HOW YOUR KIDS CAN GROW A PIZZA GARDEN
Trying to think of ways to get your older kids involved with gardening? Ask them if they'd like to grow their very own pizza garden! They can grow many of the ingredients needed for homemade pizza sauce, all their favorite plant-based toppings, and they can even plant it all in the shape of a pizza. The novelty of the shape and the promise of delicious homemade pizza might just be the keys to getting them interested!
HOW TO MAKE A PIZZA GARDEN
First, you'll need to select the location. You'll want to choose a full sun location, and make a circle about 8 feet in diameter. You may even want to use lawn edging around the outside to define the space.
Next, prepare your soil. If the soil is particularly compacted, make sure to dig it over a few times to loosen it up and give the plants roots room to grow. You may want to work in some compost or good quality garden soil to ensure the plants will have all the nutrients they need to grow strong and healthy.
Then, draw three intersecting lines across the circle to form 6 pizza slice shapes. You can also use divider material inside to define the edges of the slices or mark them in the ground with some chalk line.
Next, it's time to choose some plants! There are a few specific plants that contribute to making excellent pizza, and luckily they're pretty easy to grow as well. For a pizza garden you'll need:
Tomatoes (2 plants)
Bell pepper (1 plant)
Basil (1-2 plants)
Rosemary (1 plant)
Thyme (1-2 Plants)
Oregano (1 Plant)
Onions (1 package of bulbs)
HOW TO PLANT YOUR PIZZA GARDEN
Since your tomato and pepper plants will be the largest, you'll want to place them in the pizza slices at the back, so they don't shade the rest of your plants. Help your child plant the tomatoes in deep holes, so that the bottom set of leaves are just above the soil surface. Give the tomatoes and peppers a whole slice each, so they have lots of room to grow. Tomatoes and peppers need supports, so give them each a tomato cage when they're still quite small.
Have your child divvy up their herbs and onions evenly across the rest of the pizza slices. Onions can be planted 5-6 inches apart from each other, but all of the herbs should have about 10-12 inches between them and the next plant.
Have your child water all of their newly planted pizza ingredients well. Then it's just a matter of watering, fertilizing, and waiting.
PIZZA GARDEN MAINTENANCE
Peppers and tomatoes can be thirsty plants, so make sure your child is checking them regularly. In the heat of the summer, tomatoes will need to be watered every day, and peppers should be watered when the leaves start to droop slightly. Tomatoes and peppers will also benefit from specialized synthetic fertilizer or high-quality organic fertilizer mixed into their soil. The herbs and onions can tolerate a little more dryness than the tomatoes and peppers, but they'll still need regular watering. Keep an eye on the pizza garden to make sure it's not getting over-watered, as that will cause even more setbacks than underwatering. (And we all know how kids love any excuse to play with the hose!)
Once the tomatoes and peppers start to ripen, you can help your child harvest their veggies, slice up some toppings, and make their own homemade pizza sauce. They will definitely have a well-deserved sense of pride from having grown their own food. Not to mention, gardening offers plenty of opportunities for math and science lessons while everyone is trying to keep up with school at home.
If you're ready to get started on your pizza garden, stop by our garden center or give us a call. Since greenhouses are an essential service, we're still open and allowing a limited number of guests into the garden center at a time. You can come and shop while respecting social distancing protocol, or you can order over the phone. We can have everything you need for your pizza garden ready for curbside pickup, or we can deliver within the Indianapolis area.