African Peas

Southern/African Peas   On of my biggest allies in the garden are African peas. Other names for this plant include southern pea, black eyed pea, cow pea, and crowder pea. This plant evolved in Africa where it has long been used as a staple food in human diets. No doubt African farmers have shaped these peas over 1000s of years into the varieties we have today. These peas first came to this land with slaves several hundred years ago. Many enslaved people as well as poor white southerners leaned heavily on the calories and nutrients these peas provided. In the hot humid south these peas do not quit. I find them easier to grow than any other legume. My grandparents and great grandparents grew crowder peas on the farm in North Carolina.    I have been collecting as many varieties of southern pea as I can find since sometime around 2021. Since 2022 I have been growing all these varieties together and saving seed. My hope is to eventually work towards developing a landrace that is adapted t