Do black-eyed peas restore nutrients to soil?

Question

I’ve always heard that planting black-eyed peas restores the soil rather than stripping it of nutrients. Is this true? If so, do I plow the plants under in the fall, or remove them from the garden area?

Answer 1

Black-Eyed Pea plants produce their own Nitrogen, so you really don't need to fertilize them, in fact too much Nitrogen will cause only greens and no peas to form.

You certainly could leave the plants in for the winter treating it as a cover crop.

Here's an article with more information.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/black-eyed-peas/growing-black-eyed-peas.htm