Grow your own food

Would you like to cut your fresh produce bill in half? If you can grow it, you can do it!

Years ago, when I worked as the director of the Cornell Master Gardener Program in Cooperstown, New York, I worked with other statewide educators to build 25 school vegetable gardens with children and their families throughout New York state. Our mission was to teach people how to grow their own food and create nutritious meals with their produce.

Now, in a time when food prices are skyrocketing and famers are suffering from lack of fertilizer to grow their crops, it is high time for individuals, families and schoolchildren to not only grow food, but share it as well.

The salsa garden

This mini salsa garden was created for a small family or the individual home gardener. The assortment of hot and sweet peppers paired with cilantro will help you create salsa, sauces and stuffed peppers.

When you start small with one vegetable container project, you can try different combinations of vegetables to suit your tastes. The salsa garden can easily fit on a patio or front porch, and it works best in full sun, near a water source.

MATERIALS

• One large 5-gallon plastic pot – Large pots do not have to be fancy. You can usually find free pots at local nurseries, or purchase decorative varieties, but they must have holes in the bottom for drainage.Make sure they are at least 12-24 inches wide and 12 inches deep.
• One bag high quality potting soil (not garden soil)
• One bag compost
• Styrofoam peanuts (packing material from UPS)
• Pepper plants from your local nursery (Select three plants)
  • Sweet, mild and hot peppers — Choose the tallest plant as center, with two smaller versions alongside
  • Pepper varieties:
    • Sweet bell (red, yellow or green)
    • Medium heat (Anaheim, banana, Hungarian, poblano)
    • Hot (cayenne, jalapeno, habanero, serrano)
  • Cilantro — This herb is perfect to plant as an addition to the pepper selection; try to locate six-packs or use 3-inch transplants.

PROCESS

1. Be sure container is clean before using.
2. Place gravel in bottom of pot. Add Styrofoam peanuts to add drainage.
3. Gradually add potting soil from bag a few inches at a time, lightly watering each layer.
4. Alternate soil and compost, continue to water until pot is full.
5. Make hole for tallest pepper which is same depth as root ball.
6. Gently press into soil. Repeat with second and third pepper.
7. In a circle around the peppers, make holes for three small cilantro plants and place in soil in same manner.
8. To maintain containers: Containers need to be watered daily; check for dryness. Fertilize with a diluted fertilizer once per week.

Homegrown salsa

Of course, this recipe is best with your own peppers and tomatoes, but fill in the ingredients with store bought spices from an international market. Makes 4 pint jars.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 teaspoons cumin seeds

• 4 teaspoons dried oregano (or fresh)

• 4 teaspoons paprika

• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 2 sweet peppers (green or red), chopped

• 2 poblano chili, fresh, chopped (or any fresh medium heat chili pepper that you are growing)

• 1 hot pepper (jalapeno, serrano or Thai), seeds removed and chopped

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 4 cloves garlic, diced

• 1 tablespoon  sea salt

• 3 pounds ripe tomatoes, chopped

• 1 dried chipotle chili pepper, stem removed

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS

Sauté onion in oil in deep cast iron skillet or Le Creuset frying pan. Add all dry spices until well coated. This step ensures that all the spices are fully incorporated. When onion is slightly brown, add fresh chiles, whole dried chipotle and vinegar, simmer with water to cover.  Add all tomatoes, cover and cook for five minutes, just until slightly soft. This salsa is meant to be chunky, not overcooked. Ladle into pint jars and refrigerate up to one week.

This salsa is so versatile that it can be used with chips, or as part of a full meal such as burritos, tacos or stuffed peppers.

Jano Nightingale is a Master Gardener and horticulturist who teaches vegetable gardening at the Carlsbad Senior Center community garden. Contact her at [email protected] or the Senior Center at 442-339-2650 to register for classes.