The cultivation of fruits and vegetables anywhere outdoors from your house in your residential area, utilising kitchen waste products is known as a kitchen garden, which is also known as home or vegetable gardening.
Nowadays, most people look for more organic fruits and vegetables but due to the overpriced and unnatural practices of most sellers, it is impossible to trust their quality. Kitchen gardening can be an effective and healthier alternative that provides you with a fresh and organic diet. Most individuals are fearful of practising this activity because of too little information, time consumption, pests, and other diseases but it can be prevented with a better understanding of the overall kitchen gardening lifestyle.
If properly managed, this activity can provide a greater supply of fresh fruits and vegetables with higher nutritive value and toxic-free chemicals. It also allows for cost savings on vegetable purchases. Homegrown vegetables taste much better than those bought from the market. Kitchen wastewater and other kitchen waste components are effectively utilised without having to throw them out. It helps you exercise and provides mental and physical benefits.
Most gardeners use a mixture of seeds and transplants, selecting seeds for just some vegetables and transplants for others, also known as starts. The transplants and starts process are basically using baby vegetable plants that are generally sold in pots or packs. Much of your choice between seeds and transplants will be determined by your own personal taste.
List of Easy Kitchen Garden Plants to Grow
Here are a few vegetables, which you can grow in your kitchen garden for healthier, natural and nutritious results with tips to make things easy.
- Carrot
Carrots not only offer nutritionally-dense composition but they are also easy to grow in loose, sandy soil that can be less but rich with organic matter. It also requires lots of water with proper drainage for better results but it is also important to avoid overwatering the soil as it might attract worms. You also need to thin the carrot seedling with breathable spacing to avoid overcrowding the plants. Rocky and uneven soil can produce small and deformed carrots.
To begin, sow the garden seeds of carrot 1/4 inch underground and keep a space of 2 to 3 inches in between each seedling with a minimum gap of 1 foot between rows. Continue to hydrate on a frequent basis. When the ends of the carrots are seen properly, it is appropriate to harvest them. You can enjoy these carrots from your vegetable garden after a minimum of 60 to 80 days.
- Tomatoes
Tomatoes are the most commonly grown vegetable plants that most beginners start off for their kitchen gardening. If you’re starting tomatoes from seed, give them plenty of space to grow out. It is essential to restrict the seeds to being spread out as one plant per small pot. Snip the feeble seedlings to free up space for the stronger ones.
Overcrowding stifles their development, creating tension and, eventually, illness. Transplant tomato seedlings into 4-inch pots once they have their first set of young leaves. Keep it in direct sunlight with proper drainage and add organic fertilisers to the soil for effectiveness. You can practise mulching, pruning, and watering for better outcomes.
- Cucumber
Cucumbers are kitchen garden plants that are grown vertically with very little space so you can grow in great quality such as two to three columns of cucumber plants. Growing cucumbers vertically also assists in preventing fruit rot, which is common with this plant. If horizontally grown, the fruit may remain in the wet soil for an extended period of time until it reaches maturity, and fungus may develop as a result of it.
To support the plant’s large yields, alter the soil with a fertiliser that is high in nitrogen and potassium prior to planting. You can also plant them close to corn as it can retain the heat that cucumbers require while also acting as a natural barrier.
- Coriander Leaves
Coriander grows best when planted directly instead of in seed containers and transplanted. This is because transplanting can cause greater disruption. Sow in well-drained, rich soil directly and you can add good garden compost or manure to increase soil fertility.
Rake the soil surface to extract any large lumps or stones, leaving an even soil structure. Seeds should be planted in five-seed groups, 20 cm apart in rows and 20 cm apart in plants. Sprinkle garden seeds over the exterior of the organic manure and water thoroughly. Sow approximately five seeds in every 25cm diameter pot for better results.
- Lemons
Growing in both shade and light, lemons don’t need too much of both to grow. The flower buds of lemon plant thrive while the petals wither away
Lemon-based kitchen garden plants grow in the shade and light, but it doesn’t need an abundance of it to grow. The lemon plant’s flower buds thrive, and the petals wither away, leaving the lemons. A healthy lemon plant will provide you with an abundant supply of lemons.
Fill a large bucket halfway with soil and dampen it with water.
Use your hands or a towel to moisten the soil evenly. If the ground becomes too wet, it can cause the seeds to rot. You’ll need soil that drains well, a pot that should be around 3 to 4 inches wide and 5 to 6 inches deep, with enough space for one seed.
- Chilli
Chillies are remarkably easy to grow at home and do not require any special gardening materials. Because a single plant can produce many chillies, they are a great addition to your kitchen garden. Slice the chilli peppers you want and remove all of the seeds. Scatter the seedlings out on a paper napkin and set them aside for 2-3 days. Then spray them with water and fold the napkin closed. Keep it in this condition for a week and spray the paper towel with water on a frequent schedule to retain moisture and dampness.
You can also use an alternative method to wet the seeds nicely and sow them in the soil at a depth of about 2-3 cm, which takes about 1 week to grow. It requires watering on alternate days, with moist soil and no harsh sun exposure.
- Brinjal
Eggplants or brinjals usually develop and hang from the branches of a plant which can grow up to several feet tall. Plants tend to be purchased as 6- to 8-week-old transplants for starting the process indoors about two months prior to planting because they require sunny soil.
They require rich, well-drained soil. They can be cultivated using garden seeds, but rather because they require quite a while to fruit, you can accelerate the procedure by raising them in containers or trays four weeks prior to actual sowing time. You can start planting the seeds when the soil warms up. It takes about 2 to 3 weeks for seeds to mature and sprout proper vegetation. Brinjal seedlings must be kept 45-60 cm apart, or 1.5 to 2 ft off from each other. Take extreme caution when transferring them, because it may disrupt plant growth. After 3 to 4 months, the plant will bear efficient results.
- Ginger
Cut a ginger root into 1-1.5-inch pieces, each with 1 or 2 buds. Plant the pieces in a 30 cm pot filled with nutrient-rich soil mix, keeping the earth warm but not soggy. Plant the rhizomes one inch deep, eyes-like buds facing up, and five inches apart. Cover it with soil as well as water it thoroughly. When your ginger is 8-10 months old, dig up the entire plant, remove the sprouts, and preserve a few root chunks for revegetation.
Choose a vessel which must be 8-12 inches deep to grow gingers properly. The width should be enough to promote rhizome spread. These kitchen garden plants are easy to grow and require little time.
Conclusion
It’s a vegetable garden where you can grow your own herbs, vegetables, and fruits without risking ingesting unhealthy alternatives. Furthermore, it allows urban residents to generate their own nourishment while also learning about cultivated species.
Fruits and vegetables cultivated in your own kitchen garden are helpful for your wellness as they are high in nutrients, particularly phytochemicals, antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin A, and folate and are free of impurities and pesticides. You can expand a variety of vegetables in your patch and reap the benefits of organic results like clean air, waste compost, lower costs, recyclability, health benefits, and detoxification.
