Creating a Pizza Garden

By: Christina T.

Growing your own food has been trending for some time and the pandemic helped introduce a lot of beginners to vegetable gardening. Our most recent blogs focus on gardening with a purpose: planting for pollinators, planting for hummingbirds, and planting to repel Mosquitos. In this blog we are getting creative. Take what you learned last year and grow your own ingredients for a pizza garden. What is a pizza garden, you ask? A pizza garden is growing your favorite ingredients to top off a pizza. Whether it’s creating a space in an existing garden or creating a new garden, a pizza garden is a great way to get the family involved in such a rewarding experience. Because who doesn’t love pizza!

Getting Started

Depending on you and your families tastes there are many different toppings to add to your pizza. Vegetables and herbs are key ingredients for adding variety and flavor. Let’s take a look at a few key ingredients that you should grow in your garden.

Preferred Herbs

Herbs will instantly boost your pizza’s flavor and can easily be grown in containers on a deck or patio. The best part is all these herbs are compatible and can be grown in the same container together. Plant in a 12-inch container or larger to allow room for growth. These herbs can also be planted individually.

Oregano

Oregano is a preferred herb of choice for Italian cuisine so what better herb to add to your pizza. When fresh, this herb packs a punch in the flavor department, producing a strong aroma simply when walking past this plant. Drying Oregano will help create a better texture and flavor when adding it to your pizza sauce or sprinkling throughout the top of your pizza. Simply cut and hang upside down until dry. If you are in a hurry, Oregano leaves can be placed in the oven on a sheet and baked for about an hour. 

Basil

Basil is another popular herb for adding flavor in Italian cuisine. Basil offers a wide variety of different flavors from sweet, Genovese, purple, lemon, and more. Depending on your taste buds try a few to see which is your favorite topping for pizza. A traditional Sweet or Genovese Basil is a good place to start. Basil offers a milder flavor than Oregano yet delicious when fresh. Chop up and add to your pizza sauce or add whole leaves for a classic Margherita Pizza.

Parsley

Parsley may not be a traditional herb to add to your pizza, but it does provide wonderful flavor when added to the sauce or mixed in throughout the toppings. Its fresh, bitter flavor can be added fresh from a cutting off the plant. Be sure to finely chop Parsley to help balance out the other flavors, adding a sense of elegance to your homemade pizza. Go homemade all the way and add freshly chopped parsley to your dough for extra flavor baked into your pizza crust.

Must have Veggies

Vegetables straight from the garden. What’s better than that? Fresh vegetables to make a pizza, that’s what! Tomatoes, onions, and peppers make perfect ingredients for a pizza and can be grown in a sunny garden or in patio pots on a deck or patio if space is limited.

Tomatoes

A pizza is not complete without tomatoes. Plant a few of the same or more than one variety to produce enough tomatoes to make your own sauce. Chop up your favorite tomatoes and add throughout the top adding delicious flavor to your creation.  

Onions

Onions are a major flavor boost and can be easily grown in the garden with a little time and patience. By mid-summer chop up your favorite onions and add it with the rest of your toppings. Yum!

*we are out of onions

Peppers

Create the most colorful pizza with peppers of all colors. Red, orange, yellow, and green peppers not only add flavor, but a pop of color. These crunchy vegetables will add a sweet flavor in every bite.

From there add your other favorite ingredients, sprinkle some cheese to top it off, and pop it in the oven to bake. Growing your own food has never been so rewarding. Shop your favorite vegetables and herbs and get planting today to make your own pizza this summer.