{"product_id":"cowpea-junies-stovepipe","title":"Cowpea, Junnie's Stovewood","description":"\u003ctable border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"width: 98.2583%;\" height=\"4160\"\u003e\n\u003ccolgroup width=\"2253\"\u003e\u003ccol style=\"width: 100%;\"\u003e\u003c\/colgroup\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\" height=\"17\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eQuick facts\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #158466;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Calibri Light, sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e*Low Impact Food ALERT* No energy intensive food processing necessary for winter eating\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #81d41a;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Calibri Light, sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e*Heat\/Drought ALERT* Adapted to thrive in tough conditions, heat, and drought\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #acb20c;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: Calibri Light, sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e*Marginal Soils ALERT* Bloom where you’re planted! This crop is resilient and adapted to thrive on marginal soils with low fertility.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVery rare variety\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShort-season adapted\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eVigna unguiculata\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e70 days.  \u003c\/strong\u003e Okay these rosy pink African Peas (cowpea) are really pretty right???  At around 70 days, this was the earliest maturing variety of African Pea that we grew this year.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis very rare variety came to us through the Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook, a place where gardeners can exchange rare varieties.  This is the story SSE was given along with the variety:  \"This cowpea is named for Mr. Junnie Dent who grew this cowpea for over 20 years in Odum, Georgia. Junnie and his wife Carolyn, received this variety from Carolyn's great-uncle, Grant Deveroux, who lived in Jacksonville, FL. Carolyn remembers Grant as being a \"typical garden farmer who always wore overalls.\" The family doesn't know when or where Grant Deveroux originally acquired this variety, but Carolyn recalls seeing the peas hanging in a burlap bag in her great-uncle’s barn circa 1960 when she was a child. Seeds were donated to Seed Savers Exchange in 2018 by Junnie and Carolyn's sister-in-law, Martha Dent, of Jesup, GA.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLong pods yield 10-18 seeds per pod. Large seeds are kidney-shaped and rosy pink, becoming nearly maroon as they dry. Early-mid season maturing. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow to grow it:  \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ctable height=\"85\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr valign=\"top\"\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#000000\"\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan color=\"#ffffff\" style=\"color: #ffffff;\"\u003e\u003cspan face=\"Thorndale, serif\"\u003e\u003cspan size=\"2\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eGerm Temp\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#000000\"\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan color=\"#ffffff\" style=\"color: #ffffff;\"\u003e\u003cspan face=\"Thorndale, serif\"\u003e\u003cspan size=\"2\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eIndoor Start\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#000000\"\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan color=\"#ffffff\" style=\"color: #ffffff;\"\u003e\u003cspan face=\"Thorndale, serif\"\u003e\u003cspan size=\"2\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eGerm Days\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#000000\"\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan color=\"#ffffff\" style=\"color: #ffffff;\"\u003e\u003cspan face=\"Thorndale, serif\"\u003e\u003cspan size=\"2\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrost Tolerant\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#000000\"\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan color=\"#ffffff\" style=\"color: #ffffff;\"\u003e\u003cspan face=\"Thorndale, serif\"\u003e\u003cspan size=\"2\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSun\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#000000\"\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan color=\"#ffffff\" style=\"color: #ffffff;\"\u003e\u003cspan face=\"Thorndale, serif\"\u003e\u003cspan size=\"2\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSeed Depth\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#000000\"\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan color=\"#ffffff\" style=\"color: #ffffff;\"\u003e\u003cspan face=\"Thorndale, serif\"\u003e\u003cspan size=\"2\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePlant\/Row Spacing\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr valign=\"top\"\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan color=\"#000000\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan face=\"Thorndale, serif\"\u003e\u003cspan size=\"2\"\u003e75-85\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan color=\"#000000\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan face=\"Thorndale, serif\"\u003e\u003cspan size=\"2\"\u003eNot rec.