Fresh salsa, something many of us love to see on the party table, but how to get fresh salsa is another topic. Most salsas have such ingredients as tomatoes, bell and hot peppers of different kind, onions and garlic. Besides these vegetables, spices, salt and sometimes vinegar are added for flavor. Any of these vegetables can be grown in your back yard and even on your patio, if that is all that you have available.

Tomatoes are actually very easy to grow as long as you know a few basic rules. First of all, Tomatoes need to grow in a sunny spot. If you choose a spot that is half the day or more in the shade, you will receive your tomatoes a lot later and you will also harvest a lot less. Tomatoes can either be grown from seeds or the plants can be bought at your local supply store in spring. The plants need to be planted after the end of frost. In general, plants need to be spaced at least two feet apart. While tomatoes plants are growing at a steady rate when watered properly it is necessary to support the plants. Support can be provided with plant stakes, tomato cages or trellises to which the tomato plants can be attached. Towards the middle/ end of summer (depending on your region) Small yellow flowers will appear from which your tomatoes will grow. Tomato plants grow tomatoes for several weeks, if not months. So try to keep up with the harvesting and you will be rewarded with more tomatoes. Tomato plants can also be grown in planters and containers on patios and balconies. Of course to get a crop big enough for a salsa batch you need about three to four plants, but if you have the space, this would be a good and healthy use for it.

Hot peppers as well as bell peppers are just as easy to grow as tomatoes. The plants need a similar kind of spacing, only a few of the hot peppers are smaller plants and therefore the spacing can be less. Even though the plants do not need as much support as tomatoes plants, it is still recommended to have some kind of support such as a planting stake.

If you want to grow everything but the spices in your garden, you can even plant your own onions. But onions are generally harder to grow and if the garden is not completely in the sun all day long you will end up with tiny onions. Besides the fact that buying the onion starter plants is fairly expensive, you might not end up with the crop you expected.

Also needed for a fresh batch of salsa is garlic. Garlic can be grown in the garden, but similar to onions they are harder to grow in gardens that are in the shade for some small part of the day. Garlic and onions need lots of sun to grow properly. Most often it is recommended to buy the full grown versions at the supermarket. If you buy them from a local farmers market or as an organic version, they will be almost as good as homegrown.

There are many Salsa recipes on the market. From freshly chopped and mixed, ready to serve and eat to preserved versions that can add to your dinners and parties year round. If you have a bigger garden and are able to plant 5-10 tomatoes plants and several pepper and hot pepper plants you should be able to harvest enough vegetable to make 10-20 glasses of salsa and still have fresh vegetables for dinner in harvesting season.

Are you living the city life, but sometimes wish you had room for a good old-fashioned vegetable garden? Take heart – there are many city dweller who appreciate the work and bounty of vegetable gardening. Who said that apartment living should automatically exclude you from the pleasures of vegetable gardening? Here are a few ideas for successful and easy vegetable garden growing for condo or apartment living.

Container Gardening – Discover the Joys of Growing Your Own Vegetables

Container gardening has opened up a new world of vegetable gardening. No matter what kind of space you are living in, chances are that you can grow your own vegetables. Begin by scouting out the perfect location in your apartment or condo for a vegetable garden. Do you have a sunny patio? How about a roomy (or not so roomy) deck? These are prime locations for your vegetable garden. Other viable locations include a sunny spot near a window, a front porch, a rooftop and a fire escape. The location you choose should get several hours of sun each day, and you should ideally have enough room to move around the perimeter of the garden. That is, you don’t want to plant where you won’t have easy access to all of the vegetables. Make it easy on yourself and choose a spot that makes for easy watering. If you choose a difficult to reach location and it becomes a pain or inconvenience to water the garden, there is a greater chance that you will abandon the project. The easier it is for you to garden, the more likely that you will have fun doing it and that you will lend your garden with enough attention to succeed even in the most trying environment.

