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 to my climate (more on landraces below). For now, that is a long-term goal. As these seeds sit currently the appropriate term for them is a grex. A grex is diverse mix of seed containing many varieties of a given species. Peas do not readily outcross so there will be a relatively low percentage of hybridization. By this point I expect that at least some of the seed in this grex are the result of hybrid crossing between varieties.

Each year that I grow these peas they will change. For the first few years I have been saving almost every seed and trying hard to add as many genetics to the swarm as possible. In the coming years I may begin to start selecting for other traits. Some of the peas are rather large while others are small. I would like to slowly increase size without sacrificing much diversity. I also like some of the extreme colors that present. One of the varieties makes pods and seeds that are a stunning dark maroon. I am in love with the speckled nature of the whippoorwill peas. Reach out if you are relatively close to my region and would like to collaborate on future pea breeding projects! We can achieve these goals faster together.

A landrace is a term reserved for a diverse population of any crop plant that is locally adapted and has been grown in the same place by a specific group of people for generations. To be a landrace all of these criteria must be met. Prior to modern western industrial agriculture this is the style of planting that was most common. Our ancestors figured this out ages ago. The diversity of a landrace protects against all manner of uncertainties. By nature of the populations diversity some of the plants will survive flood years while others are better suited to drought. When new pests migrate in there is a good chance some of the plants will show resistance.

Modern agriculture has no place for this diversity because it makes it difficult to machine harvest. The same diversity that protects landraces from stressors also results in traits such as staggered harvest times, variable plant height, a range of fruits sizes, various tastes and colors. I believe strongly that moving back towards a landrace style of agriculture will be key to surviving the rapidly changing conditions we now face worldwide. This process will take generations. A grex can be developed quickly. Tangible results can be felt in just a few generations. But to truly become a landrace the element of people and time must be incorporated. We must grow and save these seeds until the next generation can take up the torch.

Here I will name all the varieties that went into this grex. Many of these seeds came from the experimental farm network and Ujamaas seeds. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend checking them out. Grey speckled, whippoorwill, Grandpa Mckay’s cream pea, iron and clay,  'Azerbaijan Landrace' African Pea, and 'Promiscuous Peas' African Pea Breeding Mix.

Each packet contains roughly 45 seeds. Plant after danger of last frost. They really like hot weather. I like to sow them roughly 0.5” deep in rows. Many of these varieties like to climb. You can space them super tight or give them more room to sprawl. The pods will ripen and dry down on the plants. Pick them as they ripen.

** If you are of African descent and are interested in growing this population of peas feel free to reach out. I would be happy to send seed to you for free. **