A kitchen garden is one that is grown very close to the back door so it’s easy to dash out to the garden and harvest some fresh vegetables and herbs to prepare at meal time.
There are no certain food plants that have to be grown in a kitchen garden. Just plant what you and your family like to eat.
Use these tips for starting a kitchen garden of your own and enjoy harvesting fresh food.
Start Small
As a beginner, there is a lot to learn about gardening.
Start with a small kitchen garden and increase the size each year as you gain knowledge.
All you need to get started is a few containers, good soil and a few of your favorite vegetable, fruit and/or herb plants.
Good Soil
Good soil is fertile soil and for soil to become fertile enough to support plant life, it will need your help.
When planting a kitchen garden in-ground, work in 3-4 inches (7.5-10cm) of compost into the soil prior to planting.
If using containers for the garden, create a mix that is 50-50 with potting soil and compost.
Compost is organic matter that is rich in nutrients that will feed the soil so it, in turn, can feed the plants.
Compost will also promote good soil drainage, prevent soil compaction and promote the growth of good micro-organisms in the soil.
Use Space Wisely
Vegetable and fruit plants should not be crowded in the kitchen garden, but they don’t need to be spaced too far apart either.
Learn which plants grow well together as companions, which ones need more or less water. Plant the ones with similar needs in close proximity to each other.
Also, be careful of plant placement in the garden.
You don’t want towering crops like corn, planted on the west side of sun-loving tomatoes plants. Otherwise, it will block the sun and tomato plants will not flourish.
Add Mulch
After plants have reached 6-8 inches (15-20cm) in height, add a 3 inch (7.5cm) layer of organic mulch on top of the garden soil.
The mulch will prevent weed growth, help soil retain moisture and will add nutrients to the soil as it slowly decomposes.
Use compost, straw, leaves, nut hulls or shredded newspaper (black print only) as organic mulch.
With the compost that was worked into the soil at planting time and the addition of organic mulch, the plants in the kitchen garden will only need water to flourish throughout the growing season.
You may be interested in checking my other article, How to get rid of weeds with Organic Mulching?
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