Grow your own salsa ingredients and share the rewards.
One of the most satisfying ways to enjoy gardening is to eat the results. With tomatoes, onions, chilies and cilantro as primary ingredients, salsa lends itself to the gardeners' menu. You'll need a plot with full sunlight and enough space to accommodate the tomato plants. Consider planting a variety of chilies so you can make a range of mild to spicy salsas.
Instructions
1. Write down the ingredients to your salsa recipe. If you've never made salsa before, try a few different recipes from a Mexican cookbook or online recipe site.
2. Research different chili peppers and note where each variety falls on the heat scale. Chipotle peppers have a smoky flavor, Anaheim chilies will give your salsa a yellow color, and jalapenos fall on the spicy side of the spectrum.
3. Spread a layer of compost over your soil. The earth worms and good bacteria in compost will encourage a thriving ecosystem in your garden.
4. Choose the plants for your salsa garden. You have a wide variety of tomatoes to choose from, including beefsteak, cherry and cluster tomatoes. Your recipe may call for tomatillos in addition or in place of tomatoes. Vidalia and Spanish onions are common in salsa, as well as garlic and cilantro, also known as coriander.
5. Arrange your plants with the tallest on the north end, medium in the center and smallest plants in the front. This will allow for light and air flow, and make it easy for you to monitor progress.
6. Space the plants apart as necessary. Onions need about 3 to 4 inches of space from one another, and about 1 foot of space between rows. Tomatoes plants should be spaced about 24 inches apart with 36 inches between rows. You can plant chilies and cilantro around the border of your garden, about 4 inches apart.
7. Add stakes near each tomato plant for extra support, and mark where you plant the onions, as these grow underground.
8. Water your salsa plants lightly. Note that excess water decreases the flavor of tomatoes.
9. Harvest your salsa ingredients once they reach maturity. It's best to pick tomatoes when they begin to turn red, but are still firm. Let tomatoes ripen in a sunny window or preserve extras in mason jars.
10. Chop, mash or puree your salsa ingredients until the flavor and consistency is just how you like it.
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