On the present scenerio the importance of kitchen gardening increases. Its a garden where you grow your own food healthier and produce them fresher.

1. Kitchen Garden

2. A kitchen garden is where herbs and vegetables are
grown around the house for household use. Since
early times a small plot near to the house has been
used for growing a variety of vegetables according
to the season. Local varieties such as radish, broad
leaf mustard, chilli, beans, pumpkins etc. are all
grown in the kitchen garden.

3. The kitchen garden may serve as the central feature of an
ornamental, all-season landscape, or it may be little more
than a humble vegetable plot. It is a source of herbs,
vegetables and fruits, but it is often also a structured
garden space with a design based on repetitive geometric
patterns.

4.  Why kitchen gardening is important?
Kitchen gardening is something all of us can do to
make our cities greener. It's a garden where you grow
your own food— herbs, vegetables, fruits. What's
it gives city dwellers a chance to produce their own
food—fresher, healthier—and learn in the process
about local varieties.

5. Kitchen Garden: 7 Must Grow Easy Plants
 Slicing Tomatoes. “Also known as beefsteak
tomatoes, this group of tomatoes produces
medium to large fruits that are often sliced for
topping burgers and sandwiches and is one of
the top must-grow plants. ...
 Cherry or Bite Size Tomatoes. ...
 Sweet Peppers. ...
 Cucumbers. ...
 Spinach. ...
 Herbs. ...
 Beans.

6. Your guide to starting simple kitchen garden
 Identify the available space.
 Choosing the containers and planters.
 Choose the crops to grow.
 Get the right planting media.
 Buy certified seeds or seedlings.
 Planting.

7. One of the disadvantages of urban living is the lack
of space in your house or apartment. If you are one
of those homeowners who always wanted a house
with a large garden where you could grow your own
pesticide-free vegetables, the good news is that you
can do this even in a small apartment! Whether you
find gardening or want to adopt a healthy lifestyle
by avoiding produce grown with chemicals, these
simple tips that will help you to get started with
planning your garden right away.

8. 1.. Evaluate the space
While, traditionally, a kitchen garden is accessible directly
from the kitchen, in an apartment, you can innovate to
include one in any available space, whether it’s a terrace,
balcony or corridor. However, ensure that the area that you
choose has sufficient sunlight so that your plants can thrive.
If you can’t find any other space, assess your windows to
if you can place pots or planters on them in which you can
grow greens, herbs and other plants that don’t become too
tall and block the natural light. Vertical gardens are
becoming a popular solution for tiny apartments as all you
need is a wall and some sunlight to grow vegetables.

9. 2. Decide on the right type of pots and planters
Once you have identified the space where you will set up
your kitchen garden, decide on the type of planters or pots
that will work best in the space. If you have a balcony, you
could use a combination of railing planters, pots on the
floor or even wooden planter boxes. Creating layers will not
only keep the floor uncluttered and easy to clean, but also
increase the space available for you to grow a varied mix of
herbs and vegetables

10. For a vertical garden, you will need to use wall-
mounted planters. Depending on your budget,
these can either be a D-I-Y design using shelves
with pots or a professionally-installed system with
automatic drip-irrigation.

11. 3. Make a list of the plants to grow
After considering the amount of sunlight in the area
and the size of the pots, make a list of vegetables,
greens and herbs that you would like to grow. We
recommend starting with easy-to-grow plants that
well-suited to the climate in your area. Usually, methi
(fenugreek) and local varieties of spinach are the best
options to start with. Tomato, cucumber and bitter
gourd are ideal vegetables for beginner gardeners to
grow.

12. However, these will require more space and will need
trellises and support once the plants grow bigger. Herbs
such as mint and coriander, which are used daily in Indian
cooking, are also excellent choices. Once you get more
confident, you can experiment with more exotic varieties
such as lettuce, zucchini and coloured peppers.

13. 4. Get the right potting mix
You can buy readymade potting soil from the
neighbourhood nursery. These usually contain a mix
of soil, cocopeat and compost. It is convenient as all
you need to do is fill your pots with the soil mix.
Alternatively, if you know an avid gardener or an
expert, you can consult them to create your own
by sourcing soil and blending it with cocopeat and
organic fertilizer.

14. The advantage with the latter approach is that you
can customize the soil depending on the plant, as
some varieties need more drainage and others more
compost. When you buy compost, remember to get
an extra packet, so that you can sprinkle some over
the top layer of soil once a month to give your plants
a boost of nutrients.

15. 5. Source seeds or saplings
Many cities in India have social networks for
home gardeners. You can consider joining
of these groups to enquire about the best
places to get seeds and saplings to start your
kitchen garden.

16. These forums will also alert you about any seed
exchange programs or gardening related events where
you can get reliable organic seeds and saplings. If you
don’t have access to these forums or events, you can
order seeds online. However, take care to buy only
certified organic or heirloom varieties. Visit the
neighbourhood nursery to buy saplings as they are
more like succeed than seeds, which take a longer time
to sprout.

17. 6. Sow your seeds and watch them grow
Once you sow the seeds and saplings, make sure
you watch them daily and take care of their needs.
Take care not to overwater. Check under the leaves
plants to spot any insect attack as soon as it starts,
that you can take control measures to nip it in the
bud. Look out for drooping or yellowing leaves as
these usually point to the plant not getting the right
amount of water or nutrients. Remember to ask a
friend or neighbour to take care of your plants while
you are travelling, so that they continue to thrive in
your absence.

18. 7. Learn and enjoy
You can become a good gardener only by
from your experiences. Once you start growing
your own food, you will never look back as there’s
nothing more rewarding than watching the magic
of nature within your home. Moreover, you can
reap rewards every time you get a fresh harvest of
vegetables. Before you know it, you will be an avid
gardener offering expert advice to newbies in your
apartment complex who want to start a kitchen
garden in their home.

19. 1) Let there be light – Most veggies, especially those
that bear fruit (tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and
peppers, for example) need sun, and a lot of it.
Ideally, you want a site with at least 8 hours of direct
sun per day. In less light, you can still grow some
edibles; mainly leafy crops and herbs.

20. THINGS TO PAY ATTENTION TO

21. To make and manage a kitchen garden easily, and to give
best production, the following things are important :-
1. Site selection
3. Water management
5. Seed & seedlings
2. Protection
4. Fertility
6. Design of the garden
Good management of the garden needs knowledge of all
these. Then we can make our kitchen garden more
successful.

22. THANK YOU