COWPEA PLANT, BLUE GOOSE | spring 2025

The peas are purple-gray, with 15 per pod. A rare old southern heirloom (pre-1860). Richly flavored seeds are a must in old southern recipes and the pods when picked young are quite delicious! Even the leaves are flavorful! Perfect when cooked like spinach, with just as much flavor.

• 8 - 12 hours sun
• Plant spacing: 4 - 6" apart
• Frost hardy: no

Southern Peas have both bush and pole types, just like traditional garden beans. Unlike pole green beans, you can grow southern peas that run without a trellis by planting close together and allowing the plants to essentially self-support. This really works best for plantings where you will let the peas dry on the plants for winter storage.

Cowpeas are also very easy to grow, tolerating all kinds of poor soil, though they will thrive in loamy soil.  

Cowpeas do not require a vast amount of nutrients, but a light application of fertilizer can help your plants produce a better crop. Use a shovel or trowel to mix the fertilizer into the top 3–4 inches of soil. 10-20-10 fertilizer is slightly richer in phosphorus than in nitrogen or potassium, so it is good for producing a strong crop yield. If you use a fertilizer high in nitrogen, then your plant will grow a lot of leaves but few peas.