I'm not sure about you, but I love fresh, homemade salsa. It is hard to beat this nutritious snack for mouth-watering flavor.
There are many ways to prepare salsa, but one of the greatest advantages is it's very simple to make, and contains no cholesterol.
Just chop up a few ingredients, mix them together, let them marinade for a bit, and it's ready to go!
The most typical salsa recipes include ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, cilantro, and various types of peppers.
Corn, black olives, parsley, and tomatillos can also be added to salsa for a deluxe version that's sure to please.
You can make salsa out of just about anything you enjoy, including some fruits like papaya, mangoes, and kiwi.
While revisiting some of my favorite salsa recipes, I began thinking, "What if I had a separate garden space just for salsa - a salsa garden?".
This sounded like an idea that needed more exploration! I have had tomatoes, garlic, onions, and basil in my garden before, but never a few plants dedicated just for salsa. I immediately began working on ideas for a salsa garden.
I jumped on to my garden planning tool, and created a few designs for a Salsa Garden.
Here are three of those Salsa Garden designs:
The Simple Salsa Garden
![The Simple Salsa Garden]()
The Simple Salsa Garden is just that - a very simple design that has everything you need to grow the ingredients for great homemade salsa.
This garden layout is three feet wide by four feet long, and is perfect for those that don't have much room. Here is what's contained in the Simple Salsa Garden:
The Standard Salsa Garden
![The Standard Salsa Garden]()
The Standard Salsa Garden is very similar to the simple design, it just features a bigger size (four feet wide by six feet long), and more quantities of vegetables. Here is what this design consists of:
The Deluxe Salsa Garden
![The Deluxe Salsa Garden]()
The Deluxe Salsa Garden is perfect for those that have a huge salsa appetite, and plenty of garden space. This design is four feet wide by six feet - six inches long.
This design has everything you need to make killer homemade salsa! Here is what's contained in the Deluxe Salsa Garden:
Vegetable and Herb Varieties for a Salsa Garden
You can use what ever vegetable and herb varieties you enjoy most. Some tomatoes, for instance work better in salsa than others. Here is a list of varieties you can use that go well in salsa:
![Cilantro Is Perfect for Fresh Salsa]()
Other Salsa Notes
Try These Onions for Your Next Salsa!
There are many ways to prepare salsa, but one of the greatest advantages is it's very simple to make, and contains no cholesterol.
Just chop up a few ingredients, mix them together, let them marinade for a bit, and it's ready to go!
The most typical salsa recipes include ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, cilantro, and various types of peppers.
Corn, black olives, parsley, and tomatillos can also be added to salsa for a deluxe version that's sure to please.
You can make salsa out of just about anything you enjoy, including some fruits like papaya, mangoes, and kiwi.
While revisiting some of my favorite salsa recipes, I began thinking, "What if I had a separate garden space just for salsa - a salsa garden?".
This sounded like an idea that needed more exploration! I have had tomatoes, garlic, onions, and basil in my garden before, but never a few plants dedicated just for salsa. I immediately began working on ideas for a salsa garden.
I jumped on to my garden planning tool, and created a few designs for a Salsa Garden.
Here are three of those Salsa Garden designs:
The Simple Salsa Garden
The Simple Salsa Garden is just that - a very simple design that has everything you need to grow the ingredients for great homemade salsa.
This garden layout is three feet wide by four feet long, and is perfect for those that don't have much room. Here is what's contained in the Simple Salsa Garden:
- One (1) tomato plant
- One (1) basil plant
- One (1) pepper plant
- Four (4) onions
- One (1) cilantro plant
- Two (2) garlic bulbs
- One (1) parsley plant
The Standard Salsa Garden
The Standard Salsa Garden is very similar to the simple design, it just features a bigger size (four feet wide by six feet long), and more quantities of vegetables. Here is what this design consists of:
- Two (2) tomato plants
- Fourteen (14) onions
- Four (4) cilantro plants
- Six (6) garlic bulbs
- Two (2) pepper plants
- Three (3) basil plants
The Deluxe Salsa Garden
The Deluxe Salsa Garden is perfect for those that have a huge salsa appetite, and plenty of garden space. This design is four feet wide by six feet - six inches long.
This design has everything you need to make killer homemade salsa! Here is what's contained in the Deluxe Salsa Garden:
- Two (2) tomato plants
- Two (2) pepper plants
- Ten (10) onion plants
- Eight (8) garlic plants
- Three (3) basil plants
- Six (6) cilantro plants
- Two (2) parsley plants
Vegetable and Herb Varieties for a Salsa Garden
You can use what ever vegetable and herb varieties you enjoy most. Some tomatoes, for instance work better in salsa than others. Here is a list of varieties you can use that go well in salsa:
- For tomatoes, Roma and Fresh Salsa tomatoes work great in salsas. They feature a meaty flesh with less pulp. I like my salsa to have a chunky texture with little or no "juice", so these two tomatoes are perfect for that.
- You can use many different types of peppers from Jalapeño, and Hot Ristra Cayenne for some intense heat, to milder Poblano peppers.
- The choices for good onions are almost limitless, but I prefer using a red onion like Red Creole onions.
- If you enjoy white onions more, then go for the Texas Supersweet onion.
- Garlic is best if planted in the fall, and then harvested in mid-summer the following year. You can plant it in the spring, but it may be mid fall before it's ready to harvest. Try Elephant garlic.
- Sweet basil is one of the best basils to use in salsa, and has a nice sweet flavor. To add a color variation to your salsa, try Purple Ruffles basil.
- Two excellent cilantro plants to use for salsa is the Calypso and the Santo. Calypso is slow to bolt, so it works well for beginning gardeners.
- The best parsley to use in salsa is a flat-leaf variety such as Italian Flat-leaf Parsley. Curled-leaf parsley does not work very well in salsa in my experience.
Other Salsa Notes
- As I mentioned, I like my salsa to be thick and chunky, with little to no juice. In order to keep the juice to a minimum I do not add salt to the salsa until just before serving.
- If I scoop some salsa in a bowl to have with tortilla chips, I add a pinch of salt just before enjoying my delicious snack. Adding salt to the salsa will extract the juices from the ingredients, creating a soupy salsa.
- If you prefer your salsa a bit soupy, then add the salt just after mixing.
- I also enjoy my salsa better after it has chilled some. I like to sit it in the refrigerator over night before eating.
- This will give all the ingredients a chance to marry and it creates a better overall flavor.
- Fresh Salsa can be stored in a Tupperware bowl for about a week. If you want to store it longer, you can preserve your salsa in jars.
- If you are interested in some fantastic salsa recipes, please visit - 16 Homemade Salsa Recipes & Canning Tips.
- I hope that you enjoy the salsa garden designs. You can always mix and match them to create your own unique design that works best for your specific needs. If you have a salsa garden design that you'd like to share, please feel free to do so!
Try These Onions for Your Next Salsa!
