By Chris Winslow.
It’s simple to create a perfect salsa garden. All you need are 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 Hays and 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 also work well: 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 considered 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’s called Rau Ram.
Lime
The final addition to our salsa garden. You can grow a Mexican 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 anything you can buy in a store. Congratulations … and happy salsa gardening everyone!
If you have a question for Chris, send it via email to: [email protected]. Or mail a postcard to It’s About Thyme: 11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX 78748
www.itsaboutthyme.com
