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Southern Pea Seeds, Blue Goose

$4.50
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Blue Goose Southern Pea (Vigna unguiculata): Unusual and beautiful blue-gray speckled peas, these peas grow abundantly on convenient, semi-bush plants. The small seeds cook quickly and have excellent flavor and a delicious creamy texture.

Germination Rate: 97%

Weight (avg. seeds): 10 g (75)

Grower: Mark Dempsey

Swannanoa, NC

I’ve loved cowpeas, beans, and other legumes for about as long as I can remember. My love for legumes is three-fold: first, for their wonderful culinary value, and all of the amazing dishes that are made with them. Second, their positive effects on human health — they’re rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and prebiotics, and eating them is associated with living longer. And, third, for their amazing role in cropping systems, where they require little fertilizer, produce more protein per acre than any other crop or livestock, and are sure to be an important part of feeding our growing population in the future. I’ve had a small-scale commercial legume operation in Swannanoa, NC since 2015 after having worked in large-scale grain farming in Pennsylvania for many years. My hope is to continue scaling up production to meet the growing market demand for legumes in the Asheville area.

USA Shipping Only | $5 Flat Rate or FREE Shipping on Orders over $45 | Our collective members pack and ship the seeds together. First Ship Date, Feb 15, 2025.

Seeds are going on sale on Jan 15, 2026 - Sign-up to get notified!

Blue Goose Southern Pea (Vigna unguiculata): Unusual and beautiful blue-gray speckled peas, these peas grow abundantly on convenient, semi-bush plants. The small seeds cook quickly and have excellent flavor and a delicious creamy texture.

Germination Rate: 97%

Weight (avg. seeds): 10 g (75)

Grower: Mark Dempsey

Swannanoa, NC

I’ve loved cowpeas, beans, and other legumes for about as long as I can remember. My love for legumes is three-fold: first, for their wonderful culinary value, and all of the amazing dishes that are made with them. Second, their positive effects on human health — they’re rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and prebiotics, and eating them is associated with living longer. And, third, for their amazing role in cropping systems, where they require little fertilizer, produce more protein per acre than any other crop or livestock, and are sure to be an important part of feeding our growing population in the future. I’ve had a small-scale commercial legume operation in Swannanoa, NC since 2015 after having worked in large-scale grain farming in Pennsylvania for many years. My hope is to continue scaling up production to meet the growing market demand for legumes in the Asheville area.

USA Shipping Only | $5 Flat Rate or FREE Shipping on Orders over $45 | Our collective members pack and ship the seeds together. First Ship Date, Feb 15, 2025.

Cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata), aka Southern Peas, are a warm-season crop originating in Africa and are well-adapted to the hot and humid climate of the Southeastern U.S. While there is no shortage of cowpea varieties in the Southeast, the Blue Goose is special because it is a vigorous, high-yielding crop, is relatively well-behaved, having a large semi-bush habit; it cooks up quickly and tastes great; and the seed has a wonderfully unique blue-gray color.

Directly sow these seeds in a location with full sun after all danger of frost has passed. They may benefit from staking, but do not require a trellis. Dry peas will be ready in 100-130 days.

Mark Dempsy acquired Blue Goose from the USDA’s seed bank while trialing about 30 cowpeas and close relatives in Swannanoa, NC. While there is no shortage of cowpea varieties in the Southeast, the Blue Goose really grabbed his attention and checked all the boxes:

  1. It is a vigorous, high-yielding crop

  2. It is relatively well-behaved, having a large semi-bush habit

  3. It cooks up quickly and tastes great

  4. The seed has a wonderfully unique blue-gray color.

In Mark’s experience growing Blue Goose over the last 7 years, it has averaged about 15 lbs seed per 100 row-ft.  

Note: in 2024, Mark Dempsey has been studying at Clemson for a PhD in plant breeding, so Pat Battle grew a crop of Blue Goose for the Appalachian Seed Growers Collective. 

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