Lest we not forget homemade whisky beer and wine.:yes:
Worth

I had to Google to see what cow peas and crowders are. I've never heard of them.

I grow White Acre peas each summer and I prefer them shelled fresh. I know to pick them when I see purple streaks on the pods, but at that point the pods would be too tough to eat. I do sometimes buy the Pictsweet peas and snaps frozen at the store, off season.

I eat the White Acres out of the garden two ways (besides with a spoon, Salt ;)). I love them blanched in a tomato salad with some goats cheese, fresh basil and vinaigrette. Or I cook them with some salt pork and a bit of sugar and salt. These are a real treat for me. One of those things I have to grow if I want them. Once in a blue moon I see them sold at the farm stand, specifically White Acre peas. They have black eyed peas all the time but that's not the same. Otherwise, I cannot find them here dried or frozen. They're easy to grow if I can keep the aphids off of them. I look forward to them each year. I'll have a 12 foot row this summer.

Thinking back to the end of last season, at my last picking, as I was getting ready to yank the plants, I did save a few immature pods. That's the only time I've cooked the pods. They're not that big a deal to me. I have a lot of green beans, too, and I'm pretty content just eating those pods. But to each his/her own.

[QUOTE=TC_Manhattan;618462]This is why they're $3/lb.:P
Folks don't buy these for sustenance. They couldn't afford to do so.
We buy these as a novelty, for a once-in-a while treat.:D

BTW, Dixie speckled butter pea limas and Jackson Wonders [i]are[/i] worth growing. I can get a decent yield from a small garden bed and they are really tasty, too.;)[/QUOTE]

I got a good yield of Dixie Speckled Butter Peas. I only planted one row and I got enough for several meals for myself, shared some with a neighbor, and still have some dried beans in the cupboard for stew. I have seeds for pole limas from the Swap that I will plant this summer.

[QUOTE=Worth1;618615]Lest we not forget homemade whisky beer and wine.:yes:
Worth[/QUOTE]

I used to make wine and my dh made the beer. It was good stuff for the most part. But access to fresh grapes/juice is why I stopped making wine. I had a couple contaminated batches. Not worth the effort. My dh still occasionally makes beer for a party. He doesn't do it very often any more because neither of us handle the calories as well in our old age. We have some very good local craft breweries that do a great job when I have a hankerin' for a pint.

Thanks, Shelleybean. Those are some good suggestions. The tomato salad sounds very good. I love goat cheese.

I didn't know aphids liked cowpeas. I will watch for that.

[QUOTE=AlittleSalt;618514]When I see this thread, my first thought is, "How to eat cowpeas" - "With a spoon."[/QUOTE]

:lol: :lol: I knew someone would say that.

I said yesterday that I would show some pictures of how I grow "cow peas". Probably the most popular cow pea in Texas is black eye peas. I grow Top Pick Pink Eye Purple Hull peas. The Top Pick part of the name indicates that most of the peas grow above the plant so are easier to pick. I find that is not always true but the peas are productive and I really like them.

Here's the peas just starting to grow. You can see I have four rows in the 4' X 24 ' raised bed. Sometimes I will plant 5 rows. It usually takes about 60 days to first harvest.

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Here you can see the peas just before blooming. I use a 6" X 6" plastic netting to keep the peas inside the raised bed.

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Here are the peas blooming and that means peas will be ready to pick in about 2 weeks.

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Here's the first harvest. I usually harvest about 3 times and then pull the plants to plant more peas or something else.

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Wow, Whistech! This is [I]great![/I]

Thanks for posting your photos. Gives me the motivation to try some again.
Last time, I grew Dixie Lee crowders and Red Ripper, and neither were anywhere near as productive as yours!

Very nice pictures, Whistech! Thank you for posting. Congrats on a great harvest!

Definitely looks like the way to most efficiently grow PH peas. Great looking harvest. You get that amount 3 times? Would more come if you left them?

Nice peas.
Would go good with boiled okra.
Worth

TPPHP are easy to grow and they taste good, I shell them fresh and still light green and I also dry them for seed and eating. Not all are top pick so make sure you get the right variety. The beans on top waving at you make it easy to pick.

Here's the lazy way to grow them. [url]http://www.cookinglouisiana.com/Articles/Peas_no-till.htm[/url]

[QUOTE=Rajun Gardener;618914]TPPHP are easy to grow and they taste good, I shell them fresh and still light green and I also dry them for seed and eating. Not all are top pick so make sure you get the right variety. The beans on top waving at you make it easy to pick.

Here's the lazy way to grow them. [url]http://www.cookinglouisiana.com/Articles/Peas_no-till.htm[/url][/QUOTE]
Love it! Y'all are making me want to throw out some seed around my birthday in August.