It’s simple to create the perfect salsa garden. All you need is to
grow some peppers, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and lime… and mix
them together in a way that suits your taste buds. Luckily, most of
them grow fairly easily in our Travis county gardens.
Peppers: Plant your favorite type of pepper in a sunny spot in the
spring after the last freeze. The plants will keep producing peppers
all the way through the summer until the first frost of winter.
A clear favorite for salsa is the jalapeno. They come in a number of
heat and size options. If you don’t like your salsa too caliente, choose
the TAM mild jalapeno. For those who like giant jalapenos, I suggest
‘jumbo Hidalgo.’ Other peppers work well too: chilipetins, serranos,
habaneros, and New Mexico Hatch chilies (Anaheim or Sandias).
Tomatoes: Plant these at the same time as peppers, after winter’s
last frost.. The most popular for salsa is the Roma tomato. These are
dense and meaty, with low moisture and few seeds. They’re consi-
dered one of the easiest tomatoes to grow, and the plants are big and
prolific.
Onion: Usually started in the fall, onions will produce till the end
of May. After harvest, store them in an airy, dry and cool location
through the summer months.
Cilantro: This would normally be grown in the cooler time of the
year, and presents a challenge in the summer months. As the heat
index rises, cilantro bolts, then blooms and turns to seed. It’s almost
impossible to grow when it’s hot. Option one for cilantro is to shop
for it in the local grocery store. Option two: grow a little ‘summer
cilantro’ (Polygonum odoratum). This Vietnamese coriander flourishes
in our summer heat, and tastes like cilantro with a lemony flavor.
Locally it is called Rau Ram.
Lime: The final addition to our salsa garden. You can grow a Mexi-
can lime tree in a container or plant one in a protected location. They
need to be shielded from winter temperature below the mid-twenties.
Put the ingredients all together, and you should have a salsa muy
especial, that’s at least ten times more fresh and flavorful than any-
thing you can buy in a store. Congratulations,… and Happy Salsa
Gardening Everyone!
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