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Promiscuous Mixed Cowpea (bush, short runners)
  • Promiscuous Mixed Cowpea (bush, short runners)
  • Promiscuous Mixed Cowpea (bush, short runners)
  • Promiscuous Mixed Cowpea (bush, short runners)
  • Promiscuous Mixed Cowpea (bush, short runners)
  • Promiscuous Mixed Cowpea (bush, short runners)
  • Promiscuous Mixed Cowpea (bush, short runners)
  • Promiscuous Mixed Cowpea (bush, short runners)
  • Promiscuous Mixed Cowpea (bush, short runners)
Promiscuous Mixed Cowpea (bush, short runners)

Vigna unguiculata
$4.50
Description

We were given seeds from our friends in North Carolina with The Utopian Seed Project. Here is the story from Chris:

"This is the beginnings of an African Pea Ultracross, created as part of a search for promiscuous peas! In most things related to seeds, I always first turn to Yanna Fishman, board member of The Utopian Seed Project and an incredible seed keeper. I told Yanna I was looking for African peas [A.K.A. southern peas, black-eyed peas, or cowpeas ‚[though they are not just food for cows!] and when I arrived for a visit she had pulled out jars and jars of different African pea varieties. They were diverse and beautiful, but there was one jar pushed to the corner labelled only 'Sports'. Yanna explained that she plants all of her peas pretty close to each other and hand shells everything. When she gets peas that don't look like their parents, she puts them off to one side and they all end up in the 'Sports' jar. It's quite likely the sports were actually crosses and this jar represented just the promiscuous peas I was looking for! In 2023 we planted two 50ft rows of Yanna's peas alonside one row of Joseph Lofthouse's landrace African peas. We also had plantings of 'Texas Green Emerald' (the green pea in the mix) and 'Rouge de Burkina Faso' (the red pea) planted in adjacent rows. This mix is a combination of all the seeds with high hopes of ongoing intercrossing."

These were grown one season in our Florida gardens in the summer of 2024 and they took only a month and a half from seeding to seed harvest. The colorful mix is pleasing to look at, and makes a colorful cooking pot! They were mostly bushy type plants that made a great ground cover, with the occasional short runner reaching out across the beds. 
Product details
  • About 30 seeds
  • 30 days to harvest
  • Seeds grown in Working Food gardens at GROW HUB in Gainesville, Florida
How to grow

Legumes are able to manufacture their own nitrogen (magic + science!) and typically do not need very rich soil or much fertilization at all. Well composted and healthy soils are still encouraged, but you will not need to offer them much in the way of fertilizer. In fact, too much will encourage rampant leafy growth at the expense of the pods.

Plant about 1"-1.5" deep, spaced 4-8" apart. Cowpeas do not tolerate frosts and so should only be planted well after the last expected frost is over. Cowpeas can also be planted from spring and into late summer/early fall. Direct sowing is recommended as legumes don't appreciate the stress of moving from a pot into the ground.
How to save seeds

Legumes like beans and peas are among the easiest seeds to save! The biggest challenge in Florida is our humidity, which can make it difficult to get seed pods fully dry on the plant. For this reason, late-summer plantings can be especially good for seed saving, as the pods mature into the drier fall weather.  Although, weather patterns are getting more unpredictable and this isn't always the case.

Allow the pods to dry indoors once harvested, and shell them soon afterward to reduce the chance of mold and pests taking up residence inside the pods. If the pods are nearly mature but the forecast calls for rain, harvest early and finish drying indoors.

Thorough drying is key to keeping cowpea seeds healthy and reducing the risk of weevils, which can damage or destroy stored seed. Continue drying the seeds with silica gel or clay drying beads, or use a household dehydrator on a low-temperature setting. Make sure the seeds are completely dry before storing.

Cowpeas are highly self-pollinating, so there is generally only a small chance of crossing between varieties. However, some large bumblebees can work their way into the flowers and transfer pollen between plants. This only matters if you are trying to maintain a variety’s purity; if you don’t mind a little genetic mixing, there’s no need to worry about it.

You can successfully save seed from just one plant, but saving from 5–10 plants is better, and 20 or more plants is even better for maintaining genetic diversity and long-term vigor.

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