- Goldy | The Stranger
- For the moment at least, I've barricaded my pea beds with floating row covers, sticks, tomato cages, and other debris, in order to keep squirrels, birds, cats, and that damn dog from digging them up. Once the seedlings are well established, that ceases to be a problem.
"Plant peas on Presidents' Day," that's what they say around here, advice I've been following with good results for more than a decade. Though due to a brief vacation, I didn't manage to get my peas in the ground until this Sunday, along with a half a bed of lettuce and arugula seeds.
Chances are a lot of these seeds won't make it. But time is precious and seeds are cheap, so weather permitting I'll just fill in the gaps in a couple weeks, both enhancing and extending the harvest. I can always buy more seeds, but February only comes once a year.
FYI, it's actually been a relatively dry winter by Seattle standards, leaving the soil light and workable with few large clumps. So now is the perfect time to turn over your beds and mix in a few inches of compost.
