Best How To Guide to Growing a Salsa Garden

Fresh salsa is the best! And it’s so easy to make that growing the ingredients your own back yard just makes sense. Even if you don’t have a lot of space in your back yard you can still plant a small garden with the main components of salsa. All you need to plant: Onions, Tomatoes, Garlic, Cilantro (if you like it) and Peppers.

Tomatoes For Garden Salsa

Tomatoes take up the most room and are heavy feeders so plan the most space for them and fertilize well. If you decide that you want to start your tomatoes by seed then you need to start them early. I usually start mine indoors in January or early February.

I find that Roma tomatoes work the best for my salsa recipe because they are firm yet flavorful. However, heirloom tomatoes are generally sweeter and so beautiful to grow. So, that being said, plant your favorite tomato any kind will work beautifully. Just be sure to plant after the last frost. Check your weather to make sure your plants stay safe and warm.

Peppers

Next, peppers. There are soooooo many different kinds of peppers. Different colors, flavors and levels of heat. I am a total wimp when it comes to heat. I like a little kick but honestly black pepper can get a little too spicy for me so I like to grow the cowardly varieties of peppers.

Green Bell Peppers. Scoville Heat Index= 0. Perfect. Yep, that’s as hot as it’s getting at my house. Now, my mother and husband like a little spice and since they have a big say in what I grow we also have jalapeños and poblanos.

I once cut a jalapeño from our garden without gloves and my hands have NEVER been in such pain. For hours! Seriously! I can’t imagine even looking at something like a Carolina Reaper Pepper- Scoville Heat Unit 2.2 MILLION (that can’t be a real thing, can it?). It would probably kill me. Not joking. There’s a reason they use peppers as weapons people.

Anyway, if you like your capsaicin then by all means plant your little death traps. Any pepper will do in this salsa garden. And if you like, plant a few different varieties to see which you like best. Scotch Bonnet peppers have an amazing flavor once you get past the burn, if you live that long. I have a delicious recipe for Coconut Chicken from Costa Rica that calls for Scotch Bonnet Peppers. Add the pepper whole in your pot then you get the flavor without the spice.

Onions

Now for the garlic and onions. One recipe of salsa calls for one large onion so if you will be making more than one recipe plant more than one onion. Math Skills! Onions are one of the first things we plant in our garden. My grandpa, an enthusiastic gardener, always planted certain things on the 15th of March. The Ides of March. That’s how I remember when to plant my onions and peas. We do have some Egyptian Walking Onions which are perennnial so we always have onions no matter what.

Garlic

Garlic is also a perennial and grows up in early spring around here. Fresh garlic is a must for delicious salsa. Have you ever bought a bulb of garlic and had it start to grow before you cooked it? Those little sprouts are perfect to just stick in the garden. Plant the bulbs 3-4 inches apart for growing room. I harvest my garlic as I need it.

Did you know that the green stems of the garlic bunch can be used in any recipe to add a mild garlic flavor. I love them in salads and broths.Cilantro, you either love it or you hate it. Either way it’s an herb that is muy fácil to grow. And mine re-seeds itself every year. It gets out of control. Doesn’t take up much space you can plant it next to your garlic.

Fresh Salsa

Ok, now that we’ve planted our garden let’s get into the recipe.5 cups diced fresh tomatoes1 cup green bell pepper diced1/2 large onion diced1 small jalapeño diced3-5 large cloves fresh garlic dicedOptional cilantro bunch finely chopped1t saltFresh ground black pepper to taste

You can purée these for a smoother salsa but I like mine chunky. Mix together and squeeze 1 fresh lime over mixture. That’s it. Serve with chips or over your favorite Taco. You know the drill.

I dream of a world wide recipe book where everyone shares their favorite recipes…wait that’s called internet. Never mind. What’s your favorite salsa recipe?