How to grow Organic Peas in a Greenhouse
The months of February, March and early April are great times to plant peas in your organic garden. Peas are a rewarding vegetable to grow: they don’t take up very much space, they can withstand winter’s last blustery breaths and they yield some of the sweetest treats in the garden.
Preparation for Greenhouse Organic Peas
Since you are growing organic peas, it is very important to prepare your garden for organic gardening. For example, avoid any pesticides, fertilizers or other inputs that are not organic in nature.
Organic peas thrive in well-drained rich, sandy alkaline soil. They can tolerate some shading and are thus great for cross planting with taller plans. It is important to hill up soil under the peas since they can rot in a cold wet ground.
Because peas come in very many varieties, it is easy to make choice of the pea variety to grow. First, decide what type of pea you would like to grow: snap, snow or shell. Then decide if you would like to have a pea that needs a trellis for support or not. Finally, decide if you want an earlier- or later-maturing pea. If you know that certain pea diseases are a problem in your organic garden, you will want to choose a variety that is resistant or tolerant to that particular disease.
You should always source your pea seeds carefully. Avoid any seeds that have been treated with fungicide or synthetic toxins in order to keep the authenticity of your organic pea garden.
Continuing Care and Tips for Organic Greenhouse Peas
To get those peas growing, you will want to make a raised bed for them and add some compost to it. This will help the soil warm up faster and stay drier, which helps the peas sprout quickly. Once you have the bed ready, it’s time to plant the peas.
Plant the peas in rows about 2 feet apart with about 1 seed per inch. If your peas need trellising, your trellis can go right between the rows so that two rows share one trellis. Installing your trellis right around planting time will save you a lot of time and will help your peas by giving them something to support them as soon as they need it.
The great thing about peas is that once they are growing strong, they do not need much care. You can even eat the young tendrils in salads and soups as you wait for the main peas to mature.
Once they are mature, it is generally advisable to pick them right away. If you want continuous production in your organic pea garden, you may need to pick them every day so that the plant can continue producing more.
As long as you take care to avoid common pests and diseases, peas can give you a bumper harvest to be enjoyed for a long time. If you need to keep the organic pea variety all you have to do is save a few of them for the next season without the need to buy more. In the end you can be assured of a truly organic garden.