Blue-podded Capucijner Pea Seeds (Pisum sativum cv.)

Harvested from the gardens at Monticello.
The Blue-podded Capucijner (cap-ou-SIGH-nah) is a hardy pea first grown by the Franciscan Capuchin monks in Holland and Germany during the early 1600's. Its particularly beautiful, bi-colored flowers are lilac-pink and wine-red, fading to blue as they wilt; pods are deep maroon to inky purple, fading to blue and leathery brown when mature. It is best used as a soup pea by picking when the pods are full; but it can also be grown as an edible-podded sugar pea by harvesting before peas have developed.

This English, or shelling, pea prefers cool, moist conditions. Direct sow the seeds in fertile garden loam 4-8 weeks before the last spring frost. Monticello gardeners support the twining vines with tall branches, or "pea sticks". Approximately 15-20 seeds per packet.