JOIN USIf you have a green thumb and have been wondering how to channel your creative instincts, creating a kitchen garden would be a good start. People are increasingly growing their own green groceries, especially with the threat from genetically-modified foods available in the market these days. While the trend is to plant exotic flowers and vegetables, people are also growing just as many native plants for their consumption.
Starting up
Setting up a kitchen garden depends on the amount of space you have. In a flat, you may have only the balconies available. In case of independent/row houses, the free space around the house is a good place, although the terrace, too, might be a decent option. A lot of literature is freely available on the web, so, it is prudent to truly educate yourself first.
RK Shenoy, senior VP, Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions, recommends talking to an expert first on which plants make more sense for which type of location. He says that space, sunlight and weight-carrying capability vary from home to home and it is best to get a customised solution. Shilpi Shukla, editor, FabFurnish.com, agrees. She adds,
“Selecting the right herbs, too, is very important. To start with, you could set up a simple salad garden: Green, culinary herbs such as lettuces, thymes, Brussels sprout, parsley, and celery are easy to grow and maintain. You could repurpose small wooden crates or old stone or metal containers to grow your herbs. You would be wise to start with a tiny garden and then, scale up the number of herbs or vegetables grown.”
With any kind of garden, success usually starts with the soil. Most vegetables do best in moist, well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter such as compost.
Therefore, it is important to loosen your soil before you plant a garden with vegetables. Kapil Agarwal, CEO and founder, Urban Homez.com, advises, “You could use your hand to dig, or a tiller, if you have one. Once the soil has been loosened, spread out compost and work it into the soil. Avoid compressing freshly-tilled soil. Otherwise, you will be undoing all your hard work by compacting the soil and not allowing it to breathe. When you're done digging, use a rake to keep the surface smooth, and then pour water generously. Before you start planting, allow the bed to rest for several days.”
Spacing it right
Creating thriving raised beds that are at least 24 inches high has its perks, reckons chef Rajib Majumder, executive sous chef, Grand Hyatt - Goa, who is also an avid gardener. Roots develop and spread out easily in soil that’s a luxurious two-feet deep, he says. Rajib places great importance on presentation, and so, for those with ample gardening space, he suggests, “Make sure the beds are uniform in size, shape and height as this creates a pleasing arrangement in a kitchen garden. Work in order, starting from the centre and working outward. Place a teepee or other freestanding trellis in the centre of the garden, to add visual appeal. Layer your plants by creating a second tier of shorter plants that require staking, like peppers and eggplants.”
If you don’t feel confident handling a large garden, hire a professional. “Trying your own ideas is not advisable as it could turn out to be a disaster. For the initial set-up, hire a local gardener, who can determine the right kind of plants for the amount of sunlight and space available in your home,” advices interior designer, Munnawar Sharifi.
Do it yourself
If you are a sport and want to try your hands at kitchen gardening, you could make your own stackable plant beds (made by combining various small shelves/ wooden crates and filled with soil to grow varieties of plants). Vijay Pandey, VP, Bosch Power Tools, lists a few other easy-fix solutions. “A raised herb garden planter, a basic power tools home-kit, pots, wood barrels to group two to three containers together with different flowering plants, are all things you can install yourself to kickstart your kitchen garden,” he says. “For those who live in apartments, vertical gardening is an ideal solution. Windowsill boxes come in handy if you are space-constrained; plants like lettuce can easily be grown in such boxes. Vertical plantings in metal or wooden crates could make the most out of even the smallest of spaces.
Since these containers are portable, it is easy to change their placement as and when required. You can house cherry tomatoes, by constructing a special wooden planter with a drainage tray.”
Indoor gardening can be done in baskets, boxes, clay pots, half barrels and plastic bags, just about any container that can create the ideal environment for root development. Pots could be one of the biggest investments you make for a kitchen garden, and you would be surprised by the ease of making them yourself! “You could use old wooden pallets from your local fruit shop to make your own gardening containers, or even cut open an old plastic drum to use as a planter,” recommends Koshy Varghese, MD, Value Designbuild Pvt. Ltd. If you would like to grow climbers like cucumbers or gourds, or bean varieties, he suggests setting up a trellis or support structure on your balcony or terrace; you could use bamboo sticks or even an old tennis net for the purpose.
Take care
Maintaining a kitchen garden requires time and commitment. “This may seem simple at first, but it is quite a tedious task. Research well, before plunging into it,” warns Shilpi. “Other things to watch out for are soil fertility, planting at the wrong time of the year, over-fertilising or over-watering, and planting in an area that receives less than six hours of sunlight.”
According to Manoj Kumar Singh, MD, Mangalya Buildtech Pvt. Ltd., “Most amateur gardeners assume that more water is good. But the truth is if you are watering daily, you are probably watering too much.” In this regard, RK Shenoy recommends investing in an automated watering system that will hold your plants in good stead, especially when you are travelling and cannot water them. He explains, “You need to have a connection for water and thin distribution pipes, which drip the right amount of water. Flow can be controlled with different terminators designed for specific water quantity (for specific plants) and centrally controlled through a timer, which is battery-operated and programmable for the time and duration of watering.”
Smart tips
* Choose insect-resistant plants.* Use organic fertilisers.* Rotate your plants each year. It will increase the fertility of your soil.* Organic soap solutions help keep whiteflies at bay. * Make sure the garden receives sunlight for at least six hours a day.* Add flowering plants here and there, to attract butterflies that help in cross-pollination.
So, go on and get your hands muddy to reap healthy and nutritious green groceries at your own home!