Texas Creme 40 Pea
Be sure to check out our Cow Pea Growing Guide for more tips & tricks on successfully growing cow peas in your garden.
Texas Creme 40 Pea is an heirloom, open-pollinated cowpea variety that produces delicious, creme colored peas. This southern pea variety is drought-tolerant and performs well in a wide variety of soil conditions from sandy to clay. Plants have an upright growth habit and produce white flowers with pods set high on the plant for clean, easy harvesting. Pods average 6-8″ long and are slightly curved. Pods are light green and will dry to a tan color.
Texas Creme 40 Pea was introduced in 1952 and developed by the horticultural department at Texas A&M university. It was originally developed by crossing an early-season blackeye pea variety with a mid-season creme pea variety. This is a great variety for freezing and canning. Blanch briefly and vacuum seal to have delicious peas throughout the cooler months, or pressure can in jars for long-term storage. For best results, plant field peas on drip irrigation to ensure adequate water is available throughout the plants life cycle.
We recommend planting Texas Creme 40 Pea using a walk-behind planter like our Hoss Garden Seeder. Use a #5 seed plate, but always check the hole size and modify if necessary. Because it has a semi-vining growing habit, allow 3-4′ of growing space for each row. Field peas, or “crowder peas”, do very well when planted on double rows. Plant two rows about 6″ apart, then skip over 3-4′ and plant another double row. This will allow you to maximize garden space and produce more vegetables per square foot of garden. Peas should be harvested when pods are full and shelling is easy. If the pods do not shell easily, they likely need to stay on the plant longer.
Texas Creme 40 Pea Planting Information
Planting Method: direct seed
When to Plant: after last frost
Planting Depth: 1″
Seed Spacing: 3-4″
Row Spacing: 3-4′
Days to Maturity: 65
Disease/Pest Resistance: None
