Written by: Ginger Reid
Pizza is a favorite in a great many households, and little is more satisfying than delving into a bite of homegrown garden delights. With a little planning and ingenuity, you can put together your own pizza garden, and do so in a way that is budget-friendly and particularly kind to Mother Earth. Whether you’re new to gardening or a seasoned master, follow these tips to cook up savory success.
Pizza particulars
Growing edibles in your garden and composing recipes from produce you raised yourself is uniquely gratifying. Topping that off with a garden that is earth-friendly is a special delight. To get started, become familiar with edible landscape plants that tantalize your taste buds, and ensure you know your hardiness zone. While most garden vegetables are annual plants you will need to refresh each year, some traditional pizza herbs are perennial, such as oregano, thyme, and rosemary. There are selections for all sorts of styles, climates, and space allotments to suit every gardener’s fancy.
Second-hand savvy
In addition to being a culinary delight, your garden can be easy on your budget and kind to the planet if you look for ways to reuse and recycle. You can create your own compost to fertilize your garden using kitchen scraps and barnyard manure; build DIY trellises from interesting and unusual materials, such as wheels and fishing nets; and utilise recycling options for raised beds and containers. Giving used items new life means stretching our planet’s limited resources, making the most of your money, and keeping materials from building up in landfills.
To find your second-hand goods, explore these options:
- In the US, The Freecycle Network offers opportunities to trade with others, or just pick up or give away belongings, based on location.
- For options in the UK, check Preloved, where sellers and buyers connect to exchange used goods.
- Australian gardeners, check here to read Gumtree’s Second Hand Economy Report for a cornucopia of budget-stretching, second hand selections.
Digging in
When designing your pizza garden, be creative regarding materials and designs. Better Homes & Gardens suggests starting with a thoughtful layout for your garden and working with your available space to meet the needs of your plant selections. Think about how much area you want to dedicate, and what style of gardening is most intriguing to you:
- Greenhouse gardening. If you’re considering a year-round gardening adventure, greenhouse gardening is your best bet, and can accommodate a wide variety of herbs and vegetables.
- Raised beds. Raised beds are popular since they offer your plants good drainage and are easier on your back to tend, and nearly any vegetable or herb can be grown in a raised bed.
- Container gardening. If you are tight on space, a number of ideal pizza toppers and sauce ingredients can be grown in containers, such as tomatoes, peppers, onions, and herbs.
- Trellis gardening. SF Gate points out tomatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, and squash all like to be grown on trellises, making them ideal for small spaces as well as sprawling plant beds.
- Indoor gardening. When it comes to your herbs, the premier pizza ingredients – oregano, thyme, and rosemary – can even be grown indoors.
But I don’t have a Green Thumb!
Many people struggle with gardening, and the vegetable which is the backbone of your pizza – the tomato – can be one of the trickiest to grow. Fortunately, there are some tricks for growing great tomatoes. For example, pinch some buds before they flower, so plants put more energy into the fruit. When watering tomatoes, avoid getting the stems wet, and install supports for the plants when you first put them in the ground. On the upside, another pizza must-have, peppers, won’t need babying to bring you plenty of produce; just provide ample sunshine and well-drained soil for best results. Transplanting seedlings of any herb or vegetable can be challenging, so consider purchasing plants from local nurseries for a reliable start.
Growing your own culinary delights can be a tantalizing treat. Lay out your garden thoughtfully, up-cycle, and choose plants well. By incorporating planet-friendly principles, your pizza will not only be delicious, it will provide you with peace of mind.
For more writing from Ginger Reid, be sure to check out: https://ourpreciousresources.org/