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan color=\"#000000\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan face=\"Thorndale, serif\"\u003e\u003cspan size=\"2\"\u003e6-17 d.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan color=\"#000000\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan face=\"Thorndale, serif\"\u003e\u003cspan size=\"2\"\u003eNo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan color=\"#000000\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan face=\"Thorndale, serif\"\u003e\u003cspan size=\"2\"\u003eFull\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan color=\"#000000\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan face=\"Thorndale, serif\"\u003e\u003cspan size=\"2\"\u003e1”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cspan color=\"#000000\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan face=\"Thorndale, serif\"\u003e\u003cspan size=\"2\"\u003e6”\/10”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003ccolgroup width=\"2047\"\u003e\u003c\/colgroup\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\" height=\"17\"\u003eDirect sow 1\" deep after all danger of frost has passed. In row spacing is 3\" with 8\" between rows. Soaking seeds for 2-4 hours can hasten germination time. Planting with bean specific bacterial inoculum may help boost yields, especially if planting where beans have not grown before.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeed specs:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePacket size:  10 seeds minimum\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMore about the history of African Peas, aka Cowpeas:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIts \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eVigna unguiculata\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003ewe are talking about!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowpeas have so many names! As a seed company, its hard to know how best to list this amazing plant so that the most people find it. It’s also known as southern pea, field pea, red pea, or black-eyed pea. There is also a movement to rename cowpeas entirely to \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/capitalbnews.org\/black-eyed-peas-african-food-contribution\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAfrican\u003c\/a\u003e Peas in honor of the continent and people that originated the cowpea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhatever you call them, I’m convinced they are the most fun plant to harvest. Drying pods are easy to find, sticking out from the tops and sides of plants like flags. Before they shatter, I walk through the garden and gather them into a bucket. They mature progressively, so its a short chore I do every few days during the harvest season. Sometimes they shatter when I drop them in the bucket, and its super satisfying to hear the pods break open and all the dry peas pop out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy gateway to growing cowpeas was the variety ‘\u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/givinggroundseeds.com\/products\/copy-of-cowpea-purple-hull-organic?_pos=1\u0026amp;_sid=7c79fbe05\u0026amp;_ss=r\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFast Lady’\u003c\/a\u003e. Many varieties of cowpeas take too long to mature in our climate, but after growing ‘\u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/givinggroundseeds.com\/products\/copy-of-cowpea-purple-hull-organic?_pos=1\u0026amp;_sid=7c79fbe05\u0026amp;_ss=r\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFast Lady\u003c\/a\u003e’ which matures in 70 days, I realized there are other varieties that mature quickly too. \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/givinggroundseeds.com\/search?q=cowpeas\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eWe now grow and offer 7 varieties of short season adapted cowpeas\u003c\/a\u003e and are always on the hunt for more. This year we are hoping to add a couple more varieties of short season cowpeas if all goes well in the field. Once established, cowpeas are drought tolerant nitrogen fixers that can produce in tough conditions on marginal soils with little added fertility. \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/givinggroundseeds.com\/collections\/cowpea\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e This makes short season cowpeas a perfect choice for your climate-resilient, organic garden!\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"captioned-image-container\"\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\u003ca class=\"image-link image2 is-viewable-img\" href=\"https:\/\/givinggroundseeds.com\/products\/cowpea-purple-hull-organic?_pos=1\u0026amp;_sid=1f9e519d3\u0026amp;_ss=r\" data-component-name=\"Image2ToDOM\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/figure\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA “Reawakened 25\" Plant\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOver half of all food grown on this planet now comes from 3 species- corn, rice, and wheat. Many are concerned that our over-reliance on these 3 (amazing) plants puts global food systems at extreme risk, especially in this era of climate change.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/lexiconoffood.