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A salsa garden is a terrific project for the beginning gardener. All of the plants you will need are simple to grow, especially if you start with purchased plants from a garden center.

Preparation
You'll need a bit of earth in full sun, about 10 feet by 10 feet. In garden that size you can grow two tomato plants, two pepper plants, onions, cilantro, and garlic. To prepare your garden, dig the soil to a depth of 8 or 10 inches. Add a couple of bags of compost, dig it in, and rake the soil smooth. Make a path down the middle from north to south.

Planting
Garlic is planted in the fall. To plant, break the bulb into separate cloves and plant the cloves separately along the west and east sides of your patch. Harvest in late summer.

Tomato plants should be planted in early summer, well after the last predicted frost date. Buy an early and a late variety for summer-long harvest. Place the plants at the north end of your patch on either side of the path, and support them with sturdy tomato cages.

For peppers, you can choose anything from fiery habaneros to sweet and mild "Fooled You." Pepper plants should be planted at the same time as tomatoes. Place them in front of the tomato plants so they get full sun.

Onions can be grown from seeds or from sets. Seeds should be planted very early in the spring, after the soil thaws. Sets can be planted a little later. Plant several short rows in front of the peppers.

Sow cilantro seed on finely-raked soil at the south end of the garden, in front of your onions, after the last frost date.

Care
Water deeply, making sure you soak the soil to a depth of several inches. Water again when the soil is dry down to about an inch below the soil surface. To conserve water and smother weeds, mulch with several inches of chopped leaves or straw. Keep the weeds pulled so they don't compete with your plants. The compost you dug into the garden bed will provide plenty of nutrition for most of the season, but tomatoes and peppers will benefit if you dig a little organic fertilizer into the soil halfway through the growing season.

Salsa Time!
Once your tomatoes and peppers begin producing, you should have early onions, garlic, and cilantro ready for harvest. Here's one recipe for turning your produce into fresh, delicious salsa:

3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped onion
3 medium or 2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 peppers, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the ingredients in a glass or ceramic bowl. Refrigerate several hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend.

Learn more about this author, Karen Bledsoe.
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