How to Plant a Salsa Garden

South of the border fare is a weekly menu item in our home with many of our recipes using home canned salsa as the main ingredient.

Salsa is a blend of tomatoes and other garden vegetables that have been chopped and allowed to simmer for 30 to 60 minutes. Most people think of salsa as a dip for tortilla chips, but pureed salsa is a delicious (and organic) substitute to those packaged seasoning mixes one typically adds to tacos, burritos, tamales, chili and enchiladas.

Interested in growing your own salsa ingredients? Read on to learn what vegetables to plant for your very own salsa garden!

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are the main ingredient in salsas and a blend of at least three types of tomatoes seem to produce the most flavorful salsa.

When selecting tomatoes for your salsa garden, choose at least two varieties of the hearty, richly flavored, slightly juicy tomatoes such as Early Girl, Beefsteak, or Super Sioux. In addition to these juicier tomatoes, also plant at least one variety of the “paste” type of tomatoes such as Roma. Three plants will provide you with enough tomatoes for 18 pints of salsa. Here’s instructions for how to grow your own organic tomatoes.

Onions

Onions are also a key ingredient in Salsa. Here in the northwest, we grow Walla Walla onions in our gardens but any variety of yellow onion will do.

Onions can be purchased as “sets”, which gives a gardener a bit of a jump in areas with short planting seasons. Onion sets can go into the ground when daytime temperatures hit 50F. They will need at least 7 hours of sun a day, and should be planted at least 4 inches apart. Onion can be tucked around other plants to maximize your gardening space.

Chili Peppers

Chili peppers are what gives the zing to great salsa recipes. For a salsa with a mild pepper flavor, our family prefers the Anaheim chili peppers. Some of the hot varieties include cayenne, jalapeno, and red chili.

Peppers are a warm weather crop and should be planted when night time temperatures are about 55F. Peppers are a bush plant that don’t get much higher than 24″ and can be grown in containers, or tucked in areas around the yard. Two plants will be enough to provide your family with 18 pints of salsa.

Cilantro

Cilantro is a parsley-looking herb which is a key ingredient in many Mexican dishes. This annual plant is best planted from seed directly into the ground. While it does need full sun, this plant will bolt quickly in hot weather. For a continuous supply of cilantro for your salsa recipes, make successive sowings of cilantro every 2 weeks during the summer months.

Our prize winning salsa recipe

This salsa recipe is a family favorite and was a blue ribbon winner for my 4-H kid at the fair one year:

Ingredients

5 pounds ripe tomatoes (peeled, cored, and chopped)
3 cups chopped onions
1 cup seeded and chopped peppers
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 cup cider vinegar (5% acidity)
3 teaspoons of salt

In a large kettle, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat, and let salsa simmer for 60 minutes until it reaches a desired thickness.

Yield: 6 pints.

This salsa recipe can be placed in quart sized Ziploc storage bags and frozen for future meals.