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eLexicon of Food\u003c\/a\u003e is an international NGO based that brings together food companies, government agencies, financial institutions, scientists, entrepreneurs, and food producers from across the globe to tackle the challenges facing our food systems. One project of the Lexicon of Food has been to consult experts in the fields of agriculture and global food systems to create a list of 25 especially resilient crops that could be of major nutritional importance on a warming planet- \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/lexiconoffood.com\/agrobiodiversity\/reawakened-25\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Reawakened 25\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowpeas are on this elite list of under-appreciated underdogs! Because of their ability to grow an exceptionally deep tap root, they are a drought resistant source of protein that has historically sustained people on marginal soils all over the world, but particularly in the southern United States where they have a history of being stewarded by enslaved Africans and then black sharecroppers. On the nutrient-stripped soils of the dust bowl era, many sharecropping and tenant farmers got by on cowpeas, collards, and sorghum syrup alone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAfrican Origins\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo understand how cowpeas can produce tasty protein on very little, lets go back to the beginning \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/ujamaaseeds.com\/products\/iron-clay-cow-peas\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eThe wild ancestors of todays cowpea evolved in dry savanna ecosystems in West Africa. \u003c\/a\u003e This region is one of seasonal rainfalls and nutrient-poor soils. The Sahel region of Africa, which includes modern day Nigeria and Burkina Faso, was the center of domestication and traditional plant breeding that gave us the modern cowpea. This region is still home to the greatest diversity of cowpea varieties.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the eve of what could be a major resurgence of the cowpea as a drought resistant staple, it is especially important appreciate the African origins of this amazing crop. \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/capitalbnews.org\/black-eyed-peas-african-food-contribution\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs Judith Carney and Richard Rosomoff wrote in their 2009 book, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eIn the Shadow of Slavery: Africa’s Botanical Legacy in the Atlantic World\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, “Africans have contributed more than 100 species to the global food supplies. The plants they gave the world include pearl (bulrush) millet, sorghum, coffee, watermelon, black-eyed pea, okra… tamarind, hibiscus and a species of rice. African contributions to global plant history, however, are largely unacknowledged and seldom appreciated. In the popular image, Africa is a place of hunger and starvation.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday, cowpeas are still part of daily life in many parts of Africa, but some traditional dishes involving cowpeas are becoming lesser known. \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fondazioneslowfood.com\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eThe Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity \u003c\/a\u003ehas added traditional Ugandan dishes made from cowpeas to their Ark of Taste. The mission of the \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fondazioneslowfood.com\/en\/what-we-do\/the-ark-of-taste\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eArk of Taste\u003c\/a\u003e is to raise awareness about local food traditions that are believed to be on the verge of disappearing within a few generations. \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fondazioneslowfood.com\/en\/ark-of-taste-slow-food\/field-pea\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eIn Uganda, cowpeas are traditionally boiled green in their pods (\u003cem\u003eempogola\u003c\/em\u003e) or prepared as a soup (\u003cem\u003eenva\u003c\/em\u003e). Unique to Uganda, a powder called \u003cem\u003eggobe\u003c\/em\u003e is also made from cowpea leaves.\u003c\/a\u003e This powder, which has specific rules and customs around its use and gifting, symbolizes unity and trust among different people who offer it to each other. Ggobe is often prepared together with a sauce of groundnut paste, beans, and other ingredients and is eaten with foods like potato and cassava. Any remaining flour can be stored in banana fiber and hung in a smoky zone in the kitchen for preservation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCowpeas and Slavery\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowpeas spread north from Africa to the Mediterranean through trade routes and \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/planttalk\/cowpeas-and-the-african-diaspora-part-two-a-life-giving-crop\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ewere introduced to Mexico and the Southwest by Spanish colonists in the 16th or 17th century. \u003c\/a\u003e Africans enslaved by the Portuguese also brought cowpeas with them to Jamaica at around the same time. \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/planttalk\/cowpeas-and-the-african-diaspora-part-two-a-life-giving-crop\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eArchaeological evidence shows cowpeas made their way from either the southwest or Jamaica to the southeastern United States where they were being grown by Native Americans by at least 1670.