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GARDENING TIPS HOME
FRESH FLOWER & VEGETABLE SEEDS |
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Salsa Garden
Tips |
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Salsa has become more popular than ketchup,
at least that's what they said on some show
I saw on television. We have been growing
almost everything needed to make our own
salsa for years. Sometimes we don't get a
very good garlic crop but we usually do
quite well growing and supplying enough
ingredients to can up many pints of our own
salsa. It's way better than anything we've
found although lately there have some
companies producing better salsa. Still it's
nothing like the stuff that comes from your
own garden!
The vegetables we grow for our salsa recipe
are:
Tomato's, Jalapeno Peppers, Onions, Cilantro
and Garlic. |
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Now there are lots of different tomato's and
pepper plants. Your choice of tomato is
going to be more limited than pepper if you
don't use a pressure cooker to can your
salsa. Hybrid tomato's are less acidic than
the older heirloom types of tomato's. Acidic
tomato's are important to the canning
process if you chose to use the boil bath
method of canning. You will still find
yourself adding either vinegar, lemon juice
or both to salsa processed using the boil
bath method. Either way I feel it's best to
use a more acidic tomato. This way I don't
have to add so much vinegar or lemon juice
to our salsa. I also like to add cherry
tomato's to our salsa. This is more work but
adding 3 or 4 cherry tomato's per jar is all
it takes to sweeten the salsa enough to
really notice. Figure out how many quarts
your recipe makes, multiply that by 4 and
use that many cherry tomato's mixed in with
your other tomato's when making your recipe.
Don't change the measurement just mix them
in. |
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Peppers are definitely a matter of how much
heat you want or don't want. I have made
salsa with almost every type of pepper
available. In the end I choose jalapeno's
exclusively. I like the robust flavor and
they are the perfect heat for me. I have
tried using Habanero peppers mixed in but I
personally just don't care for the bitter
taste they offer to the recipe. Even just a
couple Habanero's in the mix seems to be too
much. As you can see this is a matter of
choice. This will be the biggest factor when
it comes to pleasing everybody in the house.
Of course if you are the only one who loves
hot stuff you won't have to worry about
sharing it haha. |
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If this is
already the case contact your local farm
supply or elevator as we call it here in the
boonies. You may also have
the opportunity to use some composted
manure. If so make sure it has composted
properly or it could burn up your plants. My
experience is that cow manure works best.
Horse manure makes your garden grow well
also but it seems to produce lots more weeds
than cow manure. I think it has to do with
what horses eat and their digestive system.
This is my observation and I'm not sure
about the digestion thing. Chicken manure
can also be used but you have to use the
stuff very sparingly as it is very potent
and high in nitrogen. It is quite easy to
over do it and burn your garden right up. I
noticed some of the miracle grow organic
fertilizer is chicken manure/feathers. Of
course it is ground up but still quite
stinky. I'm sure if you use it properly
it works great. Chicken manure seems to work
great on sandy soil but probably works fine
anywhere if you use it properly.
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We take all of our non meat table
scraps and kitchen waste to the compost
pile. This stuff works great to mix in with
other fertilizer. You may also have some
nice compost saved up from the winter. If so
now is the time to mix it in. Whatever you
decide to use spread it over the garden and
rotor till it in using the deepest setting
on your tiller. Only go over it one last
time.
In Autumn when the
leaves fall we rake them up and rotor till
them into the garden soil good. It is good
to rotor till your garden in the fall.
Grinding the remains of your garden plants
and leaves adds organic matter which is very
good. Mixing a little nitrogen in with the
leaves helps decompose the organic matter
faster. |
It also prevents certain bugs like cut
worms from overpopulating your soil in the
spring. If you have sandy based soil like we do
these bugs can be a real problem in the spring.
Moths lay eggs on garden vegetation in the fall.
Keeping that vegetation tilled in prevents them
from laying eggs which in turn helps you keep
those nasty pests from demolishing your plants
come spring.
Beneficial nematodes won't harm
earthworms, birds, plants or harm the
environment. They occur naturally, but often not
in high enough concentrations to do enough help
when we as gardeners sometimes need. Spraying
your garden with beneficial nematodes is a
little more expensive then the above methods but
is highly effective if done properly. It is very
practical and allot less work than trying to
save plants that are under attack. Replacing
plants is more too. You can effectively cover
300 square feet for less than $20.00.
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About The Author:
Written By Steve Snyder
Visit my garden seed website. We offer high
quality fresh flower, vegetable and herb seed
for the home gardener.
Millington Seed Co
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