Salsa veggies all do well in the same growing conditions.
Peppers are the stars of a fresh summer salsa, the type and amount you add determining its heat and adding color. Make a mix of hot salsa peppers the stars of your summer garden as well. Planted early in the spring, pepper crops mature 60 to 100 days after planting. Include tomatoes, onions, garlic and cilantro in your garden for a steady supply of homemade salsa ingredients. Part of the fun of making homemade salsa is experimenting with different pepper flavors until you produce that just-right combination that makes your hot salsa distinctive. Grow a mix of bell peppers, jalapenos, Habaneros and even Scotch bonnets for some real fire in your salsa.
Instructions
1. Sow your pepper seeds eight to 10 weeks before the last spring frost. Plant each seed according to package directions in a seedling starter part. Place the pots in a warm area with bright fluorescent full spectrum lights. Bottom heat of around 80 degrees helps germinate the seeds more quickly. Keep the soil slightly moist. After the seedlings sprout transfer them to larger pots after about six weeks. Be sure to mark the plants by their variety as pepper plants can look similar from variety to variety.
2. Set the seedling outdoors for a few hours a day about two weeks after the last frost of the season. Set them out every day for a few hours, gradually increasing the time until they are out for 24 hours, before transplanting the seeds to your garden. This hardens your plants for living outdoors.
3. Clear a sunny spot that gets at least six hours of full sun per day. The soil should be well-drained and fertile. Peppers need a long, warm growing season to produce well.
4. Test the soil. The soil pH should be between 6.0 and 6.5. If it is low, increase the soil pH with lime or wood ash. If high, decrease it with aluminum sulfate or sulfur. Loosen the beds to 12 inches deep and mix into the soil along with manure or a fertilizer recommended for your particular soil. Consult your local agricultural extension agent for recommendations.
5. Dig holes 12 inches deep and 18 inches apart. Partially fill the hole with a rich compost. Loosen and remove the plants from their containers and plant so that the top of the root ball is just below the surface. Mark each section of the garden so you know what's growing there and can tend each plant according to its particular needs.
6. Water the plants well after planting and then water as often as necessary to keep the soil slightly moist, but not wet. Fertilize your peppers with a low-nitrogen fertilizer after they have blossomed.
7. Use row covers early in the season for gardens located in cool climates. Peppers particularly need long warm growing seasons to produce a good crop. Once the weather is consistently warm remove the row covers.
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