\u003c\/a\u003e Because cowpeas were a cheap staple grown in Africa, slave ship captain’s logs mention purchasing cowpeas to feed slaves on the horrific Middle Crossing to America. Captured slaves also reported smuggling cowpea seeds in their hair on slave ships for planting wherever they were going.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring slavery in the United States, cowpeas were grown on-scale on some plantations to feed slaves and were also grown in the small gardens of enslaved Africans. \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colonialwilliamsburg.org\/discover\/18th-century-people\/stories-of-black-life\/enslaved-peoples-plantation-gardens\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eEnslavers provided very meager rations of food to the enslaved, especially elderly slaves who could not work very much.\u003c\/a\u003e Enslaved people often kept small gardens to grow supplemental vegetables and medicinal herbs. Because slaves were working daylight hours on the plantation, this gardening had to be done \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colonialwilliamsburg.org\/discover\/18th-century-people\/stories-of-black-life\/enslaved-peoples-plantation-gardens\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e“by moonlight, aching after a day of heavy plantation labor.”\u003c\/a\u003e And because plantation owners often gave the enslaved the most marginal land on which to grow, those hidden \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/nominihallslavelegacy.com\/foodways-and-traditions-of-the-nomini-hall-community\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ecowpea seeds were a life saver.\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSharecropping, George Washington Carver, and Great Depression\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“Cow peas are to the South what clover is to the North, and alfalfa to the West. And we trust that the time is not far distant, when, as an article of human food, the pea itself will be to the South what the Boston, Navy and White soup beans are to the East and West.” \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e-George Washington Carver\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter slavery, from around 1870 to 1940 the \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wgbh\/americanexperience\/features\/harvest-sharecropping-slavery-rerouted\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003esharecropping system (aka “slavery rerouted\u003c\/a\u003e) ruled the economy of the south. \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/articles\/sharecropping\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eMost agricultural land remained in the hands of plantation owners\u003c\/a\u003e despite federal government promises of land for freed black men. Former plantation owners and white farmers had most of the land, most of the tools, and the cash to get yearly necessities like seeds and feed. Poor quality land was “rented” to black farmers and poor white farmers, along with the rental of tools and seeds. Sharecroppers were to somehow use the income from their small plots to sustain themselves, pay their rental debts, and save for the purchase of their own land. A tiny few were able to do this, but the vast majority remained \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/grist.org\/fix\/food-farming\/george-washington-carver-environmental-legacy\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eindentured to the land owner\u003c\/a\u003e as the generations went by.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCotton depletes soil and had stripped the once rich agricultural soils of the south. On this marginal land, former slaves knew what to grow to sustain their families and here again cowpeas are a plant hero, helping sustain people who had almost no way out of this new system oppression. Sharecroppers grew them because the plants can get by on less of everything, and because of their interconnected history and cultural relationship to the plant.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/grist.org\/fix\/food-farming\/george-washington-carver-environmental-legacy\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBut it was George Washington Carver who championed the cowpea as a post King-Cotton land healer\u003c\/a\u003e and protein-rich food. Much more than the peanut man, Carver discovered that nitrogen fixer cowpeas could be used to rebuild the over-farmed soil of the south while also providing a yield. \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nal.usda.gov\/exhibits\/ipd\/carver\/exhibits\/show\/homemaking\/item\/11\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFor a fun and dense read about his study of cowpeas, check out his agricultural bulletin on them from 1908.\u003c\/a\u003e This bulletin, in addition to a 1917 bulletin called \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nal.usda.gov\/exhibits\/ipd\/carver\/items\/show\/31\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eHow to Grow Cowpeas and 40 Ways of Preparing this Delicacy, \u003c\/a\u003ewere two major publications that got many more farmers and gardeners growing cowpeas and healing their soil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowpeas went on to get farmers through the great depression and dust bowl. When life for those with a little land was less about selling commodities and more about growing for survival, crops that didn’t have much of a market but were great survival foods (like cowpeas) really shined. Today, cowpeas are truly an emblematic food of the American south, and are a symbol of resilience and cultural identity. \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dashofjazz.com\/soul-food-black-eyed-peas\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eThey are often served in southern style alongside collard greens and rice, cooked in a slow cooker with smoky meat, or as a side dish to barbeque.