“The Pizza Garden” a recipe from Roots Shoots Buckets & Boots by Sharon Lovejoy
The Pizza Garden
It’s February, one of the best months to start planting a garden in Texas. People from the Valley only have a small window of time before the blazing sun that kisses us each summer season will scorch up their produce. If people looking to grow a garden wait too long to set out certain vegetables or flowers their yields will be low.
The staff here at Pace Academy has taken a family garden activity from one of our favorite books, “Roots Shoots Buckets & Boots” by Sharon Lovejoy, to promote taking pleasure in spending time outdoors and growing a garden. We also believe that kids will take gratification in knowing where their veggies come from. It’s very important to advocate healthy living. For children, seeing a meal that went from farm to table is awe-inspiring. We recommend purchasing “Roots Shoots Buckets & Boots” for yourself if possible. It consists of awesome and easy-to-implement ideas for themed gardens that adults and children can grow together.
The Pizza Patch
For this season we picked an activity called “The Pizza Patch,” a garden that will consist of every vegetable needed to make a savory pizza from organic veggies from your backyard!
According to the book Lovejoy writes, “Children will get the chance to taste tiny tomatoes, smell the powerful aroma of herbs, and meet friendly garden critters.” Because pizza is a staple in a child’s diet and favorite amongst our American community, a do-it-yourself pizza party makes for a delightful grand finale to a season spent tending outdoors. “We encourage you to let your child choose their favorite veggies and only add the ones we suggest if you like them,”writes Lovejoy.
The best way to grow this particular garden is in a circle instead of the typical straight-row vegetable garden pictured in most yards. Once finished it will look something like this:
To start, you’ll have to plan ahead by drawing a circle on construction paper and dividing it into seven equal “slices.” Each “slice” will represent an area of the garden that will hold a specific vegetable or herb. One slice will be left untouched and serve as a pathway for little gardeners to get through. It will look something like this:
Materials needed:
- a sunny spot in the yard
- well-drained soil
- edging for “pizza” outline (metal, plastic or wood)
- seedlings of your favorite toppings
- Compost or aged and bagged manure
- water
A list of ingredients will include:
- 3 seedlings, plum tomatoes
- 6 seedlings, cherry tomatoes
- 3 seedlings, small eggplants, such as “Little Fingers”
- 3 seedlings, bell peppers
- 1 seedling, zucchini
- 1 seedling, rosemary
- 3 seedlings, oregano
- 3 seedlings, basil
- 3 seedlings, onions
- 3 seedlings, garlic
- 6 seedlings, “Lemon Gem” marigolds
- 6 seedlings, “Kablouna” calendulas
Once all the preparation is finished, you’ll have to utilize your expertise in sowing and nurturing a seed, which would include making sure you have good soil and watering your plants everyday. Tending to a garden diligently will promote optimal growth. In order to follow steps more purposefully we encourage you to buy “Roots Shoots Buckets & Boots,” by Sharon Lovejoy for thorough steps. If sowing soil seems too elaborate for an at-home project, you may also want to buy an all-inclusive kit like the “Little Pizza Garden,” sold by Sunny-Side Up Gardens. Either way, we want for the Pace Academy family to enjoy gardening and savoring the fruits of their labor at dinnertime. It’s a great way to spend family time and an excellent way to get kids into vegetables! Let us know how else we can help you to accomplish this project. And please share photos of those of you who created their very own pizza garden!