How to Start a Kitchen Garden in India

Want to know How to Start a Kitchen Garden in India? Here are some quick tips and tricks that will help you to grow organic greens right in your home!

With the rising costs of organic vegetables, it makes a lot of sense to grow them at home. Here’s all you need to know about How to Start a Kitchen Garden in India!

You can prepare a kitchen garden indoors and outdoors according to the space. 

Check out the importance of having a Kitchen Garden here

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How to Start a Kitchen Garden in India

1. Pick the Right Location

Most greens require 4-6 hours of sunlight. For a home kitchen garden, any sunny windowsill or balcony that receives plenty of bright sunlight is good.

For outdoors, the site should have access to full sunlight with a small portion reserved for partial sunlight so that you can grow shade-loving and sun-loving plants all in one place.

2. Go for Container Gardening

Herbs can do well in 8-10 inches pots, whereas, vegetables like tomatoes require 14-18 inches wide containers. You can opt for any pot ranging from plastic, earthen, to clay.

3. What to Grow?

If you are a novice grower, then you should start with easy-to-grow vegetables like mint, basil, spinach, pepper, eggplants, beans, cucumbers, radishes, coriander, basil, mint, and spinach.

Once you have mastered growing these veggies, then you can switch to veggies like potato, capsicum, carrot, cauliflowers, onions, cabbage, bitter melon, and, garlic.

4. Start Seeds in Trays

Many experts suggest sowing seeds in seedling trays indoors and transplanting them in the garden soil once the climate is favorable. This way, the seeds will not have to struggle to adapt to the garden soil, unlike the well-grown transplants that adapt faster in it.

5. Go with Interplanting

In interplanting, complementary vegetables with similar growing needs are cultivated together for saving space and repelling pests. You can go for combinations of corns-beans-squash or basil-chives-pepper.

6. Take Care of Watering

Indoor plants are less likely to dry faster as compared to the outdoor ones. Water deeply when the top 2 inches of the soil feels dry to touch.

Tip: Use rice water for watering the kitchen garden plants, as it works as organic liquid fertilizer as well.

6. Pick the Right Growing Medium

For the garden, add organic matter like cow dung manure, or compost. For containers, it’s best to use standard potting soil specially designed for herbs and vegetables.

You can also DIY the potting soil by mixing compost, cocopeat, and garden soil in a 1:1:1 ratio.

7. Use Organic Fertilizer

Dried banana peels, eggshells, and ground coffee are always better than chemical fertilizers. Use 1-2 teaspoons of them in the growing medium at the time of planting. You can also use cow dung manure once a month during the growth phase.

8. Take Care of Pests and Diseases

Pests can harm the plants by feeding on the produce and leaves. You can keep them at bay using neem oil or soap solution. Also, make sure the plants have plenty of air circulation and avoid overwatering them.