Grow A Pizza Garden

Pizza is a delicious and fun food and there's an easy way for kids to grow some healthy pizza toppings in their very own 'pizza garden'.

Bite sized tasty cherry tomatoes, sliced in half, are perfect pizza toppings, as is fragrant basil, colourful capsicum and tender baby leaf spinach or silverbeet.

You can grow these pizza toppings in pots on a sunny balcony or patio, or create a circular garden in the backyard, divide the garden into triangular pizza wedges and grow a different topping in each wedge. Kids can grow and pick their own pizza ingredients and help make dinner! And kids are more likely to eat vegies when they've been involved with growing them. 

• In a sunny spot in the backyard, make a round pizza-shaped garden (it could also be square or rectangular – whatever you have room for). You can use old bricks or pavers as edging for the garden. 
• Plants like growing in nice soft soil so remove any grass or weeds and dig around in the soil to loosen it up.
• Mix in some Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser to help give your pizza garden plants a great start.
• Divide the garden into wedges or sections. Laying some timber stakes over the soil is an easy way to do this. 
• Choose your healthy pizza toppings for each section! During warm weather you can grow cherry tomatoes, colourful capsicum, rocket, spring onions and silverbeet and during cooler weather try baby leaf spinach, onions and even broccoli. You can also grow tasty herbs like oregano, sage, basil and chives in their own section. 
• Water the plants regularly and feed with Yates Thrive Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food to help them grow. 

Tip: Growing a potted pizza garden – use pots with good drainage holes (bigger pots are easier to look after than smaller pots), place in the pots in a nice sunny spot and fill with good quality potting mix. Feed and water your pots regularly to help keep the plants healthy.