What is a Kitchen Garden?

If you’ve looked at your social media feed, you will notice a rising trend in gardening. The demand for green living gained global popularity through the internet. People are more aware of the environment and the simple ways to contribute to sustainability, creating carbon footprint management trends and a sustainable kitchen garden. But what is a kitchen garden?

Kitchen gardens have long been in existence, with evidence pointing to the Middle ages as ancient Greeks and Romans wrote about growing and eating their produce. But this record of gardening may not be the earliest since people even before the middle ages are known to grow their food. These days, kitchen gardens are the urbanites’ contribution to sustainability and patronization to home-grown and homemade local cuisine. And although traditionally it meant a specific plot of land dedicated to growing fruits and vegetables, kitchen gardening has become more intimate because of space challenges, especially in the urban scene. So whether you have a plot of land to spare, or a balcony, it’s a good start for your own little garden. Let’s know more about how you can start your kitchen garden in a few easy steps. Read on!

How To Start A Kitchen Garden In Your Balcony?

If you’re an urbanite with extremely limited space, don’t lose hope. You can still make a kitchen garden using your balcony. Unlike indoor gardening, kitchen gardening usually means you have ample space for sunlight access since you’ll be growing edibles that thrive in the sunlight.

Step 1 – Make a Plan

They say successful gardening starts with planning. When you’ve decided on your space, try to check whether it gets sufficient access to sunlight and determine how you want to position your plants. After deciding on the plants you want to grow, get the necessary equipment to start your kitchen garden.

Step 2 – Use Old Furniture or Shelves for Vertical Gardening

Balconies in big cities can have minimal space. Vertical gardening is an excellent way to optimize space. You can use old shelves, hanging pots, stacked planters, or a ladder shelf to grow more of the edibles that you want.

Step 3 – Consider Herbs for Your Kitchen Garden

Herbs are relatively easy to grow. Some can even survive indoors with moderate sunlight exposure, but with a balcony, you’ll have more options to grow your edibles. Choose the best herbs for your region’s weather conditions and climate and buy some seeds or plants to start your herb garden. You can even check out the list of the best indoor herb garden kits from our friends from Garden Simply to help you start.

Step 4 – Consider Potted Fruit Plants for Your Kitchen Garden

Herbs are not the only edibles you can grow on your balcony. You can grow peaches, apples, and strawberries inside pots as long as the conditions are ideal. Growing fruits can be very satisfying when you start harvesting. The

Step 5 – Consider Growing Vegetables for Your Kitchen Garden

Now that you’ve considered some herbs and fruits, you can also try growing vegetables. Balconies are excellent locations to grow vegetables, and with the right weather conditions, you can grow almost anything. Spinach, beans, lettuce, and peppers are just a few vegetables to grow.

Step 6 – Set a Consistent Amount of Time to Tend to Your Garden

Your busy lifestyle shouldn’t deter you from tending to your garden. Besides its mood-boosting capabilities, caring for your garden should be able to relieve you of the tension of urban life. Allot at least 15 minutes a day to water, prune, and care for your edibles.

Step 7 – Make an Effort

Not all plants are watered the same way. And some need more exposure to sunlight than others. If you decide to start a kitchen garden, you should make sure to make an effort and do additional research to care for your different herbs, fruits, and vegetables.

Step 8 – Enjoy the Process!

There’s nothing better than to enjoy the entire process of gardening, from the choice of seeds and plants to harvesting. It is a satisfying and rewarding experience that adds color and excitement to urban living.

Beginner Tips For Kitchen Gardening

Before you start planning for your kitchen garden, these are a few things to remember:

• Start with a simple set of herbs, fruits, or vegetables. 

As a beginner, you may feel overwhelmed with all the possibilities of growing edibles in your garden. But it’s best to start simple so you can adjust to the demands of gardening and eventually grow it to a bigger plot.

• Use transplants in place of seeds. 

One of the best ways to start your garden is to use transplants instead of seeds. Besides less maintenance, they are healthier and adapt to conditions faster.

• Choose crops that grow fast, with high yields. 

As a beginner, you’ll need the best motivation to keep up with your kitchen garden. Seeing them grow and getting your first harvest will inspire you to grow your garden and care for them better.

• Choose plants with less maintenance as your beginner crops. 

Some plants don’t require the same meticulous amount of care and are less prone to infestation. Do the additional research so you can start with crops that are easy to grow.

Conclusion

Starting a kitchen garden is an excellent way to jumpstart a sustainable lifestyle. And as a member of the community, you can enjoy more homemade recipes with cut-and-come plant varieties. There’s nothing like growing your ingredients and sharing the joy in the kitchen with people you love.