How To Create A Kitchen Garden In A Small Space

Kitchen gardens have grown in popularity over the past few decades with people opting to add fresh home-grown produce to their diets.

From fruit and vegetables to herbs and spices, having a kitchen garden won’t just improve the way we eat but can help us keep a healthy mind.

Tending to a kitchen garden - or any garden - can have great mental benefits as it can help relax and unwind a tired mind.

Here are 3 top tips to help create an amazing kitchen garden:

1. Start small and grow in confidence

Certain fruit and vegetable types are more suited to different types of soil and light conditions so a bit of trial and error is inevitable. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.

Try starting with tried and tested easy growers like herbs or strawberries and consider beginning with pots and planters first as these will be more controllable and need less weeding.

You can start out with a selection of herbs in your windowsill, basil, chives, rosemary or even thyme are great options if you have limited space. The great thing about growing them indoors is that you can have them fresh all year round

If you are up for more of a challenge you can try and grow your own potatoes in a bag, or if you are really adventurous you can try and grow your own tomatoes from seed. With so many varieties available you can add homegrown tomatoes to your salad by the end of the summer and serve up something extra special. 

2. There’s a season for everything

Once you have settled on the type of your garden, carefully choose what to plant as certain herbs and vegetables need to be planted at certain times of the year to give them the best chance to thrive. For example:

• Beetroots should be planted in March-June and harvested in July-October. Beetroots are a great addition to a vegetable garden because they are a good source of iron and folate and can be preserved easily if you grow too many.  Be careful to sow the beets a few centimetres apart.
• Carrots should be sown in March, or July-August and harvested in June-July or October-November. Go for flavoursome or organic carrots and avoid stony soil. Try to sow onions around the carrots to mask the scent.
• Courgettes should be sown in May-June and harvested in June-October. Whilst it’s not necessarily a popular favourite in the UK this vegetable is easy to grow.
• Strawberry seeds can be sown anytime from January through to April. If the germination is successful you could be harvesting them after three months of sowing.

3. If you have room choose your location wisely

The vast majority of kitchen gardens are planted in a section of a larger garden. A number of factors can affect this decision, like other objects in the garden for instance. If possible, plant the garden as close to your back door as possible. This will encourage you to eat something from your garden every day. It will also keep it in mind and help you tend to it every day, instead of it becoming neglected in a far corner of your garden.

Even in a limited place, you can set up a small greenhouse to ensure that all the hard work you have put into your garden doesn’t go to waste. You will not only extend the growing season, but you’ll be able to protect your vegetables from the elements and keep the unwanted pests away too.

By Alex Feher

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