Baker Creek lists Rattlesnake as a cowpea. I had Rattlesnake on my bean list, and because of the way it's listed there, I assumed it was a cowpea. But is it? Other posts made in the past here mention using it as a snap bean. So what's the story?

Any information about the taste of (actual) cowpeas compared to the PHPE in your experience would be appreciated.

While there are similarities, there are obvious differences. Most folks who like Purple Hull Pinkeye or California Blackeyes will like Big Boys. Never tried Rattlesnake so have no idea. Folks who lean toward Brown Crowders and other strong flavored peas tend to not care for the taste of big boys. White peas like Lady, White Acre have their own set of adherents. Some folks like myself like all of them with one exception the Grey Crowder(Blue Goose). That one is too strong for me.

I grew Big Boys this year for the first time, on Farmadilla's recommendation, and liked them a lot. They are prolific! I'll definatly grow them again. My favorite is Black Crowder and they produce really good too. Also, they are good to dry and store for winter use. My favorite 'white' pea is Zipper Cream. Don't know anything about the Rattlesnake. I grew some Calico Crowder out for seed this year. Didn't cook any, so I'll have to wait till next year for that.

Bama; Just for info, Zipper is a cream pea not a white pea. Cream peas have a little different flavor than white peas. I do like Zipper better than Texas 8, 12 or 40.
Anney; Rattlesnake is a popular name. There is a watermelon, a relatively popular pole bean, and a cowpea. The cowpea is an older vining type with red and white seeds. relatively short pods.

farmerdilla

Thanks for that information! So there's a Rattlesnake pole snap bean and a Rattlesnake cowpea which can be trellised, too, if they grow to six feet as noted!

True; just remember that cowpeas are not natural climbers like beans. A trellis is essential, they won't climb a pole effectively. They will climb corn stalks, should you desire to plant them in corn.

Farmadilla, Yep, shouldn't have used the word "white", But peas that make a light colored soup. I prefer the ones than make a dark 'gravy' to the light colored but enjoy the other for a change of pace. Heck, I love'em all that I've tried. It's hard to beat bowl of peas, cornbread and a slice of sweet onion, etc, etc!!

I'm bumping this interesting thread in hopes of getting many more opinions about cowpea varieties. Having lived in the north all my life, it was only in recent years that I discovered cowpeas (by reading interesting posts on the Heirlooms Forum) and I've developed a fondness for them.

None of my many gardener friends here in the north has grown cowpeas or has the slightest interest in them despite my evangelizing on the subject. They grow trouble-free here. My experience is limited to a few varieties. I would like to know more about flavor comparisons and also yield comparisons.

Pinkeye Purple Hull is my stand-by. It's a good producer, looks and tastes good and is easy to pick because it is ready when the pod is totally purple.

Last year I grew Calico Crowder. It is an attractive pea but the yield was small and I didn't get many for tasting. I saved most for seed..

I also grew Steele's Whippoorwill last year. Yield was tremendous, even though the peas are tiny. Plants were about waist high but did fine without support. Flavor was good. It is a very dark colored pea -- almost black.

I have seeds for Brown Crowder and will probably try that this summer.

Jim

My favorite is Hercules. I haven't been able to find seeds for years though. I tried Big Boys last year and I didn't like the flavor. Texas cream was very tasty, but too hard to pick and shell, I'm lazy. ;)

I'm still searching for Hercules! I Google it every day!

Have you tried here.

Annette

Here is a link that might be useful: Reimer Seeds

Oooops, they say they're out of stock but you can get notified when they're available.

wertach,
You may be able to get Hercules cowpea through the Southern Seed Legacy project, which is affiliated with the University of Georgia, but is now moving to the University of North Texas.

They are not accepting new members until March, though, after they have moved to Texas.

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Thanks, I tried Southern Seed and they don't have them. I ordered some directly from Clemson and I'm hoping I will get them. I ordered from Clemson last year and they sent Big Boys as a substitute because they were out of Hercules.

Anney, if you see this, how did the new varieties do?

