I just want to know where to get pinkeye purple hull peas. My twelve year old daughter has declared herself a vegetarian, and I am trying to impress upon her that she will need to eat some type of pea, bean or nut(s) to get her protein. I wanted to go to the store to get pinkeyed purple hulled peas which is our family's traditional pea delicacy, but found everywhere I go these days there are mislabeled black eyed peas for sale. Is this treat becoming a rarity?

Your pods are purple even when young? Mine were green until they began to be mature enough to shell, then the pods turned purple and and the pod walls thinned out. I didn't wait till they were completely dry, just till they were plump enough for shellies. You can also eat them young as a snap or green bean. They were tasty green, kind of fruity sweet. I also have Mississippi Silvers and White Whipporwills. The Silvers were twice as prolific as the Purples, crammed full of peas and more pods, but slower to mature to the shelling stage. They taste different green, kind of sharp and musky, almost a chemical taste. Am giving the Whites a few more weeks to fill out before shelling, haven't tasted green yet, maybe will try later today. Have shelled a couple of quarts of Contender and Calypso the last few days, too, and have been thinking maybe zipper bean strings aren't such a bad idea. It was especially difficult to get the not quite mature enough Silvers open. A succulent pod breaks off in pieces instead of unzipping at the seam. Had to score some of them with a knife.

Are pink-eyed purple hulls a hybrid? I planted them for the first time this year and I am getting a few pods like those described, i.e. yellowish with a slight purple tint, though most are the normal dark purple. I started getting the odd pods after we had a very hot dry spell and I figured maybe they were just sun burned or something. I thought I had read here about folks saving these seeds, which would imply they are stable and not a hybrid. Chuck

I harvested 4 different kinds yesterday. I have a 5th variety growing, but I want seeds from it, and it hasn't gotten big enough yet. I regret not planting PEPH this year, but I guess this is the year of the southern pea trials. The zippers make the biggest peas and have long pods, but the family didn't care for the taste. I have not cooked the others. Whippoorwill has small seeds. It got aphids. Pennyrile I've grown before, we like them. They make good sized seeds and long pods. Red ripper is new to me, slower to start flowering than the others. Then I have some yard long beans which can be eaten like snap beans. (All can be eaten that way if you get the pods small enough. But the long beans can be eaten to a larger size.) Long beans can be allowed to make peas and eaten that way, too. Haricots Rouge Burkina du Faso is the one I want seeds from. It didn't germinate well, so I don't have many plants. Pods are red, turning purple, which is kind of cool. Not very long.