Blue Shelling Pea Seed

Blue ShellingPea Seed

Historic Dutch pea offers three colorful edible harvest stages
Young blue pods work beautifully as snow peas
Mature seeds become plump peas for cooking
Six-foot vines need dependable vertical support

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Key Attributes

Botanical Name

Pisum sativum

Days to maturity

80 Days

Sun

Full Sun

Packet

1 Ounce (125 Seeds)

About Blue Shelling, Pea Seed, Pea Seed

The Blue Shelling Pea is a Dutch heirloom blue podded pea that has been highly regarded for hundreds of years. This very versatile variety can be picked young and eaten raw as a colorful snow pea pod or left to swell and harvested as a plump pea for cooking. This pea plant produces lovely purple flowers with a faint scent that are also edible and delicious! Traditionally used as a winter dish, Blue Shelling would be soaked overnight and then pan fried with onions and bacon - yum! Give this 6' plant some support.

Growing details

Planting

Sow Depth

Days to Germination

7–10 days

In-row plant spacing

2-4"

Row Spacing

12-18"

Plant profile

Maturity

Spring, Fall

Life Cycle

Annual

Plant Height

60 inches

Growth Habits

Climbing, Vining

Type

SHELLING PEAS

Seed & variety

Seeds Per Ounce

100

Color

Blue, Purple

Seed Type

Heirloom, Organic

Growing Season

Cool-Season Crop

Growing Instructions

Before Planting

For Pea, select a full-sun location with loose, well-drained soil and avoid heavy nitrogen applications. Incorporate compost only if the soil is poor, and use a soil test to correct pH, phosphorus, or potassium. Inoculate pea seed with the appropriate legume inoculant where compatible legumes have not recently grown, and install supports before planting climbing types.

Planting

Direct sow peas in early spring as soon as the soil is workable; the crop germinates and grows best in cool conditions around 55–65°F. Keep soil moderately moist but avoid saturation in cold weather. Sow peas about 1–2 inches apart; thinning is normally unnecessary. For fall crops, sow early enough to mature before persistent hard freezes.

Watering

Pea needs about 1 inch of water weekly, especially while flowering and forming pods. Water deeply at soil level, but avoid keeping the root zone continuously wet.

Fertilizer

Avoid routine nitrogen fertilizer on pea; healthy nodules normally supply the crop’s needs. Correct phosphorus, potassium, or pH deficiencies only as indicated by a soil test.

Harvesting

Pick pea regularly when pods reach expected length and seeds are at the desired stage. Hold the stem while removing pods. Leave seed crops until pods and seeds are thoroughly dry.

Tips

Support tall or vining peas with a trellis before tendrils begin searching; compact bush types may stand without support. Harvest pods frequently and avoid working wet vines.

AVG. Seeding Rate

1 lb. per 80', 13 lb./1,000', 272 lb./acre at 25 seeds/ft., in rows 24" apart.

Pests & Diseases

Fusarium wilt, Aphanomyces root rot, powdery mildew, Ascochyta blight, and viruses affect peas. Choose resistant varieties, plant clean seed, and rotate legumes for several years. Remove stunted or mosaic plants, avoid working wet vines, and never save seed from pods produced on blighted plants.

Watch pea for aphids, weevils, beetles, cutworms, and mites. Remove egg clusters and badly infested foliage, protect seedlings with collars, and avoid unnecessary broad-spectrum insecticides.