Gardening Corner

Pizza Garden


By: Museumlover

This is for the next gardening column because I have it ready and I never know for sure where I'll be or what I'll be doing! I'm leaving tuesday to go to St. Cloud MN for the Minnesota Quilt Show. I'm taking some lessons and really looking forward to is. So....here it is.
If you have kids in your family, they might really enjoy planting a pizza garden. This kind of garden is fun and useful. You will need to put your pizza garden in the sun.
The first step is to lay out a circle, of whatever diameter you can put in your space. It is pretty easy to mark off a circle by pegging down a string or rope in the center and marking off a circle.
The earth must be worked up with a tiller or some other implement, and peat moss, cow manure and topsoil mixed in with your soil will help grow healthy plants. You will want to then rake and level your soil and make sure it is ready for planting.
Next comes choosing what to put into the garden. Let's start with some tomatoes, and we will also need some basil, oregano, chives, thyme, and whatever herbs you might like on your pizza. You might also want to put in some little marigolds to look like cheese and to keep away the bugs and other critters.
Mark off your circle into "slices", marking the slices with stakes and string or small rocks. You will need as many slices as you have plants. You might even want two slices for the tomatoes. You can buy plants already started as it is too late to grow from seed.
Start by planting your tomato plants towards the back of your circle, where they won't shade your other plants from the sun. Plant them nice and deep so they will grow straight. You can even use tomoato cages, if you want to. Small plum or roma tomatoes are perfect for pizze. Plant your other herbs in the slices you have created. Plant your marigolds, if you want them, in amongst the other things. Afterwards, you can sprinkle a product called "Preen" around your plants and it will help prevent weeds.
If you want to get really into your pizza garden, place rocks around the perimeter to look like a crust. Place a few small terra cotta saucers upside down here and there to look like pepperoni.
I will admit that I have never grown one of these gardens, however I have seen them and they are pretty neat and great fun for kids. They also learn about preparing the soil, watering their plants, weeding and then harvesting and eating their crop. I have a friend who is a master gardener and she often does these little gardens for the neighbor kids.
When your tomatoes are ready, just pick everything you need for your pizza from your very own garden. Make a simple pizza crust, add the things you grew yourself, bake and eat. Guaranteed to be fun and taste wonderful. Fresh tomatoes and fresh herbs are so good! If you enjoyed that garden, the same plot can be used again next year. Oregano, chives, and thyme will come back, but you will have to replant the other ingredients. Enjoy.