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Category Image for Southern Peas (Cowpeas)

Southern Peas (Cowpeas)


Vigna unguiculata
Please refer to Southern Pea Cultural Notes for growing information.
Asparagus Beans are the same species as Southern Peas, but are listed separately.
Packet: 14 g (1/2 oz) unless stated (approx. 43-135 seeds, depending on variety) sows 8-22 feet.
See Peas for Snap Peas, Snow Peas, and Shelling (English) Peas.

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Displaying 1 to 23 (of 23 products)
Product Image for Bettersnap Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Especially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

Maturing in 61 days, witness the fruition of Bettersnap, a creation by Richard Fery and Philip Dukes of ARS/USDA in 1994. This remarkable variety, akin to snap peas or snap beans, allows you to savor the young pods. Displaying 9…

$3.65

Item #16129
Product Image for Big Red Ripper (Mandy) Southern Pea (Cowpea)

HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

[VA and NC heirloom] Good flavored table pea with 10 in. pods containing as many as 18 large peas per pod! Use fresh or dried. Reddish-green pods are borne high and are easy to see in the foliage. Resistant to…

$3.65

Item #16107
Product Image for Big Red Ripper, Old Fashioned

HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

67 days. There’s a lot of Big Red Ripper strains out there – our Missouri grower likes this one the best, and says it’s got the biggest pods and biggest seeds of any strain that she’s grown! She’s been stewarding…

$3.65

Item #16143
Product Image for California Blackeye Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Especially well-suited to the Southeast

75 days. Large-seeded blackeye pea. 7-9 in. green pods are held well above the foliage for easy picking. 2-3 pods/cluster, semi-vining plants. Creamy-white seeds are light green in shelly stage. Small (14 g) packet has about 115 seeds

$3.15

Item #16142
Product Image for Carolina Crowder Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Especially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

63 days. [Richard Fery and Philip Dukes, ARS/USDA, 1990.]Mississippi Silver-type with beautiful cranberry red pods. Red-brown seeds, great flavor. Semi-bush plants, 7-in. pods. Improved resistance for root-knot nematodes and many other Southern afflictions. Small packet has about 41…

$3.65

Item #16130
Product Image for Creel Crowder Southern Pea (Cowpea)

HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

61 days. [Family heirloom of Cheryl and Garey Hughes, from Garey’s great-uncle R.E. Creel, a truck farmer in Warrior, Alabama in the 1930s.] 6 in. curved pods turn golden yellow when dry, large brown seeds. Semi-vining plants, very productive! Small…

$3.65

Item #16120
Product Image for Fast Lady Northern Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Especially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

OSSI variety 58 days. Carol Deppe selected this small, white lady pea in Oregon to mature fast in the NW’s cool summers, but it handles Southern summers as well! Great for short-season areas. 7-8 in. long, yellow pods are easy…

$4.45

Item #16124
Product Image for Florida Conch Southern Pea

HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

63 days. [1905. Rare and famous Florida heirloom that came from the West Indies. Thanks to The Utopian Seed Project for seedstock!] Small, tender white seeds cook up nice and creamy. Taste test favorite in TUSP’s 2019 trials! 4-6 in….

$4.15

Item #16139
Product Image for Green Dixie Blackeye Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Especially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

60 days. [Richard Fery, ARS/USDA, 2000.] Seeds retain their green color even when dry/mature, making this a great canning/freezing variety for that "fresh" look. Sweet, fruity flavor. 8-9 in. light green pods, 1-2 pods/cluster, upright for easy picking. Small packet…

$4.15

Item #16135
Product Image for Hardee (US-1136) Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Certified OrganicHeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

[USDA/ARS, Charleston, SC, 2010; selected from SC heirloom collected in 1992 by J. Powell Smith. Introduced 2017 by SESE.] Tasty red-brown seeds. Vigorous, sprawling/climbing 10-15 ft. vines – as with "Iron and Clay," a great cover crop. A 2006 study…

$3.50

Out of StockItem #16136
Product Image for Hercules Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Especially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

75 days. [1981, Clemson AES] Large, brown seeds are the biggest we offer. 8-9" pods held upright on bushy plants with short runners. Easy to shell. Small packet has about 44 seeds.

$3.65

Item #16123
Product Image for Hog Brain Southern Pea (Cowpea)

HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

62 days. [Alabama heirloom, from seed sent by Douglas Pitts, whose neighbors grew them when Douglas was a boy. Possibly the best name for a vegetable variety ever, but no one seems to know how it got its name –

$3.50

Item #16128
Product Image for Iron and Clay Southern Pea (Cowpea)

HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the Southeast

[Brought to the U.S. by enslaved Africans before the American Revolution. Clay peas were carried as rations by Confederate soldiers, while both Iron and Clay peas sustained newly freed African-Americans after the Civil War according to George Washington Carver’s 1908

$3.15

Item #16125
Product Image for KnuckleHull-VNR Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Especially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

61 days. [Richard Fery, Judy Thies, and A. Graves Gillaspie, ARS/USDA, 2002.] Large brown peas in 6 in. purple pods. Bushy plants. Classic Alabama variety, now updated to add resistance to root-knot nematodes and other soil problems. Small packet has…

$3.65

Item #16133
Product Image for Peking Black Southern Pea (Cowpea)

HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

69 days. [From the Southern Seed Legacy collection via grower Harry Cooksey.] There is a bit of mystery about this variety’s origins. But there is no doubt that it produces an abundance of delicious black crowder- type peas on vigorous…

$3.65

Item #16110
Product Image for Pinkeye Purple Hull, Kiawah Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Especially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

