Tips to create a kitchen garden
I live in the bustling Mumbai city and I would like to create my paradise – a kitchen garden with my children. Please suggest tips on how to create and involve my children in creating a beautiful garden.
– Anuradha Pandey, Mumbai
Sipping your first cup of coffee, watching the play of sunrays and enjoying nature at her best – in a paradise created by you and your children – a beautiful kitchen garden with aromatic herbs, potted plants bursting with plump tomatoes and lady fingers and more is indeed a pretty picture.
Crowd your pathway with colorful flowers and shrubs for a wild garden feel. Get creative with mismatched pots and ornaments.
Recycle and reuse:
Recycle and reuse and before you know it, you would’ve created a pretty as a picture retreat for yourself with things that you would’ve otherwise discarded without a second thought – an old bottle, which can give birth to a creeper or a bucket which needs a dash of colour and bit of creativity to make it an interesting pot for your herbs or in this case, an old discarded shoe!
Make your own soil:
The most important step in kitchen gardening is to make nutrient-rich soil. Start with what you have. There’s no need to buy earthworms or any other stuff. Simply convert your kitchen waste into resource.
Tailor your herb garden to your specific needs and tastes – do a bit of research and find what kinds of conditions are required for your favourite herbs and before you know it you’ll have a pretty, aromatic and waste-saving addition to your outside space.
Obviously, the tools used must be safe and suitable for children. Give the children responsibility; explain to them what they can and can’t do and that they will be in charge of taking care of their tools.
Pick a variation of leaf sizes (they could be edible if you like!) in a container to create striking contrasts.
Don’t use dangerous fertilizers:
Together, decide which vegetables to grow. It’s better to grow a variety of vegetables, to help you make comparisons and discover flavours. Don’t forget herbs and fruits (these can be grown in pots too). Give priority to vegetables suggested by the children.
Having a number of pots all the same colour, or row upon row of the same plants in the garden isn’t very inspiring. While waiting for flowers to bloom and plants to flourish, spark the children’s imagination: use brightly coloured pots and make things for the garden, like scarecrows and colorful windmills to place in the ground.
Sometimes your plants may not grow and the reasons could be umpteen. The seeds haven’t sprouted. The weather has ruined the harvest. Some type of disease has attacked the plants. It is important for children to understand that they are not failures. Sometimes we make mistakes and the key is to try to learn from them. Tell them that this is their garden and let them free, to make mistakes.
Lastly, I love to involve my children in the cleaning and preparation of the dish. Cooking with children stimulates their curiosity and paves way to sampling various flavors.
Create a tropical paradise in your apartment!
