicious crop, for very little work. In the fall, when I clean up that patch, the soil will be ready for serious cultivation for other crops, in the coming year. This is a wonderful technique for my circumstances (limited time, hot climate, large area to conquer... amidst hostiles like Bermuda and Johnson grasses which threaten to overtake me and undo my hard earned progress).

George
Tahlequah, OK

Thanks for the response, George.

I'm looking forward to the corn/cowpea combo as one of the critical ones for when I get seriously into my central florida gardening (I hope it will be able to supress Bahia grass!). These years I'm only there for a month or so - enough time to put in crops to be enjoyed by others. In March I put in a sweet-potato patch which has been thriving quite well in the good summer rains this year.

Anyway, that's a good description: 'half-runner'. I noticed yesterday the the black-eyed peas are starting to put out runners. The flowers are butter-yellow, which is cool, and quite different from the beans. It's neat comparing them to the beans which are right nearby. An unexpected difference is that there is much more ant activity on the cowpeas than on the bush-beans - they seem to attracted to something on the peas.

Yes, cowpeas do emit some sort of sweet stuff which attracts ants. One the other hand, I can't say that I've observed much damage. Also, they are quite resistant to Mexican bean beetles. Only once have I ever seen a cowpea get hit by the Mexican bean beetle, and that was when an adjacent bean got hit so badly that they "spilled over" onto the cowpea.

"The flowers are butter-yellow, which is cool,..."

Georgia Long has those yellow flowers. Penny Rile has beautiful violet flowers. Indeed, that's another nice thing about these peas.

George

Hey folks,

A couple of days ago we harvested our first two plantings of corn. In the first, I had planted Penny Rile Cowpeas. I thought I'd share two photos. So far, I "haven't met a cowpea (southern pea) I didn't like. However, I've tried to focus more on one, for the last few years, in order to produce enough that we actually use them in the kitchen. We've had success! My wife asked me the other day to please be sure not to switch to another variety without being sure that she likes it as much! Saturday night we had "peas and cornbread" using cornmeal from our own corn and our own peas. We also had "huckleberry" pie made from garden huckleberries, which was a smashing success for a first try and homemade ice cream made from milk from our own goats. It was a wonderful meal!

George
Tahlequah, OK

Here's a picture of how this cowpea did with corn:
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And Here's a closeup. We find the violet flowers endearing.
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After hearing for a long time from so many people who like Pink Eye Purple Hulls, I've finally grown a successful crop of them. I had my first taste yesterday and they were exceedingly good and beautiful to look at. They will be a standard in my garden unless George converts me to Penny Riles. :-)

Jim

Thanks for the pictures, George. And congrats to you Jim, yours are a lot earlier than mine. Mine are podding but not full yet.

My peas did really well this year and I have the second crop in the ground already....I cut one pea plant back with the intention of pulling up the root or leaving it in the ground to rot...just hadn't decided...It is now covered with new growth....I mean lots of new growth...

Enjoyed the pictures George..

I agree with George, and have noticed that some of my Black Eyed Peas put out some runners that get about three feet long and no longer. However, if any find something to climb on, they do go right on up and produce peas all the way up. This year, I had some skips in the pea row due to late freeze etc. so I stuck a few tomato plants in the row. The peas climbed to the top of the 5 foot tomato cages without any problems. A few near the fence between Tom and I grew up the chain link fence to a height of about 6 ft.+ Grown in rows in gardens or large fields, they do not make runners on all plants, nor any that become a problem, consequently I had never thought of trying to grow them vertically, but I do believe that it would certainly be worth the effort to try to grow them up trellises if space were limited.

I am pretty sure that I took some pictures and will look for them as time allows.

Ruthie, if you come back by here, I tried to send you an email but have not heard from you. Please try emailing me if you want a few of those seed.
Bill P.

Had my first ever fresh-shelled cowpeas for lunch today. Fantastic! Had 'em with brown rice cooked together with some amaranth that I harvested the other day, chopped raw jalepeno, grated romano cheese and a little olive oil drizzled over.
I fancy it was quite carribean-tasting. Darn good in any case.

I'll be keeping aside a little space for cowpeas every year, though I don't expect the weather to co-operate many seasons.