A Garden You Can Eat on Pizza

If you want to get kids genuinely excited about gardening, give them a purpose they care about. And what kid doesn't care about pizza?

A pizza garden grows the ingredients for homemade pizza: tomatoes for sauce, basil and oregano for flavor, peppers for toppings. You can make it as simple as a few containers or as elaborate as a circular bed divided into "slices." Either way, the payoff is the same: a pizza made with ingredients your kids grew themselves.

Designing Your Pizza Garden

The classic pizza shape:

The traditional pizza garden is a circle divided into wedges, like slices of pizza. Each wedge holds a different plant. This works great if you have space for a dedicated bed (6 to 8 feet across is ideal).

To create it:

Mark a circle in your garden area using string and a stake
Divide it into 6 or 8 wedges using paths, stones, or small boards
Plant one crop per wedge
Add a stepping stone or mulched path in the center so kids can reach everything

No space? No problem:

A pizza garden works just as well in containers, a single raised bed, or a row along a fence. The "pizza" concept is about what you grow, not the shape. Group your pizza plants together however works for your space.

What to Plant

Here are the essential pizza garden crops, all of which grow well in Santa Cruz:

Tomatoes (The Sauce)

You can't have pizza without tomatoes. For a pizza garden, paste tomatoes work best because they're meatier and make better sauce, but cherry tomatoes are easier for kids and great for fresh snacking.

'San Marzano' or 'Roma' for sauce
'Sungold' or 'Sweet 100' for snacking
Plant after soil warms, April through June
Provide a cage or stake

Basil (The Classic Herb)

Basil and tomatoes are best friends in the garden and on the pizza. The smell of fresh basil is one of summer's great pleasures.

'Genovese' for classic Italian flavor
'Purple Ruffles' for something different
Plant after last frost when soil is warm
Pinch flowers to keep leaves coming
Harvest from the top to encourage bushy growth

Oregano (The Pizza Herb)

Dried oregano is the signature pizza flavor. Fresh oregano is even better. Once established, oregano is nearly indestructible and comes back year after year.

Greek oregano has the strongest flavor
Plant from transplants in spring
Grows well in containers
Harvest anytime, dries easily

Bell Peppers (The Topping)

Sweet bell peppers are mild enough for picky eaters and come in red, yellow, orange, and green. They take a while to mature but are worth the wait.

'California Wonder' is a reliable choice
'Mini Bell' varieties are fun for kids
Plant transplants after soil warms
Be patient. Peppers are slow but productive

Hot Peppers (For Adventurous Families)

If your family likes a little heat, add a hot pepper plant. Kids often love the excitement of growing something "spicy" even if they won't eat it.

'Jalapeño' is a good starter
'Padron' are mild until they're not (fun surprise)
Handle with care after touching hot peppers

Onions or Garlic (The Flavor Base)

Every good pizza sauce starts with onions and garlic. These take longer to grow but are easy and satisfying to harvest.

Plant garlic in fall for summer harvest
Green onions are faster (60 days from seed)
Onion sets are easiest for beginners

Optional Add-Ons:

Parsley — mild, good in sauce
Arugula — peppery, great on pizza after baking
Spinach — for white pizza or calzones
Zucchini — if you have room (and want a lot of zucchini)

When to Plant

In Santa Cruz, you can plant your pizza garden in stages:

Fall (October to November):

Garlic (harvest the following summer)

Early Spring (March to April):

Oregano transplants
Onion sets
Parsley, arugula, spinach from seed

Late Spring (April to June):

Tomato transplants
Basil transplants or seeds
Pepper transplants

Plan your planting so everything is growing strong by midsummer when you'll want to start harvesting for pizza night.

Caring for Your Pizza Garden

Watering: Most pizza garden crops like consistent moisture. Water at the base of plants, not on the leaves. Drip irrigation or soaker hoses work well if you want to make it easy.

Feeding: Tomatoes and peppers are hungry plants. Add compost at planting and fertilize every few weeks during the growing season. Herbs like oregano and basil need less feeding.

Harvesting:

Pick basil leaves regularly from the top of the plant
Harvest oregano anytime (it's best just before flowering)
Wait for tomatoes to fully ripen on the vine
Pick peppers when they reach full size and color
Pull garlic when the lower leaves turn brown

Making Pizza Together

The harvest is only half the fun. Making pizza together completes the experience.

Simple homemade pizza dough:

1 cup warm water
1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
3 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let sit 5 minutes until foamy. Add flour, oil, and salt. Mix and knead until smooth. Let rise 1 hour. Roll out and top with your garden ingredients.

Easy fresh tomato sauce:

Blend or crush fresh tomatoes
Add minced garlic, salt, and a drizzle of olive oil
Stir in fresh oregano and basil
Use raw or simmer for 15 minutes

Assembly:

Let kids do as much as possible:

Roll or stretch the dough
Spread the sauce
Tear basil leaves and sprinkle oregano
Add cheese and toppings
Slice peppers (with supervision)

Bake at 450 to 500 degrees until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly. Top with fresh basil after baking for the best flavor.

Beyond Pizza Night

Once you've got a pizza garden going, you can expand the concept:

Salsa garden: tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, onions
Salad garden: lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes
Taco garden: peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeños
Pasta garden: tomatoes, basil, garlic, zucchini

The idea is the same: grow what you'll eat, and eat what you grow. When kids see the connection between the garden and the dinner table, something clicks.

A Garden They'll Remember

Building a pizza garden with your kids isn't really about the pizza. It's about working together, watching things grow, and creating something from scratch. Years from now, they might not remember every meal you made together. But they'll remember the summer they grew their own pizza toppings.

Building a Pizza Garden with Kids