Vigna unguiculata - Asparagus Bean - Seeds

Description

• Fabaceae Fabales
• Tropical Africa
• H 300cm x W 100cm
•  Z9 
• Annual
• Synonyms: Snake Bean, Cowpea Bean, Chinese long Bean, Giant Cowpea
• 1 Packet of 20 Seeds
  Green Pod Variety

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Detail

Vigna unguiculata sesquipedalis is an annual climbing tropical Fabaceae, cousin of our beans, and cultivated for its very abundant production of pods the diameter of a green bean, but of a phenomenal length which can reach above 50cm

Hence its name Snake Bean

The leaf is three-lobed and reminiscent of that of green beans and soy

It is carried on branched twining stems, which wrap around any support up to a height of 3m

The flowers are borne in pairs on a short peduncle inserted in the axil of each leaf

They are purple in color, are very ephemeral, and are immediately followed by a fast-growing pod which initially resembles a stem
(harvest possible in a few days)

The Cowpea is an interesting vegetable which allows you to have green beans in the heat of summer, and thus takes over when the traditional green beans end producing

Delicious, super-easy, to discover if you've never tried

The seed, brown and small, is uninteresting from a culinary point of view and not consumed

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Cultivation

Sow Snake Beans in a warm nursery between early and mid-May, 1 seed per pot, in potting soil, 1cm deep

Keep the substrate moist and expose to the sun

To hasten germination, you can first soak the seeds for 24 hours

Rapid germination in 8-10 days

Cultivate for 3 weeks and plant in the ground at the end of June

You can also sow in open ground after mid-June, 2 seeds per spot, spacing 50cm inter- and intra-row

The Cowpea needs a lot of heat to grow

It grows very quickly and immediately begins to flower and yield even though the plant is only 30cm tall

It’s definitely a summer vegetable

Full sun exposure, clean and well-worked soil, which does not need to be amended beforehand (nitrogen-fixing plant)

It is imperative that you provide a climbing structure of at least 2m (tutors, sticks, etc.)

The pods should be eaten young like green beans, because they become fibrous when ripe, then fastly empty and wilt as soon as the seeds start forming

Harvest them as they grow for immediate consumption or canning, and cook like Green Beans

Disease-free, pest-free

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Good to Know

To avoid yield interruptions, water during periods of drought, and harvest young pods regularly