How to Grow Cowpeas (Black-eyed Peas)

Planting Cowpeas (Black-eyed Peas)

Cowpeas (Black-eyed Peas) is a warm season vegetable in the Fabaceae family. Getting the timing right is the difference between a strong stand and a disappointing one, so the windows below are given relative to your own last spring frost and first fall frost rather than a generic calendar date. Look up your local frost dates and count back or forward from there.

Sow Cowpeas (Black-eyed Peas) directly into the garden 2–3 weeks after your last frost, once the soil has warmed.

Spacing and Planting Depth

Give Cowpeas (Black-eyed Peas) room to mature. The figures below come from verified extension and seed-supplier data for typical varieties.

Days to Maturity

Cowpeas (Black-eyed Peas) reaches maturity in 60–90 days from sowing.

Cowpeas (Black-eyed Peas) is ready to harvest after about 75 days. Harvest before the first fall frost, which will end the plant's productive season.

Conditions and Care

As a warm-season vegetable, Cowpeas (Black-eyed Peas) needs warm soil and settled weather to thrive, and is set back or killed by frost. It is frost tender, so wait until all danger of frost has passed before planting out and harvest before the first fall frost.

Cowpeas (Black-eyed Peas) needs full sun — give it at least six hours of direct light a day for the best growth and flavor. Sow seed about 1 inch deep, then keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings establish.

Cowpeas (Black-eyed Peas) belongs to the Fabaceae family; rotating where you grow members of this family each year helps limit the build-up of soil-borne pests and disease. Cowpeas (Black-eyed Peas) is generally grown as a single planting each season rather than succession sown.

Companion Plants

Pairing Cowpeas (Black-eyed Peas) with the right neighbors can improve growth and deter pests; a few combinations are best avoided.

Grows well with: Corn, Cucumber

Keep away from: Onion, Garlic

Growing Notes

Heat-loving; tolerates poor soil.

Sources

• NC State Extension