HeraldDesa at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Cowpea
Plant·Vigna unguiculata
Full sun
Sun
Medium
Water
Well-drained soil
Drainage
Zones 2–11
Hardiness
Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is a plant. It grows best in full sun and has moderate water needs. It grows well with corn maize.
Through the year
Out of seasonLeafing outFruitingReady to harvestDying back
Works well with
from wiki dataWHAT IT NEEDS
Wants full sun
Needs moderate water
Needs well-drained soil
Prefers soil pH 5.5–7
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Prefers sandy loam, loam soil
Tolerates some soil compaction
Fixes nitrogen in the soil
Draws up potassium from deep in the soil
Adds a moderate amount of organic matter to the soil
Partners with mycorrhizal fungi to boost nutrient uptake
WHAT IT GIVES
Gives organic matter (medium to high via leaf litter and root biomass)
Gives ground cover (good ground cover)
Gives pollinator services (attracts various pollinators)
Provides nitrogen
Provides potassium
Attracts pollinators
HOW IT GROWS
SIZE & SPACING
Herbaceous
Height15–90 cm
Spacing30 cm (min 15 cm)
Root depthMedium
Width30–90 cm
Width figures are rough estimates, the most variable measurement in our data.
AI estimate · accuracy improves as growers contribute corrections.
HOW TO PROPAGATE
Propagate by seed
Difficulty
Establishes in about 0 yr
Self-seeds readily on its own
Where this comes from
Parsed11 Sept 2026
ConfidenceNot recorded
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