Soil
Any average, well drained soil.
Position
Full sun.
Frost tolerant
No. Crowder peas are semi-tropical plants that crave warm growing conditions.
Feeding
When using crowder peas to improve very poor soil, mixing a balanced organic fertilizer into the soil before planting will give better results.
Companions
Cosmos and Celosia. Other heat-tolerant summer-blooming annuals.
Spacing
Single Plants: 5″ (15cm) each way (minimum)
Rows: 5″ (15cm) with 1′ 1″ (35cm) row gap (minimum)
Sow and Plant
Sow in summer, when the soil is warm. Crowder peas will not germinate in cold soil.
Notes
Crowder peas are a good nitrogen-fixing summer cover crop for warm climates, where the vegetable seasons are sharply divided by a period of hot weather.
Harvesting
Pull up or turn under plants any time after they are about 4 weeks old, but before they develop pods.
Troubleshooting
Rarely bothered by pests or diseases when grown in warm weather.
