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Why do we want to growa Pizza Garden
• Flavor, freshness, pesticide-free• Health benefits
exercise, nutrition, phytochemicals• Connection with the food you eat• Introduce you to gardening
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We teach a common-sense, ecological approach
• Rely on locally available materials and resources- (rocks, leaves, animal manure).
• Feed the soil (with organic matter) to increase garden productivity.
• Maximize biological and genetic diversity to strengthen your garden eco-system. – Example: Plant an assortment of annual flowers
and herbs to attract and feed beneficial insects.
Simple Steps
• Planning• Soil• Planting and growing• Sustaining
Planning • A good plan saves time, work, and $• Location
– Full sun is best, minimum is 8 hours/day• Miller Library Pizza Garden
– Garden is 8 feet in diameter– It has six sections– It is a raised bed
Miller Pizza Garden
Your Pizza Garden
• It doesn’t have to be round• It can be square or rectangular• Tall plants on north or west side
Tomatoes
Peppers & Basil
Onions & Galic
Oregano
3 ft.
8 ft.
Soil test• Test you soil before adding fertilizer or
amendments.• https://extension.umd.edu/growit click on
“Information Library”, “Publications” and “Vegetable, Fruit and Herb Gardening” for HGIC Pub 110 on soil tests– Tests for pH+, heavy metals, macro and micro
nutrients• N, P, K Ca, Mg, etc.
• Follow the testing labs recommendations for nutrients and pH+
Pizza Garden Soil Test
Amendments added to soil
• Rock Phosphate for phosporus• Sulfur to acidify the soil• Soybean meal for nitrogen
SOIL
• Soil is a living organism – feed it• Improving soil’s fertility is critical if you want a
successful pizza garden• Improve your soil quality by adding six inches
of organic matter• We have done this by adding Leafgro to the
pizza garden
Soil preparation for your Pizza Garden
• Kill sod and control weeds– Cover area with newspaper or cardboard, and
cover with leaves, and compost OR– Dig up the area by hand or with a tiller
Alternative soil preparationSlicing off sod
Turning soil
Loosening subsoil
Sheet compost your way to a vegetable garden
Raised bedssome advantages… • Warm up quickly in spring.• Drain well; less compaction and erosion.• Increase available rooting area. • Greater food production per square foot.
and some disadvantages…• Up-front labor and expense.• Dry out quickly if weather is hot and dry.• Don’t work on slopes, unless terraced.
What do you like on your pizza• Tomatoes• Peppers• Broccoli• Spinach• Garlic• Onions• Oregano• Basil
Pizza Garden planting schedules
• Garlic (late October thru early November)• Onions (Mid March for sets, late March for plants)• Oregano (Mid March)• Tomatoes, peppers and basil (Mid May)
– Check last frost date for your area.• On May 12, you will be planting tomatoes,
peppers and basil
Weed management
• Weeds are any plant growing where you don’t want it.
• Best control methods:– hand-pull– sharp hoe– mulch
Organic mulches • Prevent weed growth.• Moderate soil temperatures.• Conserve soil moisture.• Add to soil organic matter.• Should be spread after soil warms up.• We will use compost from our compost pile
Examples: LeafGro, compost, dry grass clippings, newspaper covered with straw, shredded leaves
Caging our tomatoes• Increase yields per sq. ft. • Fewer fruit problems; easier
to pick & water• Adds complex texture to
garden; enhances ecosystem (shading, micro-climates.)
Enjoy the harvest
• Home grown summer tomatoes• Ripe peppers are delicious• Basil, onions, spinach, and oregano
Join the Grow it Eat it Network!
• What is the Grow It Eat It network.• Goals:
– teach people how to grow food– increase the number of Howard County food
gardeners– create a network of food gardeners who will
keep learning and sharing through classes, workshops, events, web site, blog
Resources• Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC)
– 800-342-2507– www.extension.umd.edu/hgic
• Grow-It-Eat-It website– www.extension.umd.edu/growit
• Master Gardener state website– www.extension.umd.edu/mg
This program was brought to you by
Maryland Master Gardener Program
Howard County
University of Maryland Extension
