VegetablePea
Blue Shelling Pea
Blue Shelling Pea is a centuries-old heirloom from the Netherlands that brings both beauty and productivity to the spring garden. This tall, vining annual thrives in zones 1 through 9 and produces distinctive bluish-purple pods that can be harvested early as snow peas or left to mature for shelling. Plant it in full sun, direct sow in spring as soon as soil can be worked, and expect to harvest in 80 to 89 days. The early flowers are stunning, making this variety as much a visual treat as a culinary one.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
1-9
Sunlight
Full Sun
Soil
Well-drained, Fertile Loam, Moderately Rich
Growth Stats
TypeVining
Spacing
3
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
—
Zones
1-9
Size
?in H x ?in W
Growth
—
Care
High
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Highlights
This heirloom pea stands out for its dual-harvest potential and striking appearance. You can pick the pods young and tender for snow pea eating, or wait and shell them for fresh spring peas, giving you flexibility in how you use the harvest. The bluish to purple coloring of the mature pods is unusual and gorgeous, and the flowers that appear early in the season are genuinely beautiful. As an open-pollinated heirloom, you can save seeds year after year, making it a sustainable choice for gardeners who want to build seed stock.
Common Uses
Blue Shelling Pea is grown primarily for the mature peas inside the pods, which are shelled fresh for eating, cooking, or freezing. The flexibility to harvest pods at different stages means you can also use them as snow peas when picked young and tender. Fresh shelled peas from this variety are at their best in spring preparations, from simple buttered pea side dishes to soups, risottos, and spring salads.
Growing Timeline
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Care Instructions
Direct Sow
Direct sow seeds in spring as soon as the soil can be worked. Plant seeds 1/2 inch to 1 inch deep, spacing them 3 inches apart with 2 inches between rows.
Harvesting
You have two harvest windows with this variety. For snow peas, pick pods when they are still young and flat, before the peas inside have fully swelled. For mature shelling peas, wait until the pods are full and feel heavy with fully developed peas inside, then shell them fresh. The bluish to purple color of the mature pods will deepen as they mature, signaling they are ready to harvest. Harvest regularly to encourage continued flowering and pod production throughout the season.
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
Ecology & Traits
Edible
Scientific Classification
Pisum sativum
Family
Fabaceae
Genus
Pisum
Growth Habit
Vining
Native Status
L48 (I)CAN (W)GL (W)
History & Origin
“This blue shelling pea has deep European roots, originating centuries ago in the Netherlands. It has survived as an heirloom variety passed down through generations of gardeners who valued both its productivity and its distinctive appearance. The fact that it remains available today as a non-GMO, open-pollinated heirloom speaks to how gardeners have preserved and cherished it over the centuries, keeping this old cultivar alive in seed libraries and among home gardeners who understand its worth.”