How to harvest cowpea seeds

Cowpeas are very popular among gardeners right now. And no wonder: their long, vine-like pods help you get a bountiful harvest in a small space! That's why cowpea seeds are quite expensive—pretty expensive compared to regular beans. But I decided to tell you how to collect cowpea seeds for planting next year. It's quite simple and practical: this way, you can plan how much to plant from the end of the gardening season. cowpeas plant next season.

When does Chinese bean produce seeds?

Although the general appearance of this bean is very different from that of the common bean (its pods reach 70 cm, and inside them are black beans, not white ones), the life cycle of this plant is the same. That is, bean bushes first grow from seeds, then begin to vine, flower, and produce bean pods.

Cowpeas can bear fruit until October, even if planted early in May. However, you won't get ready seeds from this plant before the second half of August. So, they are harvested for a month and a half, from the second half of August until October.

How to harvest cowpea seeds correctly

1. Cowpea pods go through several stages of development. First, a thin green stem appears in place of the flower, resembling a stamen rather than a bean pod. This tiny stem then grows and develops, becoming a full-fledged cowpea pod, 30-70 cm long (depending on soil and care). At this stage, the pods are edible, but they are not yet suitable for planting.

2. Overgrown pods (those no longer suitable for food) are characterized by a stiff tendril at the junction of the two valves. Then, the cowpea pod develops reddish spots: during this period, the valves release all the nutrients stored during the season to the beans. However, it's still too early to harvest the seeds at this stage.

3. When the pods are completely dry and turn light beige, you can safely pick them and start harvesting the beans themselves.

4. Cowpeas are called asparagus beans for a reason: they have more pods than beans! You'll remember this immediately after separating the first pod. Despite its impressive length, it contains not 30 or 40 beans, but only 2 to 10. Knowing this, you can plan how many pods you'll need to leave for seeds—3 (for a small cowpea planting along a fence) or 10 (for a larger planting or as gifts for neighboring gardeners).

5. Place the green bean seeds in a storage container—a jar with a lid or a plastic bag. Beans should only be stored in sealed containers to prevent access by bugs.
Even a novice gardener can harvest cowpea seeds! However, due to the small number of beans in the pods, this process may not be everyone's cup of tea. Nevertheless, you'll end up with your own cowpea seeds of the highest quality!