Harvesting Cow Peas

On the recommendation of Horseshoe, Farmerdill, and others here I planted some Pink Eye Purple Pod cowpeas in mid-season. You're right, they're easy to grow and very productive.

Now, never having grown any kind of peas before, I don't know when and how to harvest them. I've got some pods about the size of a new lead pencil, and many more pods that are smaller. Even the big ones don't feel like they've got much in the way of seeds in them yet.

Do the pods have to get dry on the vines, then I pick them and shell the peas out? As far as cooking, I guess they'd be just like blackeyes - boil with a little onion and hog du jour?

You Southerners - please let me know how to handle these Rebel peas. lol

Thanks.

Many ways. I personally prefer green shellies to dry peas. Since you have purple hulls,which have a built in indicator, You pick them for green shellies when the hulls turn purple. I like to break a few of the tender green pods into the pot as snaps. I season with butter or Margarine but lots of folks do use bacon. I do use slab bacon or hog jowl for dry peas. If you prefer dry peas just let the pods dry on the vine.

Hey, we had some cowpeas with supper and they're real good. I liked them better than blackeyed peas from the store. Farmerdill, we fixed the green shellies just the way you said - then I added a little salt and vinegar to my bowl just like I do with blackeyes.

These are so easy to raise, I'll be planting them from now on. Thanks.

Congrats, Ozark! Glad you liked them and also got a good harvest. Keep an eye on them as they'll easily give you a second crop, too!

You'll get the hang of when to pick them. By shelling them out you'll see which ones are the easiest to open and you'll lean towards picking ones like that!

"Added a little salt and vinegar to my bowl"...hmmm, I have to have some salt with mine, for sure, and if you want a great vinegar treat you should have a bottle of cayenne peppers/vinegar nearby at all times. Great for greens, too!

Congrats!
Shoe

This message was edited Sep 18, 2008 12:05 PM

Shoe, you're exactly right. I know now when to pick them, and when not to. The peas at the right stage, with the hulls starting to get a little dry and papery, shelled real easy.

Of course I also picked some of them a little greener than that, and I told my wife if those were all I had to eat I'd be in big trouble. If I had a barn full of them, I wouldn't be able to shell them quick enough to keep from starving to death. lol

Hot pepper vinegar is what I meant. I've got a little bottle full of peppers in the 'fridge that I've been adding vinegar to and using on brown beans, blackeyes, and stew for over 40 years. I've replaced the peppers a few times when I've grown hot ones, and I keep the vinegar topped up - so it's just as hot now as it ever was.

My hot vinegar bottle is like Abe Lincoln's authentic original axe, which has been passed down through family generations and is owned by a local feller here. Over the years, the axe head's been replaced twice, and the handle three times. LOL

try some hot water cornbread with those purple hull peas

Ozark, too funny about the "authentic original axe". I think I have one of those!

I just picked some more hot peppers yesterday, cayenne, jalapeno, and Habanero. The cayennes go into my vinegar bottles, the jalapenos go into my sweet pickle jar, and the habaneros go to a friend who makes pepper jelly out of them.

Fiddle, got a special recipe for that cornbread, 'cus yep, it goes perfect with the peas!

Shoe, off to stand in the sun and pick butterbeans for a while.

Shoe

I would guess that there are as many recipes for hot water cornbread as there are magnolia trees in the south. Here is one that my family likes. It is based on a recipe that my great-great-grandmother’s family brought with them from Georgia when they settled in Northwest Louisiana in the early 1840s.

Hot water cornbread

Ingredients (makes about one dozen patties):

2 cup white or yellow cornmeal (I like yellow the best)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup milk (half-and-half)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup boiling water - (varies – as much as 2 cups may be needed)
2 cups cooking oil (peanut oil or vegetable oil)
1 cup crackling bits - optional – may be added if you can find them (look for them in ethnic foods section of large supermarkets)

1. In a sauce pan, boil the water until it is SCALDING HOT. The amount of boiling water depends on the type of cornmeal used. Coarsely ground cornmeal requires more water.

2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl; stir in the half-and-half and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Gradually add the boiling water and stir until the batter has the consistency of cooked grits. The HOT WATER must be hot enough to cook the batter until it can be formed and shaped into patties by hand.

3. Pour the cooking oil to about 1/2 inch into a large heavy skillet; place over medium-high heat.

4. Scoop the batter into a measuring cup (1/4-cup), wet your hands with ice water and shape into patties.

5. Gently drop the patties into the hot oil, and fry in batches for 3 minutes or so on each side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Serve with softened butter, cowpeas cooked with ham, hot cooked rice and cold buttermilk.

Thanks! Will save that recipe. (Looks like a great camping food!) I'll use bacon for the cracklin's! :>)

Shoe

Hey, I've found I LIKE cowpeas, a lot.

I only planted one row about 18' long, in midsummer after harvesting beets and onions from that row. The cowpea seeds cost me, I think, 45 cents at the farm supply store!

The cowpeas took no care at all and didn't get any pests. We got one good picking off them a couple weeks ago, and today I harvested the whole bunch because they're done now.

My two little granddaughters helped me pick and shell the peas, so they learned something and had fun doing it. We got about 3 lbs. of shelled peas, and my wife will be cooking up a big bunch of them tomorrow. I'm pretty sure the rest will keep fine in freezer bags in the freezer?

Thanks, fellas, for letting me know about these. I'll be growing some in every garden from now on.

Congrats on your new love! Cowpeas in every garden! :>)

I guess next we should hook you on butterpeas! Also a great staple, easy to grow, very prolific and, like cowpeas, are a great green manure crop!

Happy to hear your family liked them, too!

Best, Shoe