Growing Your Own Pizza Garden
December 25, 2011 
Jennifer Pickles 
Starting Your Own Pizza Garden
Gardening can be a lot of fun. You get to be outside, you get to get dirty, and there is something special about planting and growing your own living plants. This is especially true when this set of living plants can lead to a delicious pizza at the end of the growing season. Planting a pizza garden is easy, fun, educational, and very tasty.
Step One: Prepare A Space
You do not have to have acres of land to plant a garden. Choose a spot in your yard that will be designated as your garden, remove the grass, and turn the soil. If your soil is soft and easy to separate, you will not necessarily need to add anything to it at all. If it is sandy or has the consistency of clay, you may need to add soil on top or mix it in.
Step Two: Cuttings Or Seeds?
Planting seeds is inexpensive and it is exciting to see the young plants pop through the soil. However, these tiny seedlings can be more susceptible to pests like chipmunks that love to feast on these young stalks. When you purchase cuttings, they are already established plants and a little more hardy.
Choose Your Ingredients
When you think about what goes on your pizza, you must remember the herbs that go into your sauce as well as your toppings. Of course, you will need tomatoes, but you will also want onions, garlic, basil, oregano, and peppers. These ingredients will work together to make a delicious sauce, and the onions and peppers can be used as toppings as well.
When To Plant
Not all of these plants go in at the same time. Garlic must be planted in the fall for spring and summer harvest. Onions are next, going into the ground in March or April, depending on your region. The herbs and vegetables will need to be planted after there is no longer a concern regarding frost.
Harvesting
Like planting, harvesting does not necessarily happen at the same time. Your basil and oregano can be used at any time, while the peppers and tomatoes can be picked as the vegetables ripen. If your other ingredients are coming in more slowly, you can cook down your tomatoes in anticipate of making your sauce. While tomato and pepper plants will continue to produce all season long, garlic and onions are roots, so once you pick them, your harvest is through for the season.