~emmers

I'm planning on growing at least one cowpea variety here in AZ this year. I'm pretty space limited as my whole yard is shaded or gravel. How many plants do I need to plant for two of us to enjoy eating about twice a week while in season? And what about if I'd like to freeze some? What would be my most productive choices? I was thinking about planting pink-eye purple hull as we like the taste. I assume these are a bush style?
Are there any pole style cow peas? That would save me room so that I could grow more. Or types that could grow in 3 hours of sun or filtered sunlight?
I'm sure cowpeas will do well here since my yard longs did quite well on the east side of the house. They also only got about three hours of sun a day, do to a huge tree on the side of the house.

We only got some cow peas one year out of three, enough to confirm that purplehulls shellies are indeed delicious. Due to limited garden space I will grow more P vulgaris this year, and give up on the cow peas. Weird to read that folks in colder zones grow them well. Other z9ners, if you can't grow cow peas reliably, you are not alone.

tracydr, above in this thread they say that rattlesnake cow peas do climb, so that' is your variety for a climber. Just make sure it is the cow pea, not the P vulgaris one.

As far as how many plants, we garden in beds. I would stagger three - 3 foot by 5 feet beds full of bush cow peas to get several meals and extend your season. Or just plant a month or so apart in regular garden rows. How many plants? I would put about 20 per planting, 60 total, but others might have different recommendations. It depends on the DTM of the variety you plant and the length of your hot season.

I love cowpeas. I have been growing cowpeas for over 10 years here in Minnesota Zone 4. Nobody I know has ever heard of them let alone eaten them.

Some do better than others so I am always experimenting with different strains. Unfortunately some of the ones I really like do not do so well - I am limited to planting what grows well as opposed to what tastes the best. Not exactly my preferred method of gardening.

-Tom

Tom, the University of Minnesota had a breeding program, to develop cowpeas for short-season areas. I currently grow two of them, "MN 13" (small black & white) and "MN 157" (medium sized tan & cream). Both are true bush habit, and mature quickly. Have you tried them, or any other U of MN developments?

Not sure on what scale you grow cowpeas, Tom, but through the use of transplants, you can expand your choices. I start most of mine in Jiffy 50 peat strips, which overcomes the hurdle of cool-soil germination. That pretty much guarantees that I will get dry seed, even in a bad year... as the last two years have proven.

I originally started out with the California Blackeye. I dug out the old seed packet from Seeds of Change and it is dated 1995. I have been growing them ever since, and saving the best seed faithfully every year. They are kind of like reliable old friends at this point.

Zeedman, I grow cowpeas on a small but expanding scale. I harvested approx. six pounds of dry last season after harvesting a bunch for green beans and for shellies during the season. I have not been too thrilled about eating them as green beans but they are great as shellies and used in dishes from dry bean stock during the winter months. As I introduce family and friends to cowpeas I am getting more and more requests for them. Most have small gardens, just grow the regular stuff, or do not have the space so I am happy to oblige.

I have seed stock for five cowpea varieties this year. Adding what you listed would make it seven varieties. Doable but straining my resources. The more strains of stuff I plant the harder it is to isolate for seed stock. I have local farmer friends who let me plant stuff in their gardens for growing out seed stock in return for seed or produce. A pretty slick arrangement that works well for me.

I was unaware of the U of M breeding program for cowpeas. Thanks for that info zeedman. I am very interested and I will see if I can acquire the two varieties you mentioned for growing this season.

A cursory internet search came up with information for MN13, MN150, and MN157 cowpeas but no retail seed sources. I will do a more in-depth search but zeedman maybe you could give me a lead if you know who sells the varieties you mentioned? It would be much appreciated and save me a little bit of research time so I can get them ordered.

I am open to trying indoor cowpea starts but I am a bit overburdened already with so many other plant starts I would prefer to avoid adding a whole new segment - but it is helpful to know one can do this. I will try it this year and if it is as beneficial as you state I will probably add these to the yearly list. Thanks for the suggestion.

Regarding other U of M developments - yes I always keep an eye open for new U of M stuff. I have Winona and Mesabi strawberries, Frontenac grapes, and several apple varieties including Honeycrisp and and some new Zestar trees that have not produced yet. I wish I could grow some of the U of M blueberries but ours is not the soil type. I have tried several times in the past with the soil amending thing with no luck so I put the issue to rest. I stick to what grows best in my soil and I am happy with that. I try to time camping in the Boundary Waters with the wild blueberry harvest time - talk about tasty - I pick for hours until my bad back drives me back to camp with my treasure. But that is off-topic and a story for another time and forum.

Regards,
-Tom