Vigna Asparagus Beans: Description, Varieties, Recipes

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

At my summer cottage every year I try to grow new plants for me. If this failed, I think that the season is lost for me. For this reason, I bought the seeds of the Chinese asparagus bean vigna in the spring of 2008. I was really impressed by her meter-long green pods in the photo.

Along the grape plantings in my garden there is a garden bed 30 cm wide. I fertilized it well with rotted manure, and as soon as the weather allowed, I planted ten cowpea beans on this bed in moist soil. The seeds were pre-soaked in warm water for a day. I planted them shallowly, no more than 2 cm. When planting seeds, I almost always use the rule: the depth to which the seed is sown is equal to its vertical size. The first shoots appeared in six days. Signa is a powerful plant, it grew quickly, clinging to the trellis on which we tie the grapes. This neighborhood did not interfere with the grapes.

At the beginning of summer, we already plucked the first cylindrical green pods 50-60 cm long. The harvest was such that I did not have time to process it. All summer we ate various dishes from tender cowpea pods. I froze them so much that we had enough until the next harvest. During the season, at least 3 kg of green bean pods were collected from each bush. In the new season, I again planted cowpea in the same place, but, alas, I did not get a rich harvest. I knew that beans have the ability to enrich the soil with nitrogen; on its roots nodule bacteria live, assimilating nitrogen from the air, and therefore did not particularly care about the introduction of additional nitrogen and other fertilizers. However, I did not take into account the fact that the cowpea is a vigorous and powerful plant, therefore it needs good nutrition.

By the next season, I introduced significantly more rotted manure into the garden before planting beans. Added micronutrient fertilizers (boron, manganese, molybdenum), this helps to increase the yield, increases the sugar content and accelerates flowering. Molybdenum fertilizers activate the activity of nodule bacteria. And over the summer, I fed the beans with mullein three times. Vigna thanked me with a generous harvest. Now I know for sure that the cowpea beans will take pride of place in my summer cottage garden. I've been growing asparagus beans for a long time, I've tried many varieties, but only the Oil King variety turned out to be the king of asparagus pods. Nevertheless, the yield and quality of the cowpea asparagus were much higher. I myself became curious: what is this plant? I have always thought it was asparagus beans, and for some reason they call it cowpea. And here's what I found out.

Botanists have divided all beans into two genera: Phaseolus L. and Vigna. Depending on the origin, there are American and Asian types of beans.

We mainly grow the American species - common beans. Her homeland is Latin America, The cowpea is considered the historical homeland of Africa. Asparagus varieties of cowpea are widespread in the countries of Southeast Asia - in China, Japan and Korea.

Having studied, if possible, everything written about Phaseolus L. and Vigna, I came to the conclusion that botanical differences are not so important for summer residents. Agrotechnical measures for growing cowpea are the same as for common beans. If it is a bush form, then it requires more light. If this climbing plant is more powerful, then it will need support and more fertile soil. And the advantage of the cowpea is that the plant is more unpretentious, it has a higher yield, its green pods have excellent taste, they are without fibers; the harvest of green asparagus pods can be harvested before the frost.

Ripe cowpea seeds are more tender, boil faster and are easier to digest than common beans. Cowpea beans and seeds are highly nutritious and a dietary product. For example, green beans are high in protein (up to 28%) and starch (47%). Green beans serve as a source of vitamins C, B1, B2, B6, PP and carotene, mineral salts of calcium, iron and other biologically active substances. In the shoulder blades there is a favorable ratio of sodium and potassium, which helps to eliminate fluid from the body and has a unloading effect on the cardiovascular system. Therefore, in case of dropsy, as well as heart and kidney diseases, bean pod tea and bean soups are recommended.

Dishes made from green beans are especially useful for people suffering from liver and gall bladder diseases, as well as diabetes, hypertension and atherosclerosis. Green unripe cowpea pods are used boiled and fried. Green beans cannot be eaten raw, as they contain poisonous substances that can cause poisoning. When heat treated, they are easily destroyed.

According to Chinese and American scientists, varieties with black seeds that do not accumulate heavy metals - cadmium and lead - are of particular value. As for the varieties, now on the seed market it is already possible to pick up plants for almost all climatic zones. For example: Chinese cowpea, bush cowpea, Countess cowpea are early crops, they can be planted where summer is short. They are high-yield crops with asparagus beans and high nutritional value. By the content of complete proteins, they are ahead of fish and close to meat. The technical ripeness of these varieties occurs approximately 55-60 days after full germination.

Since the growing season in cowpea is longer than that of vegetable beans, it is better to prepare seedlings from mid-April to obtain a good harvest, especially in more northern regions. She does not tolerate a picking well, so it is better to plant it in separate pots, and when the weather permits, carefully plant it in the garden. Usually, about 30 cm is left between the plants in a row, about 50 cm between the rows. Since the cowpea is thermophilic, it is better to plant it on southern slopes, under a film or in a greenhouse. If the spring is cold, then the planting of cowpea needs shelter. In our region, recurrent frosts occur at the end of May, and therefore I grow many vegetables, including potatoes and asparagus beans, under film until June. Vigna is a self-pollinated plant, its flower is closed during pollination, but in hot, dry weather, the flower can open during pollination,and then cross-pollination with other legumes occurs. This must be taken into account when collecting seeds for planting.

Gradually, after flowering, more and more new beans are formed and ripen, which are recommended to be harvested every 5 days, and at the peak of fruiting - after 3 days. Since the wine beans bloom all summer, the harvest lasts until the frost, especially with timely weeding, watering and regular loosening of the soil. I freeze most of the green cowpea pods. In order to prevent sugar from turning into starch when frozen in pods, they must be kept in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. But you can freeze them without preparation.

Here are some of our favorite cope asparagus bean recipes:

Chinese Asparagus Beans

The beans are boiled in boiling water for 3-5 minutes, carefully spread in a pan with heated oil for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly, add soy sauce, rice vinegar (or table vinegar), after a couple of minutes they are spread on a dish. Sprinkle with chopped garlic on top.

Vigna natural, canned. Blanch unripe bean pods in boiling water for 5 minutes, place in sterile jars and cover with 2% brine (20 g of salt per 1 liter of water), add 9% vinegar (0.5 tablespoon per half-liter jar). Close the jars with sterilized lids and sterilize in boiling water for 25-30 minutes. Spices: add cloves, allspice to taste.

Veigna asparagus omelet

Unripe cowpea pods, cut into pieces, blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain the water, cool. Fry pork fat in a pan, add any smoked meats, put boiled beans on top, add beaten eggs, sprinkle with grated cheese, add a little paprika, cover for five minutes. When serving, sprinkle with herbs.

Vegetable stew with porridge "Two in one"

Fry the chopped vegetables (any options) separately in sunflower oil, transfer to a low saucepan with a thick bottom, cover with a lid, simmer for 5 minutes. We shift the vegetables from the center to the edge of the pan, freeing the middle, then put the washed cereals there, for example, wheat, pour water 1: 2 to the volume of the cereal. Cover the pan with a lid, bring to a boil, reduce heat, bring to readiness.