Just like their name. Crowders are crowded in the shell which squares off the ends of the peas. Other than that, they are just another cowpea.

Are they bigger than other cowpeas?

Concur: cowpeas come in all sizes and colors. Some the larger varieties like Collossal and Hercules are crowders., while small varieties like Queen Anne ( Blackeye) and Lady ( cream ) are on the small end of the spectrum. In general tho choices are made on taste. There are big cream types (Big Boy. Zipper) and medium size crowders ( Brown, Mississippi Silver)

Do Mississippi Silver, Penny Rile, Mississippi Purple Hull & Clay peas look similar? A friend gave me some light tan colored peas that happen to be growing in with his Purple Hull peas. They are very good tasting, some have a light maroon shade on the pods but most are a green color that turn a very light yellow green color the riper they get. They are not large peas but not small either. I wish I could find out what kind they are, right now I call them Poor Man Peas, everyone that I have given them to say they are the best peas they have ever tasted. Any information would be appreciated.

"Do Mississippi Silver, Penny Rile, Mississippi Purple Hull & Clay peas look similar? "

Not in my experience but then I have to down here we grow them for dried peas - dried on the vine for best flavor and storage - not for fresh eating while still green. So I never pay much attention to the pea color while growing, just the pod color. While growing the pods are all about the same green color except for the purple varieties - that have purple pods of course. Once dried and ready for harvest the pods and the peas have very distinctive and different colors.

Using GoogleImages you can pull up pics of any variety in its various stages of growth for comparison.

Dave

digdirt,

I save most of my peas after they are dried in freezer bags in the freezer to eat during the winter. I like them dried as much as if they were green, maybe better. I cook them in water with a sliver of bacon and a wedge of onion and sometimes cornbread.

digdirt,

Have you ever heard of Old Timer Purple Hull Speckled Cowpeas ? I am interested in this strain of peas but can find no history on them.

farmerdill & digdirt,

I have come to think that the peas I have are Mississippi Sliver Cream Crowders. One thing is that the hull will turn a bright yellow with rose colored splotches along the hull before they dry out. With enough moisture they make a good size pea but will make a very ampile crop even in a dry summer.They will feed you through good years and bad, just the same. I let them dry out before I pick them for myself but I pick them at the green shell stage and give them away to sick and elderly friends. I have no idea of how many bushels of peas I give away each summer. Ever one complaments on how good they taste.