Best time to plant cowpea in Alice Springs
Vigna unguiculata
Also called black-eyed pea, black-eyed bean, southern pea
Sow cowpea in Alice Springs in Oct to Feb.
An annual legume, the cowpea can stand upright, trail or climb, and plants vary greatly in size and shape. First farmed in Africa, it ranks among the oldest farmed crops. The cooked seeds are the main food, best known as black-eyed peas, and young pods and leaves are eaten as well.
When to sow in Alice Springs
Alice Springs, NT is in the arid zone. The zone also plants in Sep, but Alice Springs's frost dates make those months risky for a frost-tender crop.
Not yet checked against a local guide.
Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.
Frost in Alice Springs
Frost usually arrives in Alice Springs around late May and finishes by mid September. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as early May or as late as early October, so frost-tender crops are planned around those dates.
From its Bureau of Meteorology station, 1991 to 2020, counting a night at 2°C or lower as a frost. Frost hollows and hillsides can shift these dates by weeks, so ask the growers at your garden too.
On a shared plot: suits a plot
Finishes in a season and stays within its space, so it suits most plots.
Growing details
- How to start
- Sow directly in the bed
- Sowing depth
- 20-30mm
- Plant spacing
- 15-20cm
- Row spacing
- 50cm
- Height
- 90cm
- Germination
- 7-14 days at 18-25°C
- Time to harvest
- 70-80 days
- Frost
- Frost tender
- Sun
- Full sun
- Life cycle
- annual
These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.