Kitchen Garden Ideas for Your Home

Make a list of what you like to eat, then see which of your favorites are best to start in your garden in which season. There’s no time like the present to get moving on your gardening dreams. For an overview of plants by season, see Planning for a Four-Season Garden. If you want to start with the easiest plants to grow, do what I did and start a kitchen herb garden. Herbs thrive under neglect. Start a kitchen herb garden!

The biggest mistake beginners make is starting too big. For your first garden, herbs and 5 to 7 of your favorite veggies are plenty to get your feet wet.

Step 2: Where to Plant Your Plants in Kitchen Garden

Now that you have your list, take a look at your garden, patio, deck, porch, and front yard to see how much space you have that gets 6 hours of sun a day. There are so many dwarf varieties of every kind of vegetable to grow in pots or small spaces that you shouldn’t be put off thinking you don’t have enough space! Plus, growing compact varieties significantly lessens the work by using less space that you have to care for. A real win-win.

Step 3: Shop for Supplies

Buy your supplies for your garden bed or pot. Pots are easy-just buy some organic potting soil and the decorative pot. Most potting soils come with fertilizer already mixed in. You don’t want to use garden soil, as it’s too dense for pots. Make sure you buy the right size pot for the vegetable you’re growing. For the size of pot needed by veggie type, check out this blog, Decorative Container Gardening for Edibles.

If you’re going to plant in your garden bed, your mulched flower bed is a great choice to add veggies too! If planting in your flower bed or garden, the best thing to do is a soil test (you can buy a kit or take it to your local co-op extension office). If this just seems too much trouble, buy an organic balanced fertilizer and compost. Pull back your existing mulch, apply a 2-inch-thick layer of compost, top with the fertilizer (following the label’s directions), and you’re ready to plant.

Step 4: Plant Shopping

Buy your plants. I prefer to buy plants that are raised without harmful chemicals, so I look for an organic nursery to see if they have what I want. Your local farmers market usually has plants for sell, too, in spring and early summer. My next stop is my local nursery or big-box hardware store. Choose the plants that are green and look sturdy. If they already have blooms, be sure to remove them. You want all the energy of your plants going into good roots initially.

Step 5: Build Your Beds

Plant! Water each plant well before planting. The best time to plant is before a rain or cloudy days. Gives the plants a little time to get their roots jump started.

For potted veggie or herbs, fill the pot with organic potting soil, water to get the potting soil settled, plant the veggie, and water again. You can top with mulch to keep lengthening the time between waterings. I also plant flowers in my pots to add color and attract beneficial insects.

I like to put a handful of worm castings into each hole with the new plant. Worm castings have lots of beneficial microbes in them that helps the plants absorb nutrients from the soil.

Step 6: Manage Your Plants

Monitor and water. Keep an eye on your plants. They may look sad the first week if it’s really hot when they first go into the ground.  Consistent water is the key for success. Like a lawn or flowers, the best time to water is in the mornings. When you water your flowers, water your veggies and herbs. Remember, the biggest cause of plant death is overwatering. If the soil is moist a couple of inches down, your plants are fine. I usually don’t start watering in our Zone 6/7 garden until sometime in later June. You may need to start watering pots sooner.

Note: Many summer crops, such as cucumbers, zucchini, squash, and tomatoes, are susceptible to leaf fungus. Be sure to water at the base of the plant and not the leaves.

To help guide her family’s gardening efforts and to keep track of what was happening in her own garden, Melodie Metje started her blog,Victory Garden on the Golf Course. She named it after the victory gardens grown to help the WWII effort. Melodie thinks we are in a similar situation today: Our country needs our help in battling the war on ill health. 

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