Growing Produce with an Indoor Garden

growing an herb garden- basil

When you love making food as much as I do, having your own indoor garden right in the kitchen is a fantastic way of getting your herbs and veggies as fresh as they can get. Cultivate your own countertop garden with this simple indoor garden how-to guide, with tips on what you can grow and how to take care of your countertop plants!

My indoor garden 2011 by Tassike.ee - Marju Randmer, on Flickr

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic License  by  Tassike.ee – Marju Randmer 

How to cultivate your own indoor garden

Having your own produce garden in the kitchen makes it easier for you to just pick fresh herbs and vegetables, and then take them straight to the cutting board. Now, the question: what do I do first to make my own indoor container garden?

Find the right location for your indoor garden

When choosing the location for your indoor herb garden or veggie garden, select the area that gets plenty of light, air, and space. Your windowsill is the ideal place, since the brighter the area, the better it would be for your herbs and vegetables. And if you do place your plants beside the window, make sure the area is clear of overhanging tree trunks or shade.

Let air circulate properly by opening the windows every day for an hour or so to give the plants a breather. As for temperature, make sure that wherever you put your plants is neither too hot nor too cold. Plants have varying needs, so read up on them before planting.

Select your pot or plant box

 

There are plenty of things from the kitchen that you can use as a plant box or pot for your indoor vegetable garden or herb garden. Anything from old galvanized pails to chipped crockery and ceramic pitchers will work, as long as the container you’ve chosen is six inches high (for those crawling roots). Don’t forget to drill drainage holes on your planter as well!

Get the right kind of soil mix

Regular garden soil will compact and suffocate your indoor plants, so choose plant soil that is rich in vitamins but drains fast. Your local gardening store can help you look for the right kind of mix, so don’t be afraid to ask them! Using the right soil mix prevents stunted growth and bad-tasting food.

What to grow in your countertop garden

There are plenty of herbs and vegetables you can grow in your kitchen, so I’ve selected a few that we use every day.

  1. Basil: best for adding some spice to your soups and salads, basil needs plenty of sunlight and room to grow, so keep this plant in a bigger container.
 
  • Mint: like basil, mint likes plenty of sun. It also needs its own container.
  • Parsley: best for salads, soups, casseroles, and as a perfect garnish, this herb fares well in an indoor garden. Parsley also needs plenty of room for its roots, so place it in a deeper container than your other herbs.
  • Tomatoes: we use tomatoes a lot, so select the type of tomato that grows well indoors. Cherry tomatoes or tumbler tomatoes are ideal. They like sunlight and must have plenty of space to grow, so a plant box by the windowsill is suggested.
  • Carrots: Regular carrots require deep ground to grow, but there are rounded varieties that do well indoors. Select a deep container (about 10 inches or so) for your carrots. They are usually sown in the spring and harvested in autumn.

 

Caring for your kitchen garden

After sowing, plants still need attention! Here are the best ways to take care of herbs and vegetables in your kitchen garden.

  1. Make sure sunlight gets everywhere. When you notice that one side of the plant gets all the sunlight, rotate it. This gives the other side equal amounts of sunlight, encouraging growth. If you can, take your plants outside for a week or so to get maximum sunlight and fresh air before putting them back inside. Again, this depends on the kind of plant you’re cultivating, so research is a must!
  2. Check before you water. Water needs vary per plant, so make sure you don’t give too much or too little. To make it easier for you, print out a plant’s water requirement, cover it in plastic, then tape it to your pot or plant box for you to check before watering.
  3. Fertilize once a month. Organic fertilizer reduces the supplemental fertilizer intake of your indoor plants. Used coffee grounds, for example, are great for tomatoes because of the nitrogen this fertilizer releases.
  4. Prune regularly. Pruning helps rid your plants of unwanted or bad growth, and reduces mildew and the spread of disease in plants. It also gives your plants more space to breath, as it encourages healthy growth.

With little patience and hard work, you can reward yourself with homegrown herbs and veggies that you can use for your everyday cooking! When will you start your own indoor garden?


 

Jennifer Lutz is the home décor expert  and author of the Home Decor 101 series at www.christmastreemarket.com.

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