Top Pick Pinkeye Peas

Vigna unguiculata ‘Top Pick Pinkeye’

Characteristics

Culture

Top Pick Pinkeye Peas are an open-pollinated cowpea variety known for its concentrated pod set at the top of the plant. This southern pea is an improved pinkeye variety that produces delicious, cream-colored peas. They have a creamy texture and a sweeter, more earthy flavor than traditional pinkeye pea varieties. Plants have a relatively compact, bush growing habit. Pods are concentrated at the top of the plant for easy harvesting. This also helps to keep the pods clean and less likely to get splashed by soil during periods of heavy precipitation.

Pea pods mature from a light green to a medium-purple color. The pods are about 8” long and contain 10-13 beans. They are harvested at both the immature and mature stages, and some are left on the plant to begin the drying process. The young peas are harvested when the pods are green and the peas are small and just a shade lighter than the hull itself. As the pods mature, the peas grow larger and turn a creamy white color. The rounded, slightly kidney-shaped beans have a pink “eye” where they connect to the pod. As the peas mature, the eye becomes darker and turns a bright magenta color. The pods are picked for shelling when they are a pale purple.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Top Pick Pinkeye Purple Hull is an improved Pinkeye Purple Hull variety. The bush plants have pods at the top of the plant for easy harvesting. The pods turn purple when they are at the fresh shelling stage.

Problems

Click here for more information about disease issues and pests.

Uses

Pods are great when pickled, fried, or boiled or incorporated raw into a salad. For pickled okra, smaller pods may be desired.