Time to Plant Peas

Thursday, February 22, 2007

On my commute into work this morning, I observed a definite change in the air. The covering of last week's snow has receded in most places, leaving a patchwork of small icy islands tinted with a grayish cast of the city's dust and dirt. In the seas of freshly revealed, chocolaty brown earth, the daffodils are pushing up like buoys marking the pathway to our next seasonal destination: spring. The signs are becoming more evident each day, and on this morning in particular, I thought to myself, It will soon be time to plant peas.

Fast forward through the day and find me again on the reverse commute home. On the bus, I pulled out the Home section of the Post and my eyes fell immediately to the article on page five, Growing Peas That Please. Not only did the article confirm my morning-commute hunch, but it noted precisely that, "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."

I had a hunch. It's time to plant peas.

View the Article: Growing Peas That Please, by Barbara Damrosch, The Washington Post, Feb. 22, 2007.