Here in Tucson (Zone 9A), we've got a great climate for cowpeas and I cultivate them every summer.

This guide is written for Southern Arizona but can be adapted to any region and climate which supports their growth.

dried cowpeas ready for shelling wood surface background
Dried cowpeas ready for shelling & storage

What Are Cowpeas?

Botanical Info

Scientific Name: Vigna unguiculata

Family: Fabaceae

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Cowpeas were originally domesticated in Africa. These are one of the oldest-known crops which was farmed by humans. Africa continues to produce more cowpeas than any other continent today.

Culinary Uses for Cowpeas

The most-frequently known cowpea in culinary uses is the black-eyed pea.

Unguicalata

Vigna unguiculata unguiculata is also commonly known as the "crowder-pea", "Southern pea", "niebe", or "ñebbe" - all names for the black-eyed pea.

Black-eyed peas aren't a pea at all. They're a bean! And a delicious one at that.

cowpeas black eyed peas beans in shape of cacti saguaro cactus black background brown beans
Use black-eyed peas as you would use any other bean.

Leaves and immature seed pods can also be eaten, raw or cooked, but both can be rather tough.

The leaves and adult pods must be cooked for some time to soften them enough to really enjoy. Grabbing a tender young green pod is a great snack, though, before the pods become tougher and fibrous with age.

Cowpea flowers can also be eaten.



fresh green cowpea pods can be eaten raw or cooked
Fresh green cowpea pods can be eaten raw or cooked when young and tender. They get tougher as they get bigger, though.

What Are the Cowpea Subspecies?

  • Unguicalata - "black-eyed pea", "crowder-pea", "Southern pea", "niebe", or "ñebbe"
  • Biflora - "sow-pea" & "catjang"
  • Sesquipedalis - "yardlong bean", "asparagus bean", and "Chinese long-bean"
  • Textilis - "wild cowpea", "African cowpea", "Ethiopean cowpea"

All 4 cowpea subspecies have edible leaves, green pods, and flowers.

All are mainly grown for:

  • The beans in the pods, which must be cooked long enough to make them edible.
  • As forage for animals
  • As cover crop (for nitrogen fixation) to improve soil quality

Why Grow Cowpeas?

Nutritional Value

Cowpea seeds (beans) contain as much as:

  • 25% protein
  • 53% carbohydrates
  • 2% fat

Soil Enrichment (Nitrogen Fixation)

Grown as a cover crop, cowpeas make an excellent source of green nitrogenous material which can be chopped & dropped or composted to build new soil.

Because of their penchant for climbing (pole bean growth habit), cowpeas will gladly wrap around corn, millet, sunflowers, and other plants with tall straight strong stalks. This means you can intersperse cowpeas with other crops to provide more food and / or aid in soil enrichment during a main crop cycle.

Cowpeas would be perfectly at home in a 3 sisters style planting, wrapping around the strong corn stems for support. At harvest, the bean stalks and leaves add a great source of nitrogen to help break down the corn stalks when composted in place or in a compost pile.

pole beans plant with brown and green pods drying
Other pole beans such as yard-longs and red noodle beans can be grown whenever & wherever cowpeas grow

Growing Cowpeas as Forage

Does Your Climate Support Cowpeas?

The the U.S. if you live in the South - especially in an arid or semi-arid climate, you can likely grow cowpeas! And what better reason is there to grow a crop other than your climate supporting it?!

Cowpeas can also tolerate up to an estimated 85% sand, which makes them a great thing to grow in harsh climates where you may have fewer options. Here in Tucson, for instance, cowpeas love our sandy hot desert climate!

If you live in a hot & dry climate, or an especially sandy one, you're in a great place to experiment with cowpeas and see if you like 'em.

Cowpea Planting Tips

Planting Season

Climate

Soil Prep

Spacing

Watering Needs

Cultivating Cowpeas

Sowing Cowpeas

Mulching

Nutrition

Cowpea Pests

Support Structures

Companion Planting

Harvesting Cowpeas

Cowpea Harvest Timing

Inspecting Cowpea Pods

Harvesting Methods

Continuous Harvest (From Succession Planting)

How to Dry Cowpeas

Prepping to Dry Cowpea Harvest

Air Drying

Mechanical Drying

Cowpea Storage Considerations

Checking Cowpea Dryness Level

Preserving Cowpeas for Storage

Shelling Black-Eyed Pea Pods

Cleaning & Sorting

Avoiding Moisture When Storing Cowpeas

Temperature Considerations for Storage

Long-Term Storage

Tips for a Successful Cowpea Harvest

Timing

Inspection

Teamwork

Shuckin' cowpeas by hand takes forever. Grab your crew and some rocking chairs and make a time of it together. Many hands make light work as they say and it definitely applies to shelling cowpeas!