Growing Peas That Please

At the time of our country's founding, the saying was that a good gardener could produce peas by the king's birthday. The date was the Fourth of June, and the ruling monarch was George III, nicknamed "Farmer George" for his zest for agriculture. Less beloved by his former colonists, his connection with their pea crop became remote. Northerly states strove for a July 4 harvest instead, a choice both patriotic and timely for their climate. Meanwhile, in the region of the nation's capital, the traditional date for English or garden pea planting became George Washington's birthday, which happens to be today, Feb. 22.

Free now to honor the George of our choice, any American gardener is still nonetheless subject to the imperious whims of weather, temperature and the state of the soil. Whether you go out today with packet in hand depends on whether your soil can be properly worked. If it is still frozen, you will have to wait at least a week or two. If it has thawed but is still gummy with moisture, wait. Peas germinate best in a soil that is cool and moist, but not cold and wet.

If you are very sharp at this game, you might already have dug some shallow trenches for your peas last fall and filled them with compost, covered with an inch or two of soil. You can then plant your peas without having to do any more than cover them with an inch of soil, pat the furrow and say, "Go!" Apart from organically enriched soil, pea plants need consistent moisture when flowers and pods are forming. Lime is also needed if the soil pH is below 6.

Unless you grow only bush-types peas, you'll need some form of support ready at planting time to hold the vines aloft. This exposes the pods to sunlight, keeps them clean and slug-free, provides air circulation and makes them easier to pick. Tall vining peas that can grow to six feet and taller are best supported by a proper trellis. Gardeners often use chicken wire for this purpose. You can continue planting peas well into March -- say, March 18, Queen Latifah's birthday, if you like to honor royalty. Rows of bush peas can be placed as close as two feet apart. Tall trellised rows need to be at least four feet apart, but they produce higher yields for a longer time.

Pea pods should be picked and shelled when the seeds are fully round but before the pod is rough to the touch. If you are not going to eat them right away, they can be refrigerated or frozen. But I agree with food writer Jane Grigson: "The frozen pea caricatures the real thing, but so closely that it spoils it."