A staple in soul food, black-eyed peas are rich and savory and make the perfect addition to stews, succotash, and homemade fritters. Often eaten on New Year’s Day to welcome good luck, black-eyed peas are actually beans, and they are members of the Fabaceae family. Originally from West Africa, these easy-to-grow vining plants are drought and heat-resistant, and they can even enrich your garden soil.
Commonly grown in warmer climates, black-eyed peas take about 100 days to reach maturity, so make sure you have enough time to grow them between frosts. These low-maintenance plants require minimal watering and fertilizer and are good choices for beginning gardeners. Throughout the season, you can use black-eyed peas in a range of ways. Immature pods and young leaves can be steamed and eaten, while mature beans can be dried or shelled and enjoyed fresh.
DENNY SCHROCK
Black-Eyed Pea Overview
Where to Plant Black-Eyed Peas
Black-eyed peas are available in bush-type and vining varieties, depending on your growing space. If you have a small garden, opt for bush-type plants that will stay smaller and can even be grown in containers. Vining black-eyed peas will require a trellis or poles to support them, but they usually produce a large harvest of beans.For happier plants, locate your black-eyed peas in a slightly sheltered area of your backyard where they won’t be buffeted by strong winds.
How and When to Plant Black-Eyed Peas
Black-eyed peas don’t handle cold temperatures or transplanting well, so they should be directly sown outdoors in spring after all danger of frost has passed. Wait until soil temperatures are at least 65°F, for best results. If you sow your seeds too early, they may succumb to rot or damping off.When you’re ready to plant, sow your seeds in rows 2.5 to 3 feet apart, spacing seeds 4 to 6 inches from each other. Black-eyed peas should be sown about 1.5 inches below the soil line.
Care Tips for Black-Eyed Pea
Black-eyed peas are good plants to grow if you’re new to gardening. Heat and drought-tolerant, they require minimal watering and fertilizing and will grow happily in a wide variety of gardens.
Light
Black-eyed peas grow best in full sun, although they can tolerate some partial afternoon shade. For best growth and a larger harvest, make sure your plants receive at least 8 hours of direct light per day.
Soil and Water
Black-eyed peas grow best in well-draining, sandy to loamy soil with a pH of between 5.5 and 6.5. They do not tolerate soggy conditions. Poor soil can be enriched with compost or aged manure prior to sowing your black-eyed peas to give your plants an advantage.
Relatively drought tolerant, you may not need to water your black-eyed peas if you are receiving a moderate amount of rainfall. However, it’s a good idea to water your plants every few days if rain is scarce.
Temperature and Humidity
Black-eyed peas can thrive in high heat and humidity; however, they don’t tolerate cold temperatures and vines will die back when frosts arrive.
Fertilizer
If you enrich your garden soil with compost, aged manure, or a legume inoculant prior to planting, your black-eyed peas generally won’t need any extra fertilizer. Adding an inoculant to your soil will increase your black-eyed peas' ability to fix nitrogen and improve your garden soil.
Pruning
Black-eyed pea plants generally don’t need to be pruned, although vining plants should be trellised to keep them from sprawling and to make harvesting easier.Versatile enough to use in a wide range of dishes, you can harvest black-eyed peas throughout the growing season. Immature, green pods can be picked before they’re bulging with seeds and cooked just like green beans. Young leaves can also be harvested and steamed or sautéed-just don’t pick more than a third of the plant’s leaves at once.
Harvest
For dried black-eyed peas, wait between 80 and 100 days after you planted your seeds to harvest. Your beans will be ready to pick when the pods are fully dried on the vine, and they are brown or yellow and brittle to the touch. After picking your beans, shell them into a bowl and allow them to continue to dry indoors if they still retain moisture. To store, keep your dried beans in an airtight container until you’re ready to use them.
Pests and Problems
Appearing as a white, powdery film on plant leaves, powdery mildew is caused by humid conditions and poor airflow. Follow proper spacing suggestions when sowing your plants and only water at the soil line to keep your plant’s leaves as dry as possible. Morning watering is also recommended, as this will give your black-eyed peas plenty of time to absorb extra moisture before temperatures fall in the evening.Aphids are sap-sucking insects that leave behind a sticky residue on leaf surfaces and can cause leaves to grow shrunken and distorted. They can also transmit the bean mosaic virus. Aphid infestations can be treated with a strong blast from your garden hose or insecticidal soap or neem oil spray.
Like aphids, leafhoppers feed on plant sap and can create a mottled appearance on plant leaves. Floating row covers, organic insecticidal soap spray, and neem oil can help treat leafhopper infestations.
Types of Black-Eyed Peas
‘Red Ripper’ Cowpea
A high-yielding, southern favorite, ‘Red Ripper’ is a prolific grower and produces an abundance of brown-skinned cowpeas. This vining variety is drought- and heat-tolerant and has been around since at least the 1850s.
Another classic choice, these black-eyed peas mature a bit earlier than other varieties and are very heat tolerant. They even offer lots of garden colors, as pods range in tone from green to vibrant purple.
Companion Plants for Black-Eyed Peas
Basil's strong scent will help protect your pea plants by repelling many common garden pests. Like basil, dill is also a highly fragrant herb that will repulse some pests and act as a trap crop for others. The short leaves and rapid growth of radishes make them excellent companion plants for black-eyed peas and other vining crops. Interplanting with radishes will help you maximize your garden space, and they won’t compete with your bean plants for light.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do you soak black-eyed peas before planting?Yes. Soaking your black-eyed peas overnight before you plant them will help your bean plants grow and speed up germination rates.
Yes. Soaking your black-eyed peas overnight before you plant them will help your bean plants grow and speed up germination rates.
- How many black-eyed pea plants per person do you need?For a year’s supply of black-eyed peas, plan on planting approximately 30 plants for every person in your home.
For a year’s supply of black-eyed peas, plan on planting approximately 30 plants for every person in your home.