Ya'll have got to see this to believe it. I was googling info on my beloved purple hull peas and my jaw just about dropped at this old guys inventiveness...I may darn well try it in addition to the EB's.
http://www.cookinglouisiana.com/Articles/Peas_no-till.htm
I love it!
Thats a real thinking mans pea patch. LOL Being from the black eyed pea capitol of the world, I can appreciate that.
I hope I remember this come August. I'll do it for sure!
Jaywhacker,
Remember my other post? This could be an answer to for my "bean bed!" Now, will somebody please tell me the difference between a pea and a bean, cause the article CLEARLY specifies "peas" NOT " beans. And looking at the progression pics, I thought I saw a green BEAN pod in the harvest pic. Please clarify.
I want to grow purple hull, black-eyed, crowder and Super sugar snap peas. Are those the types that this system calls for?
HURRY YOUR REPLY, cause I have a LONG weekend starting Friday and would like to plant out this Saturday.
thanks!
LOL, Gymgirl, my understanding is purple hull, black-eyed, crowder will work in this manner for sure, not sure about sugar snaps. All of these type peas don't need to be staked either. that is not a green bean in the pic, it's a purple hull that hasn't quite ripened
So the difference between a "pea" and a "bean" is that a pea is housed in a pod that looks like a green bean, but you wait for the pea to ripen then shell it from the inedible pod? And a bean is an edible pod, like a "green bean?"
Gymgirl there are 2 basic kinds of peas, the Southern pea which is purple hulls, cream peas, zippers, etc., and green peas AKA English peas whiich most of us iin the South grew up thinking came out of a can.
Beans and Southern peas are warm weather crops that fix nitrogen in the soil.
Green peas, snap peas and sugar pods are cool weather crops and it may be too late to grow them in your area. Some are short and some need trellising. I've never gotten a crop the couple times I've planted them because I always waited too late to plant. There is a recent thread here somewhere about peas where Farmer Dill gave some good advice.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/940747/
Here's that other thread.
This message was edited Jan 14, 2009 4:46 PM
Nope. Southern peas are a different critter. (Vigna unguiculata). lots of difference including slick vines, different tastes etc. Most can be eaten in the snap stage. Most of us pick the full pods for green shell and break the immature pods into the pot as snaps. While there are a lot of different plants called beans, In North America, they will typically be Phaseolus vulgarus. This covers green beans, purple beans, shell beans, wax beans, pole beans, bush beans. The Yardlong /Asparagus bean is a subspecies of cowpea. Runner beans ( Phaselous coccineus) are more rare in this country, need a cool North European type climate. Very ornamental. and of course there are more exotic beans like Hyacynth beans, Sword beans, Jack beans, Wing beans each a different species of plant.
Black Crowders with snaps
lol. There's also one named Butter Pea that is really a bean and is one of my favorites.
Yes, another species (Phaseolus lunatus) the lima bean. Too confuse things even more there is a soybean/edamame named Butterbean (Glycine max). The Dixie Butterpeas ( both white and speckled are very good as are the Baby Fordhooks.
Yep. Now I am THOROUGHLY confused....
How about this. Just tell me what each of these is and can I go find some fresh ones at my local market, soak them till they sprout and then sow em' this Saturday:
Purple Hull Peas
Crowder Peas
Black Eyed Peas
Lady Cream Peas
Super Sugar Snap peas (I have seeds already)
Kentucky Wonder Green beans (I have seeds already)
Thanks.
Purple Hull, Crowder, Black Eyes, Lady are all suothern/cowpeas. They are a hot weather crop. I begin planting in May, but you may be able to plant in April. Any rate a minimum of two weeks after your last average frost date, They will not grow well in cool soil and may get stunted. Kentucky Wonder is a common bean, which can planted around your last average frost date. I usually wait a week or so as pole beans are are not usually as vigorous in cool soil as bush beans.
Sugar Snap peas ( Pisum sativum) now is the time.
Other than the California Blackeyes, you will not usually find these in the supermarket. Feed and Seeds usually carry the others.
Thanks, Farmerdill! I'll call my local feedstore to see if they have any bean seeds.
Are you not looking for cowpea seeds? To call them a bean are fighting words to a native southerner.
um, COWPEAS...
Dill, what is the *latest* you would start cowpeas? Could you see starting some in July, maybe even early August? If not, why not? I know our climates are slightly different (for one, I get a later frost than you do), but would still find your input helpful.
I grew some cowpeas (Zipper Cream) last year that were started the second week of June. They did great. July was hot, but not much hotter than June. What I did was use the same area I'd grown garlic in (harvested in May), then a couple of weeks later, I sowed some cowpeas. They seemed bulletproof, even in heat and extreme drought. Of course, I had to provide supplemental water occasionally.
I could also possibly see growing them in rotation with spring tomatoes, as I start the process of pulling at least some of my plants in mid July, especially the early or det ones.
Edit/add - I see the extension service for Harris County (Houston) says cowpeas can be planted early April thru late Aug, and the Travis County calendar (my general area) indicates early April thru mid July. The areas aren't *that* different - Houston is a bit warmer, but I suspect some of that on the latest possible planting date is a difference of opinion. Late Aug sounds a little late to me, even for Houston - maybe in S. Houston, which can be 9b.
http://www.settfest.com/files/Vegetable_Planting_Calendar_Chart_for_Travis_County.pdf
http://www.settfest.com/files/Vegetable_Planting_Calendar_for_Harris_County.pdf
This message was edited Jan 19, 2009 4:31 AM
June is the prefered month for planting cow peas here. I start planting the earlier cultivars, Blackeyes ,purple hulls in May. Longer season, crowders in June. They will grow planting in August, but I never seem to get good yield out of the late peas. Expect it has something to do with daylenght as we get into late September, October. Cowpeas, limas (butterbeans) and okra are my main harvests in August as just about every thing else quits in late July through August and picks up again in September.
Hemental, from DG sent me some red rippers. I didnt plant till June and this year it will be earlier. They produced right up till the first freeze. Beautiful peas from beginning to end. Im going to try to plant in april this year and see how far they will take me.
Great ideas you all....enjoyed this thread!!!
can you or do they grow these in HI
No...but I don't see why not...or why other peas/beans could be grown this way...even as a cover crop for bettering a lawn/pasture area even if you didn't harvest them!!!!
AH - is Edamame being widely grown over there? I wonder if it could be grown in this manner.
Im trying some edamame myself for the first time this year
