How To Create A Kitchen Garden: 6 Design Tips From Expert

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Planting your own kitchen garden is an interesting indoor landscaping activity. Eating your home-grown food is the most satiating feeling of all, especially in an urban area where farm-fresh vegetables are rarely available. Planting vegetables and fruits at home is not only a healthier habit but also helps to cut down on your grocery bills. Given below are a few kitchen gardening ideas that will help you to plan your kitchen garden wisely.

Here are six kitchen garden design tips:

1. Decide Your Garden Layout

The foremost step in designing a kitchen garden is mapping the availability of space. Plan the layout of your kitchen garden in a manner to invite enough sunlight for the plants. Divide your area into various sections, such as root vegetables, herbs and beans, as all the plants require different soil types. Mark the plant beds at a distance, dig seed holes, sow and water them by placing them in segregated rows or blocks as per your choice. You can plant a mix of vegetables, fruits and edible herbs to enhance the aesthetics of the kitchen garden.

2. Create an Easy Access to Your Garden

It is necessary to design a kitchen garden entry that helps to divide the area into pathways to reach easily for seeding, planting and harvesting. Neatly designed gardens with arches and pergolas can be used to support climbing plants and free-up ground space. You can creatively attach your planters and shelves to the wall and pots can be arranged on ladders to make optimum use of the space.

3. Grow Vegetables in Containers

Growing vegetables in pots and containers help in saving a lot of space and are easy to move around. Tubs, baskets, hanging pots or troughs can be used to grow vegetables, fruits and herbs. Planting large containers with crops, lettuce and chillies make excellent potted plants. Shallow-rooted herbs and annual vegetables require small containers whereas plants like tomatoes and fruit trees are stored in wide pots.

4. Build a Raised Bed

Growing kitchen vegetables in raised beds can be a great idea if your garden soil is not of a good quality. They provide excellent drainage, increase the soil temperature and prevent soil compaction. The raised garden beds act as a barrier to pests such as snails and slugs and pathway weeds by preventing the soil from washing away in heavy rain. These beds come in a wide variety from wooden planks, brick or stone surrounds or timber beds lined with black polythene to keep the timber dry and extend its life.

5. Save Space with Vertical Gardens

If you are having a small garden or you are limited to a balcony or a terrace, vertical gardening can be a great idea. Experiment with climbing crops to make the most of the space. Cover fences or walls to grow beans or peas. You can also attach pots to your walls or use old ladders and metal stands to arrange your vegetable planters. If you find a space with proper sunlight, grow a fig tree or space saving fruits like apples and pears.

6. Add Colour and Drama

You can creatively plant your kitchen garden with colours using flowers, vegetables, herbs and fruits. Make an attractive choice by placing vegetables and fruits to blend with other plants. Dwarf fruit trees can be planted into ornamental beds to bring out pretty blossoms. Smaller plants like parsley and carrots create an attractive edge to the garden bed. Adding vegetables and fruits among the flowerbeds helps to add colours and scents to your kitchen garden.

Pictures courtesy: Instagram | Pictures used for representational purpose and not necessarily of kitchen garden.