Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 9 · column 5 of 5 · from the scan, no model involved
Dixon line, but unless' black-eyed peas are a part of your diet, you can’t count yourself as a true Southerner! Black-eyed peas, also called Southern peas, crowders or cowpeas, are just one of the great botanical and culinary gifts brought from African slaves to this country. If only I had a whole acre to devote solely to the raising of these delicious legumes! Then I’d grow all the heirloom varieties I could lay my hands on, including Calico Crowder, Big Red Ripper, Pink-Eyed Purple Hull and White Anne—a plenty for drying and eating fresh. Fresh black- eyed peas have a flavor similar to Fingertip-sized new potatoes, same day picked and eaten. The fresh beans need only a 10-minute or so simmer, then flavoring with fresh chopped parsley, garlic, lemon juice, salt and olive oil. In addition to their delicious taste, cowpeas improve garden soil fixing nitrogen and drawing up phosphorous to the surface, hence commercial varieties are used as green manures. The only catalog I’ve found to sell black-eyed peas for eating is Southern Seed Exposure.
Cucumbers themselves are not that unusual, hut I’ll leave you to consider two varieties that are: lemon cucumber and Armenian cucumber. The lemon cucumber is aptly named, growing in pale, lemon colored, faintly striped balls. It is particularly tender, crisp and a bit lemony in flavor. This cuke needs picking each day and is best before its color passes into a deep yellow. Armenian cucumbers have pale green, long and narrow ridged fruits, few seeds and produce little digestive gas, to boot.
Cucumbers grow best in rich, well composted and manured soil and would benefit from a preceding cover crop of cowpeas. Growing in hills gives the plant's roots the drainage they need, or they can he trellised to save space though this may decrease pollination as the male and female flowers often end up at opposing ends of the vine. If you get really ambitious trying new vegetables, you may want to include a few amaranth plants to deter the cucumber beetles from vour cuke plants.
Happy gardening!
82.9%