Pea-Southern Seminole Pea

Pea-Southern Seminole Pea

Vigna unguiculata ssp. unguiculata

The seeds were given to me about 15 years ago, and were called Seminole Peas. I can't find to much information on them, but have been growing them for years. These are heavy producers, that require a good amount of space, as they spread and are climbers.  These are a great candidate for a spot in your food forest or garden along a fence line that you want to plant and forget it. You will never have to replant them again as seeds inevitably will drop and come back the next year. Just like their cousins the long beans and other cowpeas, they do attract aphids over the summer, but the plants can handle it. The aphids will attract lady bugs,  which will use them as a lady bug nursery.

The crop of southern peas is also known as cowpeas,  (Vigna unguiculata ssp. unguiculata). Cowpeas are thought to have arisen in Africa and were brought to America during the early colonial period. In the Southeast, they soon became a staple crop. This legume, which is a bean rather than a pea, contains a highly nutritious crop of seeds that can be shelled and eaten fresh, harvested while still green, or dried on the vine for dried food. Southern peas house bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen,  that makes them excellent for the improvement of soil.