\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrowing Cowpeas \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDirect sow 1\" deep after all danger of frost has passed. In row spacing is 3\" with 8\" between rows. Soaking seeds for 2-4 hours can quicken germination time. When they are first germinating, cowpeas seem to have more tender and tasty leaves and can be particularly vulnerable to earwigs and sow bugs who seem to love munching them. For this reason, don’t use mulch like leaves or straw around cowpeas. Bare soil is best as sow bugs and earwigs thrive in mulch. If ear wigs are a problem in your area, planting a little early can help. Though cowpeas are not hardy, you can cover them with row cover if temperatures dip and beat the earwigs by planting before these heat loving pests emerge. Cowpeas eventually outgrow this vulnerability and are quite easy to grow in general. Their umbrella like leaves shade the soil, and they can get by on less water and nutrients than other beans, so plant them in a “tough” part of the garden where more “needy” crops don’t want to grow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can harvest cowpeas green when they are young and cook them like snap beans. Just like snap beans they do become fibrous and woody if left on the plant too long. We prefer to wait and eat all of our cowpeas as dry beans. For this, simply let the pods dry down on the plant and harvest them when they are close to fully dry but before the pods shatter and scatter the seeds to the ground. Winnow the dry pods free from the beans by using a fan or the wind to blow off the pods and chaff, allowing the heavy beans to drop into a bucket.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCooking Cowpeas\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSimple cooking of dry cowpeas is so easy! Soak them overnight as you would with any other bean, and then simmer them for 60-90 minutes. They make great additions to stews as the need about the same amount of time to simmer as the firmer root veggies like carrots.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThree great cookbooks which have a lot of cowpea recipes (which call them black-eyed peas and field peas) are:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eSimply West African\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eby Pierre Thiam\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eI am From Here: Stories and Recipes from a Southern Chef \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eby Vishwesh Bhatt\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Blue Zones Kitchen \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eby Dan Buettner\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom \u003cem\u003eSimply West African \u003c\/em\u003eI made Senegalese Peasant Stew with \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/givinggroundseeds.com\/products\/copy-of-cowpea-purple-hull-organic?_pos=1\u0026amp;_sid=bff794bff\u0026amp;_ss=r\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFast Lady Cowpeas\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom \u003cem\u003eThe Blue Zones Kitchen \u003c\/em\u003eI made Ikarian Longevity Stew with \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/givinggroundseeds.com\/collections\/cowpea\/products\/cowpea-queen-anne-organic\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eQueen Anne Cowpeas\u003c\/a\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAfrican Peas it is!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany of the varieties and crops we gardeners grow were given their names in entirely different times, and some of them could definitely stand to be updated. Take my personal (un)favorite- the ‘Lazy Housewife’ pole bean. The bean was one of the first stringless beans, making kitchen prep much quicker. \u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.grandprismaticseed.com\/archived\/pragmatic-partner-green-bean-lazy-housewife\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eThe good-humored folks at Grand Prismatic Seeds have chosen to rebrand ‘Lazy Housewife’ as ‘Pragmatic Partner Pole Bean’\u003c\/a\u003e and as a pragmatic partner myself, I’m all for this new name!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis deep dive I’ve taken into “cowpeas” has led me to dual-list the cowpeas on our site under the heading of African Peas. I am always learning new things about the history of these varieties, and I want what I’m learning to be reflected in how I present the varieties I grow. I truly hope the name African Peas catches on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Giving Ground Seeds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":60427159470366,"sku":null,"price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0141\/3778\/6422\/files\/20261021_095101.jpg?v=1792673975","url":"https:\/\/givinggroundseeds.com\/products\/cowpea-junies-stovepipe","provider":"Giving Ground Seeds","version":"1.0","type":"link"}