Choosing the What to Grow in Your Container Vegetable Garden

One of the most difficult things about starting a container vegetable garden is that it can be confusing to decide what you will be growing. There are so many different varieties of fruits and vegetables, including an ever-growing assortment of tempting and charming-sounding heirloom seeds that it can send even the most determined gardener into a dizzy spell. First, decide what it is that you like to eat. Don’t grow tomatoes just because you’ve heard it’s easy. Grow tomatoes because you love to eat tomatoes and you can use them in a variety of dishes. Basically, you want to grow something that you want to eat, not what you think you should be growing. With care and determination, chances are that you will be able to grow whatever you truly enjoy eating. Also, of course, you want to keep in mind your climate and region. What grows best in your area? If you are not sure, visit your local nursery and ask about vegetables that thrive in containers. Pick a vegetable that is known to thrive in your conditions. If you know that your container will probably receive excessive sun, or perhaps less than average sun, keep these things in mind when you are choosing what to grow.

Start Small and Grow from There

Many first-time gardeners will tend to get overwhelmed by the selection and gardening accessories that are featured at local nurseries, and they tend to go overboard. Your best bet in establishing a successful apartment or condo container garden is to start small. Choose one or two favorite vegetables and start from there. If your initial enthusiasm for a homegrown apartment garden does not wane and you seem to be achieving good results in your location, add more vegetables to your growing repertoire. Also, only grow as much as you can eat. If you do end up with a bounty, give extra fruits and vegetables to friends, family and neighbors.

Even if you do not have a big back yard and space for a big vegetable garden you can still grow vegetables such as tomatoes. Tomatoes are a great first vegetable to try in a container garden. Container gardens can be cultivated on balconies, patios, outdoor window sills, along the driveway or even on a roof top. There are a few essential tips to container gardening that you should keep in mind.

First of all, when starting your container garden, whether it is from seed or from a young plant from your local garden center, the soil is essential. Many plants are very sensitive to the soil they are planted in. Unlike weeds, fruit and vegetable bearing plants do not grow everywhere and even if they grow on some minor soils, they might not bring they crop they would on a good soil. So get your pots clean and ready with a good soil recommended for gardening. Also keep in mind, that the container needs to be at least 5 gallons or more to properly support the growth of the plant.

Your second important choice is the plant itself. Tomatoes come in a great variety of sizes, colors and tastes. From cherry and olive tomatoes over plum tomatoes to big size sandwich tomatoes (such as fat boy), it is all available. Besides the size and taste of the tomato the size of the plant falls within this size. Some tomato plant get to a full grown height of only a few feet while others might grow up to 5 feet tall. If your space or height is limited where you are planning to cultivate your container garden, make sure that you pick one of the smaller varieties. A friendly employee at your local garden center should be able to direct you to a good variety such as the bushy types for container gardening.

Even in a container garden it is important to support tomatoes properly. The tomato fruit actually is very heavy for the weak branches of the plant; therefore it is necessary to attach the tomato plant to some kind of a support such as planting stakes, tomatoes cages or small trellises.

Tomatoes generally need 5-6 hours minimum of sun so pick your spot for the container garden appropriately. Do not pick the shade side of the house, too little sun will not ripen your tomatoes in time and also minimizes the chance of a good crop. The more sun the better will your tomato plants grow and most likely the more tomatoes you will harvest.

Tomatoes need to be watered on a daily bases in hot or dry climates. Generally it is better for tomatoes if they are not watered from above, but rather from below. This should be easier achievable in a container garden, since you will generally water fewer plants than in a big backyard vegetable garden. Also keep in mind containers, planting pots and hanging baskets dry out much faster than regular soil in a big garden.

Very important for container gardens besides the regular watering is fertilizing. Container gardens have a small amount of soil compared to the big surrounding of a vegetable garden in the back yard and therefore the amount of food for the plants contained within the container is much smaller. Regular fertilizing is necessary to provide the tomato plant with the essential nutrients to support a big crop and grow properly.

Tomato container gardening is a very possible undertaking for many different occasions. Tomatoes are such a versatile ingredient and can be used in salads, as snack, in soups, salsas, chili’s and much more.