Grow your own salsa: plants for a year of salsa
A pantry batch of salsa from paste tomatoes, peppers, and onions.
For a family of 4 making canned tomato salsa 3 batches (about 6 pints each), grow:
| Crop | Amount | Plants | Bed sq ft | Yield assumption | Seeds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paste tomato (Roma) | 21 lb | 3 (2 to 5) | 12 | About 8 lb per plant (UMaine). Caged or staked at 2 ft spacing. | Shop Seeds Now |
| Bell pepper | 2.6 lb | 3 (2 to 3) | 7 | 6 lb per 10 ft of row at about 5 plants, so about 1.25 lb per plant. | Shop Seeds Now |
| Jalapeno pepper | 5 oz | 1 | 2.5 | About 1.25 lb (roughly 40 peppers) per plant. | Shop Seeds Now |
| Onion | 3.5 lb | 11 (7 to 14) | 1.5 | 10 lb per 10 ft of row at 4 inch spacing, so about one 1/3 lb bulb per plant. | Shop Seeds Now |
| Cilantro | 0 oz | 1 | 0.5 | About 0.2 lb of leaves per plant before it bolts. Sow every 3 weeks. | Shop Seeds Now |
| Garlic | 2 oz | 1 | 0.5 | 4 lb per 10 ft of row, about one bulb (0.15 lb) per clove planted. Plant in fall. | Shop Seeds Now |
| Total | 24 | ||||
Safety: For canning, follow a tested recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Do not change the ratio of vegetables to acid.
Garden ingredients per recipe (about 6 pints)
- 6 lb (about 12 cups chopped) paste tomato (roma)
- 2 peppers bell pepper
- 2 onions onion
- 3 jalapenos jalapeno pepper
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
From the pantry
- 2/3 cup bottled lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
Peel and chop tomatoes, simmer with the rest, fill jars, and process in a water bath.
Change household size or combine dishes in the Plate to Plot tool
Sources and assumptions
Amounts include 15 percent extra for culls, pests, and kitchen trim. Plant counts use the typical yield; the range uses the high and low yields. Bed space assumes intensive beds at recommended spacing. Yields vary with variety, weather, and soil.
- Kansas State University Research and Extension, MF315 Vegetable Garden Planting Guide (average crop per 10 feet of row)
- University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Planting Chart for the Home Vegetable Garden
- Clemson HGIC, How Much to Grow: Planning for Year-Round Garden Productivity
- ThriveThyme estimate from typical harvests (no single extension table lists this crop per plant)
- National Center for Home Food Preservation (USDA tested canning and pickling recipes)
Guides and tools
Some outbound seed-house links may be affiliate links.