cow peas as a stand alone crop?

[Bc4abc]

How many have done this, and what were the results?
Had thought about planting soy beans, but i hear so many people say the deer destroy them before hunting season......

planting times?
depth?
method?
I'm in mountains of southwest Va

Thanks in advance

 

[j-bird]

Depending on the amount of plot space you have - sounds like a side-by-side field trial in the works to me! Cowpeas vs soybeans!! To be honest I think if you have small plots and a high deer density I am not sure it's going to make a significant difference. If your almost where you want to be with soybeans but not quite.....then cow peas may be the difference you are looking for. Just realize soybeans give you a lot more options in varieties, weed control, growth habits and maturity dates and the like than cow peas do. I would be prepared to overseed the plot and turn it into a fall/winter annual plot with cereal grains and brassica as "insurance" regardless. Just my opinion.

 

[momatt]

I bre red ripper and iron clay cow peas as a stand alone crop a couple years ago. My plot was about an acre. I disced then broadcast them and cultipacked. Planted around July 4 had a fantastic plot even though it was dry. Had deer all over that plot they ate it down hard once they found it. Had night video with 30 set of eyes. Unfortunately first light frost put them on the ground. I've never had the enthusiastic utilization on rye or brassicas as the cow peas. I'm in central missouri.

 

[mikmaze]

I tried cow peas as stand alone on an almost 2 acre plot, deer ate them to the ground, tried soybeans in the same spot, same reslults. I don't have a plot big
enough to keep it from happening.

 

[shawnv]

Planted cows peas here in WI, not enough heat units up here for them to produce pods this year. Wish I had spring planted more AWP.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Planted cows peas here in WI, not enough heat units up here for them to produce pods this year. Wish I had spring planted more AWP.

When did you plant your peas and why do you wish you planted more?

 

[shawnv]

I planted the cowpeas and Austrian winter peas late May. AWP even when browsed keeps growing and as long as the deer keep clipping it doesn't mature. I got browse all summer long and still have a fair number of pods from those.

 

[nitro27]

Tried AWP twice and was dissatisfied both times, lack of deer use, number of pods/peas on plants. Soybeans are for me much more productive.

 

[shawnv]

Tried AWP twice and was dissatisfied both times, lack of deer use, number of pods/peas on plants. Soybeans are for me much more productive.

Interesting to see how deer react in different areas to forages. Next year will probably be an ag soybean/AWP mix with going heavier on the AWP for me.

 

[yoderjac]

How many have done this, and what were the results?
Had thought about planting soy beans, but i hear so many people say the deer destroy them before hunting season......

planting times?
depth?
method?
I'm in mountains of southwest Va

Thanks in advance

I've planted them in the spring as a warm season annual and in the fall in a mix. The issue I encountered was that they germinated and grew well, but deer hammered them when young and they had a lot of weed competition. I broadcast and dragged them after tilling at the time.

Eventually I abandon them in favor of RR ag soybeans. The beans have the same browsing issues but Glyphosate removes most of the weed competition. I eventually had to abandon RR ag soybeans for RR forage beans (Eagle). They stood up much better to the browsing pressure and when I got enough planted the canopied. When deer numbers down I've gone back to Ag beans, but I think I'll need to go back to Eagle soon if not next spring.

Cowpeas don't overwinter in my area (VA zone 7b). So, when planted as part of a mix in the fall the serve as an early season attractant and then make room for the other seeds in the mix when they are eaten by deer or are killed by a frost. I found that if I go to the coop in the fall, they usually have left over soybeans that they will sell much cheaper than cowpeas since farmers will want new seed next spring.

If you are looking for something that overwinters in our area, AWP are a better choice.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[mikmaze]

Lynx wintr peas over winter here in central NJ, a fair bit colder than central VA when planted as a fall crop. planted as a spring crop they do well untill the heat of summer kicks their buts. less than 1% will be around come fall.