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Southern pea

Vigna unguiculata

Southern peas (cowpeas, field peas) are bean-family plants that love heat and shrug off dry spells, so they keep producing through Southern summers. The three main groups are black-eyed, crowder (bold flavor) and cream (mild) peas, picked to shell fresh or left to dry.

Growing facts

Scientific name
Vigna unguiculata
Origin
Africa; long grown in India and around the Mediterranean
Plant size
Bushy or half-running plants; some types need light support
Growth rate
Fast
Sun
Full sun
Soil
Well-drained soil; mulch helps hold moisture. Fixes much of its own nitrogen, so use about half the fertilizer you'd give other vegetables; too much nitrogen means leaves and few pods.
Soil pH
No reliable figure in the sources used
Pollination
Self-pollinating
Cold hardiness
Killed by frost; plant after all danger of frost has passed
USDA zones
Grown as a warm-season annual in all zones
Harvest
About 75–90 days from seed
When to plant (zones 9–11)
Mar–Aug
When to plant (zones 5–8)
May–Jul
Water
About every 5 days once established, without rain; more in heat, in pots and while young
Feeding
About every 45 days
Taste
Earthy and savory; crowders taste strongest, creams mildest, black-eyed peas in between
Nutrition
Protein, fiber and folate

Is southern pea safe to eat? Edible and toxic parts

What you can eat

  • Fresh shelled peas, cooked
  • Dried peas, cooked
  • Young pods, cooked

Toxic parts and cautions

  • Good to know: Cook dried peas thoroughly; like other dried beans they aren't eaten raw.
  • Good to know: The cowpea curculio, a small weevil that lays eggs in the pods, is a common pest in Florida.

Pets: Plain cooked peas are generally fine for dogs in small amounts. No reliable data on the plants.

How to eat and enjoy southern pea

  • Hoppin' John and New Year's black-eyed peas
  • Fresh peas simmered with greens, served with cornbread
  • Black-eyed pea salad and fritters (akara)
  • A summer cover crop that feeds the soil

When it's ripe

For fresh peas, pick when pods are full and just starting to change color but before they dry. For dried peas, leave pods on the plant until brown and papery. Pick often to keep plants flowering.

Storing it

Cook fresh peas within a day or two, or blanch and freeze them. Fully dried peas keep for months in a sealed jar.

Southern pea varieties (3)

  • California Blackeye No.5 · also California Blackeye, California Blackeye #5, CB5

    A black-eyed pea: white peas with a black eye. One of UF/IFAS's recommended southern peas for Florida gardens.

  • Pinkeye Purple Hull · also Pink Eye Purple Hull, Purple Hull Pinkeye

    A pinkeye pea: cream peas with a pink to maroon eye, in pods that turn purple as they fill. Recommended by UF/IFAS for Florida.

    The purple pods make it easy to see which are ready to pick.

  • Texas Cream

    A cream pea: pale peas without a dark eye, mild and light-colored when cooked. Recommended by UF/IFAS for Florida.

Pests and diseases to watch for

  • Scale insects

    Small bumps, waxy or shell-like, on stems and leaf veins; sticky honeydew and black sooty mold below.

    What to do: Scrub small colonies off with a soft brush.

  • Mealybugs

    White cottony clusters in leaf joints, under leaves and on fruit stems; honeydew and sooty mold.

    What to do: Blast off with a strong spray of water.

  • Aphids

    Clusters of tiny soft insects on new shoots; leaves curl and get sticky.

    What to do: Spray off with water.

  • Sooty mold

    Black, papery film on leaves and fruit that wipes off; it grows on honeydew.

    What to do: Control the insects making honeydew; the mold then weathers away.

  • Spider mites

    Fine pale speckling on leaves, dusty undersides and fine webbing; leaves bronze and drop.

    What to do: Hose the undersides of leaves.

Growing southern peas? Let Yardkin keep track.

Yardkin tells you when your southern pea needs water based on your local weather, reminds you to feed and prune in season, and keeps every harvest and photo.

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General guidance, not medical or veterinary advice. Poison Control (US): 1-800-222-1222. ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435.