No matter what recipe you prefer for homemade salsa, there are a few universal ingredients, and all can be grown successfully in containers on your deck, patio or balcony. All you need are ceramic or plastic containers, potting soil and plants.
Jalapeno peppers
Jalapenos have the richest flavor of any chili pepper and so makes perfect salsa material.
- Start seeds indoors five to seven weeks before the last average frost date in your area. Plant seeds 1/4 inch deep and keep moist until the seeds germinate in two to three weeks.
- Transplant each pepper plant into an 8-inch pot at the same depth it was growing in its original container. One plant may be all you need to produce a lot of peppers for your salsa.
- Pick the peppers when they're about two to three inches long.
Cilantro
Also known as coriander, cilantro has delicate-looking leaves but a very distinctive, bold flavor which works well in salsa.
- Grow cilantro from seeds directly in a container once you're ready to plant outside.
- Plant seeds 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep and keep the soil moist until they germinate in 7 to 10 days (or possibly as long as two weeks).
- You won't have to thin out the plants because you can harvest cilantro while it is still fairly small, in about six weeks.
Tomatoes
Choose a variety that yields meaty fruit that's not too juicy. 'Tuscany', for example, yields abundant crops of plum tomatoes that have deep red color and rich flavor. But the common sandwich tomato 'Better Boy' is good as well.
- Start seeds indoors five to seven weeks before the last frost. Plant seeds at the depth recommended on the package. When plants are 5 to 10 inches tall, they're ready for transplanting. (Or to save time, just start off with transplants.)
- Use a 12-inch pot so the plant will have plenty of room to grow. If the plant is a bit leggy, plant it deeper in the container or it will form roots along the stem.
- Put a tomato cage around the plant to help it keep upright when it starts to grow.
Tomatillos
A cousin of the tomato, the tomatillo adds a wonderful mild flavor and crunch texture to salsa. Tomatillos mature in 70 days and grow to three feet tall.
- Start seeds indoors five to seven weeks before planting outdoors.
- Tomatillos are ready to harvest when the husk is beige or yellow.
Onions
Use a rectangular plastic container for a short row of onions. You can buy nursery-grown dry onion sets in bulk or in mesh bags.
- Bury the bulbs two inches deep and two inches apart. Firm the soil.
- Harvest the onions when the tops fall over and dry down. You can pull them up before that time to enjoy fresh in a salad, but they store better if they dry naturally.
- After harvesting onions, lay them out in single layers in a dry, shady spot to cure, which allows them to develop a protective, papery wrapper.
Once your salsa garden is planted, find a sunny spot for your containers. Water everything well and as needed throughout the summer. Before long, you'll be harvesting vegetables and making fresh salsa from your own garden.
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