How to Start a Herb Garden From Your Kitchen
The kitchen is a vital part of your house as it is where your meals get prepared. The environment of this part of your home mostly consists of utensils and other cooling utilities. This monotonous look can at times be so dull, and you need to bring in your creativity to neutralize this effect. One way to kill boredom in the kitchen area and make it more vibrant is by introducing a herb garden. It is a simple project to pull as a DIY hobby that will also provide you with the right ingredients you need for your cooking. If you have a balcony or an outdoor garden, then the better, as you have a lot of space for your kitchen garden. Let us look at how you can start your herb garden from your kitchen.
1. Identify the Area to Set the Garden
The first step when setting up your garden is to identify the space to set it up. The location of your garden depends on many factors such as visibility, ease of maintenance and the herbs that you want to plant on the garden. You can opt for an indoor one, that you can set up on the window area or any raised platform in the kitchen. An indoor one is suitable for less bushy herbs such as basil or mint. If you want bushy herbs such as lemongrass or spring onions, which grow very long, then your balcony or outdoor garden is a suitable area to set it up. A spacious kitchen is ideal for setting up a herb garden, where the herbs bring on a natural essence to the cooking area. According to Country Living, your herbs need proper sunlight; hence you need a properly lit area for the garden.
2. Make a Selection of Herbs You Want in Your Kitchen
An essential part of setting up your kitchen garden is making a selection of the plants that you want. There are several plants to pick from and depends on many factors, mostly your preference. Some of the saplings that you can feature on your gardening projects include onions, cherry tomatoes, coriander and also flowers. You can opt for seeds or seedlings, preferably seeds as they do not involve much work to achieve maturity.
3. Get The Right Gardening Equipment
When setting up your garden, you need to have the right equipment for your project to be a success. For an indoor garden, a grow kit is one of the equipment to have, according to The Strategist. It provides a controlled environment for your plants to flourish, as it regulates key utilities such as light and water supply. If you are going for a simple project, then you need to look for planting containers such as pots, or a growing tray. A gardening shovel also comes in handy, especially when getting soil or fertilizer for the plants. A poking implement is also essential and helps create holes in the soil for your herbs’ aeration. A kitchen plantation is a small project; hence it does not require you to bring sophisticated equipment.
4. Planting Your Herbs
An important step when setting up your small herb plantation is planting them. It is a simple process that needs you to exercise care as a minor hitch can act against your success. Start by finding the right soil for your vegetation and put it in the containers. If you are using glass or plastic containers, you can disinfect them by boiling them in water then letting them dry in an area free of any contamination. It prevents the infestation of pests or microorganism that may affect the growth of the flora. The herbs will, most of the time, require alkaline soils for their proper growth. You may get some from your farm or look up a farming manual to see how you can improve the alkalinity of your soil. When you get the right growing media, you let it aerate properly for some few days before introducing the herbs. If you have a grow kit, then there is no need for soil. Most of them come with their growing media or bank on the hydroponic system. Such growing kits are becoming popular due to the low maintenance required.
5. Maintaining Your Garden
The flourishing of your vegetable garden will depend on how well you keep it. Your project will need the same attention as the standard farm only at a smaller scale. One of the most critical practices to ensure as part of its maintenance is watering the greenery. It is something you need to do regularly, but also do not overwater them as you may cause the planting medium to be waterlogged. Applying some fertilizer is also advisable to make the soil healthier and suitable as a growing medium. As part of maintaining your project, you need to also keep pests away by using some pesticide. The problem is that if it is an indoor kitchen garden, using chemicals can be hazardous, considering it is the area for food preparation. In this vein, you need to create a kitchen-based pesticide. According to SFgate, you can use either pepper or garlic spray to keep pests off your shoots. Also, try and poke holes in the soil occasionally for aeration purposes to boost the health of your plants.
Final Word
A herb garden is one of the most fulfilling projects that you can take part in for provision of vegetables and spices for your cooking. It can also upgrade your kitchen or outdoors to make the area aesthetically sound and kill off monotony. It is a simple project to start, and with the right guide, you may pull it hassle-free. Conduct some studies on the right sprouts for your kitchen project for you to get it right. Above is a guide on how to start your kitchen garden from scratch. Focus on maintaining it to maintain the lush green appearance. Fertilizer is essential, though you do not need the factory manufactured type. Organic fertilizer will also do for this simple engagement.
