HOW TO START A KITCHEN GARDEN
Gardening in your kitchen has been a hot trend lately. It’s a fun and easy way to have the freshest veggies, herbs, and even fruit grown right at home. Our guide will get you excited about joining in on the kitchen gardening trend.
How Do I Start a Small Kitchen Garden?
Kitchen gardening has never been easier! Since more and more people are interested in gardening and finding fun in their homes and yards, garden centers like Dammann’s have responded with enthusiasm and knowledge.
While not every fruit, vegetable, and herb will thrive in your kitchen conditions, you may be surprised with what you’re capable of growing. Start by stocking up on a few supplies:
Seed-starting soil
Seedling trays
Misting bottle
Vegetable and herb seeds
Nursery plants or small fruit trees
Vegetable fertilizer
Seedling trays
Grow lights
Dome lids (to keep in humidity)
Kitchen Gardening With Herbs
Growing herbs in your kitchen is so easy and rewarding. If you’re a bit nervous about investing time and money into a kitchen garden, you can’t go wrong with an indoor herb garden.
You don’t need fancy pots to make this happen: any clay pot or pot with drainage will work well. Choose herbs that you already know you like. There’s no reason to buy cilantro seeds if you think it tastes like soap!
Parsley, sage, oregano, chives, and mints are some of our favorites. Think about what you cook often: chicken and thyme are a match made in heaven. Italian cuisine begs for basil, and Middle-Eastern dishes aren’t complete without coriander.
Grow your herbs in a sunny area, and don’t overwater them. Harvesting small bunches at a time will help them grow back fuller. Be sure not to pluck off too much at once, or else you’ll have to wait a while to get more!
Growing Leafy Greens in Your Kitchen
The next step beyond growing herbs in your kitchen is to try your hand at gardening with salad greens. Is there anything more satisfying than a fresh salad that you grew yourself? Salad greens like lettuce, spinach, arugula, kale, and mesclun grow quickly, so you can be serving home-grown salad in as little as a month after starting seeds.
A quick guide for growing salad greens:
Step 1: Choose a seed-starting soil.
Step 2: Plant your seeds in a shallow container (you can buy a seed-starting tray or DIY.)
Step 3: Keep the seedlings moist. Cover with a domed lid or plastic wrap.
Step 4: Ensure the seedlings get 12 hours of sunlight per day. Unless you have a very sunny location for the seedlings, this is a great opportunity to get a grow light.
How to Grow Fruits & Vegetables Indoors
Gardening with full-sized fruits and vegetables in your kitchen requires a bit more space and effort, but is totally worth it! You can have fresh produce all summer or even preserve vegetables to enjoy all year.
Try growing:
Tomatoes: While they can be a bit picky, it’s so delightful to be able to pluck a juicy tomato from your own plant and straight into your next salad or soup. You can opt to use grow lights or a hydroponic system for a bit of an easier time. Try smaller varieties like Patio, Fantastico, or Candyland Red to avoid crowding your kitchen.
Scallions: Scallions are so easy to grow. You can even pop store-bought ones into water or grow them in soil where they will regenerate endlessly. Scallions are the perfect addition to salads, mains, or sprinkled on top of your next bowl of ramen. They are tenacious little growers and are the easiest way to elevate any dish.
Potatoes: Potatoes are the most versatile vegetable we can think of! Americans love them mashed, fried, boiled, and baked. Potatoes are one of the largest vegetables that you can feasibly grow in your kitchen garden, so make sure you have space and patience!
Radishes: Don’t underestimate the humble radish! These root veggies add a wonderful crunch and a pepper flavor to any dish. In only one month, you can have a fully mature radish that you can nibble on, along with their edible sprouts!
You should probably avoid growing….
Broccoli and cauliflower: While not impossible, growing broccoli and cauliflower require just the perfect balance of light, temperature, and space, or else they may go to seed. Since they are quite large vegetables, you’ll need at least 3 feet of space around each plant.
Zucchini: While incredibly delicious, zucchini plants can become quite large and trail over your kitchen and quickly take over. Gardening indoors with zucchini will also keep you on your toes in your kitchen as they are very thirsty plants!
Anything that takes too long: You’re unlikely to want to pile your kitchen with fruits and vegetables that take 80 or more days to harvest. They would probably fare better outdoors and for the sake of your sanity, you’ll probably want your space!
If you're as excited as we are about kitchen gardening in 2022, come visit us here at Dammann’s Garden Company. We’re here to help you have your tastiest growing season yet.