Black-eyed peas have many names.  They are called field peas, Southern peas, cowpeas, crowder peas, and some 50 other names.  Whatever the name, up until the Civil War, black-eyed peas were grown primarily to feed cattle.  Some may have been eaten by slaves, but free Anglos did not generally eat these peas.

Southern Delicacy

Well, war changes things.  During and after the conflict, food was scarce and taxes were high.  Those black-eyed peas looked a lot better when people were starving.  Since each plant can produce a lot of food if picked regularly, they were widely planted.

Fix Nitrogen

Black-eyed peas are actually a legume and fix nitrogen in the soil just as soybeans or clover do.  They are easy to grow in most soils. The fact that they are tasty doesn’t hurt, either.

Inoculate Before Planting

Black-eyed peas benefit from being dusted with a powder carrying the inoculates of nitrogen-fixing bacteria.  Most seed places have these.  Be sure and get fresh ones or the bacteria won’t be vigorous and you won’t get as good a yield.

Grow Well In Most Soil

Most soils will support black-eyed peas, even the clay gumbo that passes for soil here.  If the soil is too good, the vines grow and grow but do not put out many peas.  A medium pH of 5.8-6.5 is best, but the peas are tolerant of variations.

Fertilizing

If your soil test indicated you need fertilizer, you should broadcast it seven to ten days before planting and work it into the top 3-4 inches.  Black-eyed peas are a warm-weather crop and will not tolerate frost.  Plant when you plant corn and other beans.  You plant the seeds around an inch deep in rows spaced 20 to 42 inches apart.  The seed package will come with instructions for the particular variety of black-eyed pea you are planting.

Plant Lots of Peas

Buy lots of seeds.  It is generally sold in 1/4 pound intervals and you will want that much per person.  Harvest when the pods are full but not yellow.  You can snap them like bush beans or shell them and eat them that way.  Most people in the South toss a ham hock in the pot with the peas to add flavor.   Leave a few pods on until they dry out and save those to plant for next year.

Want to learn to garden? My first attempt at gardening ended up in failure. The weeds took over and squeezed the vegetables out. I was very frustrated by this waste of good seed, time, and money. So I became a master gardener and spent a lot of time helping other people avoid or overcome problems in their garden. 

In order to help others garden successfully, I have written a book, Vegetable Gardening from the Ground Up, available in an ebook or a paperback from Amazon. It is also in Kindle Unlimited.