Kitchen Gardening has made a comeback in 2020. Today Most of the people are facing a shortage of vegetables or things of basic need. So, what should you do to have enough food on your plate? Well! Do one thing. Jump into gardening!
Do you know what the best thing about kitchen Gardening is? It is entirely organic and economical, as well. Amazing! Isn't it?
So, let's jump to our step-by-step guide on how to have your own kitchen garden without wasting any time.
Sunlight to plants is what oxygen is to humans. If your plants are not getting ample sunlight, they are in trouble. You know why? Because sunlight boosts the process of photosynthesis that helps them make food.
Different plants require a different amount of light in each season. Most of the plants need at least 5 hours of direct sunlight per day.
Therefore, finding the right spot for your kitchen garden is a must thing. And where to find that right spot?
It is right in your kitchen. Most of the people use kitchen windowsills because they have direct access to sunlight.
Here is the pro tip:
If you have direct access to sunlight, you can use the grow lights as well.
Finding the earthen pots or containers for your kitchen garden is an easy task. They are cheap and readily available in the market. But you can reuse plastic bottles or glass containers as well.
Make sure that your container is at least 5-6 inches tall, having a hole for root development.
Here is the pro-tip:
Don't forget to put pebbles on the bottom of your container. They reduce water drainage.
Soil act as a medium and source of nutrients for your plants.
You can make your own soil mixture by mixing regular and red soil. Or you can buy it from your local garden store.
Your soil should be well-drained and free of rocks or pebbles.
Here is the pro-tip:
Don’t forget to add compost in your soil. It helps in retaining enough water and provides micro and macronutrients as well.
You can use seeds or seedlings; that's entirely your choice to make. But if you are a beginner, I would you to buy seedlings as they are easy to grow.
But seeds are not that much challenging to grow.
You can buy your seeds from a nursery or local store.
Here is the pro tip:
Ones you have sown your seeds, cover your container with a net. It will save your plants from severe heat or sunlight directly entering the container.
Water holds a very special place in keeping your plants happy. You must ensure that they are getting enough moisture.
Watering the plants depends upon in which season you want to water them. Plants need a greater amount of water in summers as compare to winters.
It also varies with the location in your home. If you have placed your plants near the windowsills where they have direct light access, they may need less water.
Here is the pro tip:
You can apply a finger test to check either your plant needs water or not. Stick your right finger one inch deep into the container. If it feels wet, don't water them and vice versa.
Don’t forget that the plants you are growing are like your children. You must take care of them if you want them to thrive and strive. Kitchen gardening is a challenging but rewarding task.
Stay Calm and enjoy the smell of your garden.
These tests are simple explorations to help determine garden soil composition. Generally, we take a small trowel, some water, and a jar with us when we visit a new site. Of course, we also choose appropriate clothing for digging in the dirt, such as overalls and Rock Rooster boots.
The garden soil composition dramatically affects how productive a site will be. The perfect gardening soil composition is 40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay. The sand allows water to drain but doesn’t hold nutrients. The clay contains nutrients and water, but too much clay can drown plants with insufficient drainage. Silt is the material in between clay and sand.
Essentially, garden soil composition comes down to the mix between these three components. That way, the soil drains well, allows air to reach our plant roots, and holds enough nutrients. All soils can be amended to gain these properties.
The jar test is our most precise test. For this test, we need to dig up a few samples from different points where we want to place a garden. Then we dry this material on a screen to pick out the organic things, such as leaves and roots. Then place roughly an inch of soil and a teaspoon of salt in a quart-size clear container with a lid.
Then add water until the container is approximately two-thirds full. Next, we shake the jar with the lid on vigorously. After that, the jar needs to rest on a stable surface. We see sand settle immediately to the bottom, and the silt usually follows over the next couple of hours. We find clay takes a few days to settle.
Once the settling is complete, we can hold a measuring tape to the jar and gather data on how large each layer is. This data allows us to set up the ratios that tell us the garden soil composition we’re working with.
For this test, the soil must be a little damp. We then pick up a clump of earth and try to roll it into a ribbon between our hands. If we can do this and hold the ribbon up, the soil is clay heavy. If the ribbon does not form, then the soil has significant amounts of sand. When the ribbon forms but we cannot hold it up, we know we still have more than the recommended amount of clay.
The hand squeeze test is the least scientific garden soil composition exam. For this test, we pick up a handful of damp soil and squeeze. If it’s slimy, it’s a clay-dominant soil. If we feel grit with our fingers, we know there is a lot of sand. Accurately performing this test takes practice working with different garden soil compositions.
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