61 days. [1988, Richard Fery & P.D. Dukes, ARS/USDA. Named for the Native American tribe who welcomed English settlers to Charleston, SC.] Everyone’s favorite Pinkeye Purple Hull, bred to add nematode resistance. 6-8 in. dark purple pods. 2-4 pods/cluster, upright…

$3.65

Item #16132
Product Image for Pinkeye Purple Hull, Top Pick Southern Pea

Especially well-suited to the Southeast

65 days. Popular favorite. An early, heavy yielding, semi-bush variety with good disease resistance. This one’s bred for easier picking – pods are nicely visible above the leaves. Pods contain elongated white peas with purple or pink eyes; pods turn…

$3.15

Item #16140
Product Image for Rouge et Noir (Red and Black) Southern Pea (Cowpea)

HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

63 days. [Heirloom from Washington Parrish, LA.] Similar to Peking Black but earlier. Large seeds are red when fresh, drying to black. Vigorous, semi-vining plants. Food historian William Woys Weaver notes that in Louisiana these peas are often cooked with…

$3.65

Item #16118
Product Image for Speckled Graham Southern Pea (Cowpea)

HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

(US-1137)[USDA/ARS, Charleston, SC, 2010; selected from SC heirloom collected in 1992 by J. Powell Smith.] 102 days. Tasty mix of speckled grey and tan seeds. Vigorous, sprawling/climbing 10-15 ft. vines, resistant to root knot nematodes and other Southern afflictions….

$3.50

Item #16134
Product Image for Tohono O'odham (Papago) Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Certified OrganicHeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

63 days. [SW Native American heirloom.] Highly drought- and heat-tolerant variety often used for summer cover crops. 6-7 in. purple-tinged pods. Earthy- flavored seeds have black and white markings like Holstein cows. (Some seeds have brown coloration too.) Small packet…

$3.65

Item #16119
Product Image for Whippoorwill Southern Pea (Cowpea)

HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

72 days. [Brought to the Americas from Africa during the slave trade. Grown by Jefferson at Monticello.] Once the standard for southern peas, this variety is drought-tolerant and will grow in almost all soils. 5 ft. vines produce extended harvests…

$3.65

Item #16111
Product Image for White Acre Southern Pea (Cowpea)

HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

62 days. High-yielding heirloom southern pea has superior flavor. Quick early growth and dense foliage reduces much of the need for weeding. 7-8 in. pods, small white seeds, 18-25 peas/pod. Small packet has about 137 seeds.

$3.65

Item #16109
Product Image for Zipper Cream Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Especially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms

67 days. [1972, FL AES. Thanks to Bob Bulluck for our seedstock!] Southern favorite. Bushy 2-3 ft. plants bear prolifically. 6-9 in. pods with large, creamy-white seeds, 18- 20 seeds/pod, easy to shell. Unusually, seeds have a taste between English…

$3.95

Item #16116
Product Image for Bettersnap Southern Pea (Cowpea)
Product Image for Big Red Ripper (Mandy) Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Big Red Ripper (Mandy) Southern Pea (Cowpea)

$3.65Item #16107HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms
Product Image for Big Red Ripper, Old Fashioned
Product Image for California Blackeye Southern Pea (Cowpea)

California Blackeye Southern Pea (Cowpea)

$3.15Item #16142Especially well-suited to the Southeast
Product Image for Carolina Crowder Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Carolina Crowder Southern Pea (Cowpea)

$3.65Item #16130Especially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms
Product Image for Creel Crowder Southern Pea (Cowpea)
Product Image for Fast Lady Northern Southern Pea (Cowpea)
Product Image for Florida Conch Southern Pea
Product Image for Green Dixie Blackeye Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Green Dixie Blackeye Southern Pea (Cowpea)

$4.15Item #16135Especially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms
Product Image for Hardee (US-1136) Southern Pea (Cowpea)
Out of Stock
Product Image for Hercules Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Hercules Southern Pea (Cowpea)

$3.65Item #16123Especially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms
Product Image for Hog Brain Southern Pea (Cowpea)
Product Image for Iron and Clay Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Iron and Clay Southern Pea (Cowpea)

$3.15Item #16125HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the Southeast
Product Image for KnuckleHull-VNR Southern Pea (Cowpea)
Product Image for Peking Black Southern Pea (Cowpea)
Product Image for Pinkeye Purple Hull, Kiawah Southern Pea (Cowpea)
Product Image for Pinkeye Purple Hull, Top Pick Southern Pea

Pinkeye Purple Hull, Top Pick Southern Pea

$3.15Item #16140Especially well-suited to the Southeast
Product Image for Rouge et Noir (Red and Black) Southern Pea (Cowpea)
Product Image for Speckled Graham Southern Pea (Cowpea)
Product Image for Tohono O'odham (Papago) Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Tohono O’odham (Papago) Southern Pea (Cowpea)

$3.65Item #16119Certified OrganicHeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms
Product Image for Whippoorwill Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Whippoorwill Southern Pea (Cowpea)

$3.65Item #16111HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms
Product Image for White Acre Southern Pea (Cowpea)

White Acre Southern Pea (Cowpea)

$3.65Item #16109HeirloomEspecially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms
Product Image for Zipper Cream Southern Pea (Cowpea)

Zipper Cream Southern Pea (Cowpea)

$3.95Item #16116Especially well-suited to the SoutheastFrom Small Farms
Displaying 1 to 23 (of 23 products)

Icon Legend

  • Certified Organic
    Certified Organic by Quality Certification Services
  • Heirloom
    Heirlooms introduced before 1940
  • Especially well-suited to the Southeast
    Varieties well-suited to the Mid-Atlantic & further South
  • From Small Farms
    Seed from small farms in our Seed Grower Network