Dixie Lee Pea

Be sure to check out our Cow Pea Growing Guide for more tips & tricks on successfully growing cow peas in your garden.

Dixie Lee Pea is a crowder-type, field pea with pods that sit high on the plant for easy, clean harvesting. This cowpea variety is fast-maturing and can be succession planted with multiple crops per year in warmer climates. Plants average 10-12" tall and will spread 42" wide with runners.

Dixie Lee Pea is a heat-tolerant variety that performs well in drier growing conditions. When planted in spring, it will continue to flower and set new pods into the summer months. It also can be grown as a fall crop when planted in late summer or early fall.

Dixie Lee Pea produces pods that are initially green and turn yellow once pods are ready to be harvested and shelled. Pods average 7-8" long with 14 peas per pod. Once cooked, peas will have a dark brown color with a rich, nutty flavor. These are delicious when prepared fresh, but also hold exceptionally-well when blanched and frozen or canned.

We recommend planting Dixie Lee 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 cowpeas 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.

Dixie Lee 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 Resistance: None