African Crops For The Future Ep04: Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata)

[@HeartlandShepherds]

Thank you! Cowpeas were the only plant that did well in my garden this year. Everything else flooded out, rotted, got fungus, or was eaten by pests. Very bad year here. These plants however, look great and I pulled some pods off and chopped and cooked them up with sausage and lambs quarter (wild spinach). Very good! I can’t wait to try the leaves!!

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Fantastic, thanks for sharing that! And please tell us how you found the leaves after you've sampled them!

[@pearln2308]

We grew up planting these in my village (northern KZN), it's called imbumbe, in our village lingo, it's called izimbaweni

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Thanks for sharing!

[@linahchiwambo9836]

Nyemba, how i like them. The leaves are yummy too. Good content.

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Thank you!

[@Appydem]

I just found you today and I have been binge watching your videos.

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Thank you so much, and I really hope you're enjoying them!

[@nigelgericke2533]

Gus, this is great work, bringing the underutilised crops of Africa to global attention! Well done!

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Thanks Nigel, much appreciated!

[@peaceandlove5214]

We love it here in the Middle East I was growing it as a hobby in my garden because when it is fully grown gives very beautiful look.

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Thanks for sharing that!

[@missmash6493]

indumba zesintu in isindebele, i enjoyed these fresh mixed with boiled maize

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

That sounds delicious!

[@vodlozamihla2121]

Indumba,very nice and the dried leaves(umfushwa) very nice indeed

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Thanks, glad you enjoy them! We need to celebrate our traditional foods!

[@neelsolanki9400]

We have 110+degree summers in our part of India and the cowpeas we grow on our farm are absolute troopers, producing wave after wave of green and dried beans when not much else is producing without any input except a bit of water! Great content as usual 😃

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Thanks Neel, that's a wonderful story. Nature knows how to deal with extremes far better than we do!

[@pmfg875]

They really do make an incredible meal. It’s just as hot where I am thanks for sharing your experience. I was worried that the plants would die, but now I know we can plant them in the hottest time of the year.

[@nonyadamnbusiness9887]

In the southern states this is called cowpea or field pea or just peas, the other type of peas being called English peas. There are many varieties, black-eyed pea, purple hull pea, lady pea, iron clay pea and a dozen others. It's one of the few crops that will grow through a Florida summer. They are eaten as fresh cooked peas, with small snaps included. The preferred method of storage is fresh frozen. Some people use the leaves for salad. I'm surprised it is under utilized in Africa considering this is not the case in the South and we got them direct from Africa. Maybe they are more common in west Africa.

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

It's not that they're uncommon. It's just that people have developed a taste for other types of bean which aren't native to Africa. As a consequence this species is now being increasingly forgotten, which is really sad.

[@Fayrwa06]

My favourite Zim vegetable Nice when sun dried - mufushwa

[@africaafrica8982]

I want to make my contribution because you helped me discover many things... be blessed a lot.

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Thank you!

[@daisygloria3671]

In my village in 🇺🇬 the cow pea is called osu and the leaves (osubi) are also eaten when still young mixed with finely chopped jute leaves and smoked meat or fish. Thr bambara nut is called songo and is boiled with the cover and some salt as a snack.

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Thanks you so much for sharing this!

[@daisygloria3671]

@@AfricanPlantHunter Your welcome😁

[@soumareoumar1631]

IN Mali it's called niébé we eat both seeds and leaves it's very delicious 👌 I didn't know that some people plant it as Fordder. At which age should it be cut down as Fordder? Thanks

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Thanks for sharing the name in Mali. That's fantastic to know! You can cut it for fodder at any time. But obviously best is to harvest the beans first and then use the leaves for fodder.

[@theniimarquaye]

Thank you for the wonderful job bringing awareness to plants. Can you juice the leaves raw?

[@pmfg875]

They are so good, I love the texture and flavor, makes a fantastic curry. Your channel is so interesting. I hope this question isn’t too off topic, but have you observed Congo African Grey parrots going after certain plants and trees? I know farmers find it annoying when birds go after their crops, I’m a farmer as well(cattle). I am wondering about that because I co-own a veterinary clinic and want to learn as much as possible about their diets in the wild to provide for their nutritional requirements. Your channel is an absolute gem.

[@martinqwerty2]

Awesome 👌thanks

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Thank you, so glad you're enjoying!

[@milkweed7678]

Great video! I'm in the US in the state of IN. How narrow of row spacing can they be planted? Everything I've seen seems to be in 30 inch rows and there seems to be a lot of open space between the rows. I'm growing them for the first time in the garden this year. Thanks!

[@tlhahontabanyane8684]

thank you for the information

[@ronaldlink1257]

Fresh black eyed peas with a fried pork chop. Yum

[@snazriahify]

Long ago My Indonesian maid misunderstood my request and brought this type of pea which they consume the leaves for vegetables, but the beans were brown. The vegetables are very sweet and easy to grow

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Thanks for sharing that!

[@eswaribalan164]

Looks so like green peas, which is abundant in india.

[@jeffreyscanlan839]

I'm a loving this series. You mentioned Vigna subterranea, you might find this funny, I looked for seeds in the US. I found one seller who wanted 10 USD for 3 seeds. For that price you'd expect them to grow a giant beanstalk. I did find one seller in Ghana, but it would take 3-4 weeks to get here. Maybe next year. Question- are the leaves eaten raw are do they need cooked to get rid of the lectin. I don't even know if the leaves even have it.

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Thanks Jeff. There's an episode on Vigna subterranea coming. One of my very favourite of all African plant foods! Technically they need to go through an FDA GRAS approval process before they could be marketed in the US. Although, since their street value in the US apparently rivals that of several illegal narcotics, you'd think some enterprising gangster would have found a way! To answer your question, cowpea leaves are usually eaten cooked. Not because of any antinutritional factors, but simply because the high moisture content in the leaves gives them a very limited shelf life raw (24 hours max). No lectin in the leaves (although present of course in the beans).

[@jeffreyscanlan839]

@@AfricanPlantHunter I must try some cowpea leaves, cheers. Have a marvelous week. I'm enjoying a nice lager. Cheers.

[@ThePeoplesPlugBMWI3]

I plant these for the deer 🦌 to eat on my property

[@ferdiford5041]

What is thePH level of black eyed pea plant?

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Optimum pH is between 6.6 and 7.6. At higher pH levels the roots start to get very fibrous and the nodules are smaller. At lower pH levels growth is significantly decreased. A useful paper here: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02140049

[@ferdiford5041]

Thanks. I was told by a biochemist that plants with a PH level above 7 is native original plant,below 7 is a hybrid plant.

[@catinadavidson4566]

Are these also known as Mavuno beans? Mavuno beans don’t need to be trellised and spread out instead of up.

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

No, I don't think so. I believe Mavuno beans are a variety of sugar bean, but I could be wrong. It's a name that's only used in Kenya, as far as I know.

[@cyantess8423]

staple vegetable of the luhya of kenya we love it delicious

[@AfricanPlantHunter]

Thanks for sharing!

[@nyaweez2020]

@cyantess is it Kunde? Or mbaazi? I'm confused. I'm from the mountain we don't grow them

[@cyantess8423]

@@nyaweez2020 kunde

[@CarolsKitchenWorktop]

@@nyaweez2020 mbaazi is pigeon peas and leaves are not eaten

[@nyaweez2020]

@@CarolsKitchenWorktop thanks for letting me know

[@daniatheauracle]

Where is the black eye?

[@thomasbrennan6303]

Eating some black eye peas right now for breakfast

[@FikaduDemessie-e1z]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤️

[@brightername8801]

Kunde