How to Start a Kitchen Garden in India

Want to know How to Start a Kitchen Garden in India? Here are quick tips 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!

Check out the importance of having a Kitchen Garden here

How to Start a Kitchen Garden in India

You can prepare a kitchen garden both indoors and outdoors. Here’s how to start.

1. Pick the Right Location

Most greens need 4-6 hours of sunlight. For a home kitchen garden, any sunny windowsill or balcony where bright light comes naturally will be good.

If you’re starting the kitchen garden outdoors, make sure that the spot has full sunlight with a little bit of space that gets light partially so you can grow both sun-loving plants and those that need shade in the same spot.

2. Go for Container Gardening

Pots can be your friend when you start a kitchen garden in India. Just check once what pot would be best for the vegetable you’re growing. For herbs, an 8-10 inch pot is best as most herbs can thrive in them. You can use any plastic, clay, or cement pot – as long as it has proper drainage holes.

3. What to Grow?

If you are a beginner, then you should start with easy-to-grow vegetables like mint, basil, spinach, pepper, eggplants, and beans.  Cucumbers, radishes, and coriander are also nice and easy options.

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

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4. Start Seeds in Trays

Don’t start your seeds directly in the pots. Go with a seedling tray. Many experts say that sowing seeds in seedling trays and then transplanting them into the garden soil is best. This way, the seeds will not have to struggle. The little seedlings adapt faster to the soil and are already established – so they grow better.

5. Go with Interplanting

Interplanting is just a fancy word for different plants growing together in the same pot or place. You can use this to your advantage as it saves space. Also, some plants can help each other by keeping specific pests away. Try going with combinations of corns-beans-squash or basil-chives-pepper.

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6. Take Care of Watering

Indoor plants are less likely to dry faster as compared to the outdoor ones. So only water them when the top 2 inches of the soil feels dry to the finger. For outdoor ones, do the same but only for the top inch. They generally need water once every 2-3 days.

Tip: You can use rice water for watering the kitchen garden plants, as it works as an organic liquid fertilizer as well.

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6. Pick the Right Growing Medium

The soil you choose will affect the growth of your vegetables, so add organic matter like cow dung manure or compost to it. If you’re going with a container one, any standard potting soil for herbs and vegetables would do. You can also make your own potting soil by mixing compost, cocopeat, and garden soil in a 1:1:1 ratio.

7. Use Organic Fertilizer

Get rid of the chemicals and grow healthy vegetables with organic options – dried banana peels, crushed eggshells, and coffee grounds. Only 1-2 teaspoons of these in the soil at the time of planting is enough. You can also use cow dung manure once a month during the growth phase.

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8. Take Care of Pests and Diseases

Pests can harm your 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.

Tips for a Kitchen Garden India

• You can make use of a wall to start a vertical home kitchen garden that will save a lot of space.
• Direct sunlight can be harsh for seedlings and young plants, so keep them in light but give shade in noon hours (12 PM – 3 PM).
• You should plant dill or sunflowers near the vegetable garden. These plants will attract ladybugs and other beneficial insects.

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