Kunde or CowPeas

At 274Backyard this summer we had Cowpeas growing for their leaves - Kunde in Swahili. We have to prepare for next spring planting, so we harvested some seeds and prepared them the old fashioned way.

This variety
Plants follow the immigration path of humanity, So did this variety of Cowpeas. It grows mostly in western Kenya, where its a familiar  side dish with Ugali!
Cowpeas is a hardy crop, although it originated from Africa it grows almost everywhere provided its not waterlogged.
274Backyard is in USDA zone 7 and the vegetable does pretty well.

The larger picture - What is Cowpeas?

“Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.), an annual legume, is also commonly referred to as southern pea, blackeye pea, crowder pea, lubia, niebe, coupe or frijole. Cowpea originated in Africa and is widely grown in Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and in the southern United States. It is chiefly used as a grain crop, for animal fodder, or as a vegetable. The history of cowpea dates to ancient West African cereal farming, 5 to 6 thousand years ago, where it was closely associated with the cultivation of sorghum and pearl millet.

Wordwide cowpea production has increased dramatically in the last 25 years. United States production of dry cowpea has declined from 3/4 million acres to a few thousand over the same period. The blackeyed cowpea type is grown primarily in California and is marketed as California blackeyed peas.” University of Wisconsin Corperative Extension 

The pods for this variety are small since it has a evolved as a leave provider and not a beans source, the seeds are are for "seed" not consumption.

Treating seeds for next season with skills  mostly forgotten!

 The seeds are treated with ash from the grill just like my grandmother did!

 The cowpeas is planted for its leaves, makes very delicious vegetable. Vegetable preparation formulary is a specialty I prefer to defer to my resident expert, she will provide it in due course.

 Seeds are packed and ready for spring, with over 500 seeds we saved over $25 excluding postage not considering that these are not proprietary seeds and can be replanted!


What did you do in your backyard this summer? Did you plant a vegetable, keep a chicken or plant a  fruit tree?
 "The greatest service which can be rendered any country is the  introduction of a new plant into its [agri]culture." - Thomas Jefferson,  circa 1800