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I'm curious about growing beans like black eyed peas or kidney beans, etc. It gets ferociously hot here in Savannah during the summer so many veggies and herbs just collapse and give up until cooler weather. I have a fence that gets eastern morning sun through mid day sun and is shaded for the worst of the afternoon heat. Do you think I could grow beans there? Also, assuming hopefully that the answer is yes, how are they harvested and dried? I'm a newbie gardener, and also new as a regular reader of these forums, so if the answers to my questions are somewhere else just point me in the right direction... Thanks in advance for the help I know is coming. This site is amazing, and I'm SO grateful!
Southern peas (Vigna unguiculata) do very well in our summers. Beans ( phaseolus vulgaris) struggle in July and August. I much prefer the southern peas as greenshellies. But if you like them dried just let them dry on the vine, pick let dry in the shell a couple more days , shell them out and store. [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
Ditto what FarmerDill said. The black-eye peas/cowpeas will do you justice in the hot months much better than beans. (Pole beans seem to do better than bush beans though so you might want to give them a try if it isn't too late in your area. F-dill can answer that question.)
I also wonder if Edamame/soybeans would give you a good crop. They seem to handle the high heat very well here.
You won't need a fence to grow your peas on as they are more of a bush rather than vining.. As for drying them just let them be till they are hard to dent with your finger. Personally I like to harvest them in their fresh stage then blanch and freeze them. OR you can shell them, cook them up in a big pot to your liking and freeze in quart freezer bags or the like. That allows you to pull out a meals worth at a time, heat it up, chow down!
Thanks for your speedy and informative replies! I think I'll give them a try next year, guessing it would be too late to start them this season. Having my own beans for hoppin' John would be SUCH a kick!
Yummy on the hoppin' John! And I bet you still have plenty of time to get in a good crop of blackeye peas, cowpeas, etc. Why wait till next year when you can chow down this year, eh?
The best place is your local grocery store. They will be one of the numbered California cultivars. A lot cheaper than buying Cal # 5 by the pound at your local feed and seed. You can pick up a pound cheaper than a packet at at online vender and it includes shipping.
