Growing vegetables at your home is a wonderful way to get fresh and organic produce all year round. It tastes much better than market produce. You will also reduce your expenses on grocery. And the best part is that it’s not difficult! You don’t need to invest a lot of time to grow some vegetables on your terrace, in the balcony, or even indoors. Just a little bit of your attention and patience is enough to grow your own kitchen garden. We have mentioned some simple gardening tips that you can follow to make the task easy. Using the below methods, you can have the entire salad platter growing in your home.
Tomatoes
Round variety of radish is ideal for growing at home. You can use the seeds of Cherry Belle radish.
Container and Soil
Use one as big as possible. Tomato plants need a lot of nutrients, so use rich and loose garden soil. As the plant grows, you can restore nutrients in the soil using organic kitchen waste like eggshells.
Sunlight
Place the plant such an area that it can receive 8-10 hours of direct sunlight.
Planting the Seeds
- Scoop out seeds from a tomato. If you aren’t sure about the quality, then buy seeds from a nursery or stores that sell gardening equipment.
- Plant seeds in containers, like paper cups, upto 3 inches deep for germination at room temperature. Once the leaves begin to grow and the height is about one inch, you can transplant them to a bigger pot. Cut open the cups and put the plant in bigger pot carefully, not to damage the root ball. Use only 1 seedling per pot for higher yield.
- Insert stakes in the soil before the plant grows further, to avoid damaging the roots.
- Water the plants adequately everyday. On hot days, water them twice. The soil should remain moist. Over watering can rot the roots, and under watering can weaken the plant.
Harvest
Pluck out tomatoes when they are completely ripe, yet firm.
Lettuce
You can regrow lettuce in your kitchen using this simple technique. The next time you buy it, save the base. Take a glass container and fill it water. Place the lettuce root in water such that the top is not submerged. The growth will begin from the centre and in about 2 weeks, you’ll have enough lettuce ready to eat. Romaine Lettuce re-grows the best. You can follow the same method for cabbage as well.
Radish
Round variety of radish is ideal for gardening in pots. You can use the seeds of Cherry Belle radish.
Container
Use one that is at least 6 inches deep so that the roots have enough room to grow. You can use a round or rectangular container. Make sure that it has holes or a draining system at the bottom for the release of excess water.
Soil
Use soil that drains well and is high in organic matter. A well composted organic potting soil will do great.
Sunlight
Place the plant such an area that it can receive 6-8 hours of direct sunlight.
Planting the Seeds
- Position the container with soil in a sunny area.
- Plant radish seeds 1/2 inch deep, spaced 1 inch apart. Leave an inch between the rim and the first set of radishes.
- Water the soil to keep it moist. Both less and more water can be dangerous for the plant. The seeds should germinate within 5-10 days.
- After germination, thin the seedlings out such that there is one plant spaced every two inches.
- Water the plant adequately. Watering on alternate days should be enough for your radishes.
Harvest
Your radish should be ready for harvest in about 20-25 days.
- Pull the radishes from the ground, using the top of the root. Holding the leaves will tear them.
- Separate the leaves from the root, otherwise they will suck the water from the root, causing it to shrivel up.
- Your radishes are ready for you to eat!
Onions
Growing an onion is fairly easy. Cut the bottom portion of an onion with the root. Take a pot with loose soil, and plant the root end. Cover it with soil lightly and water it enough to keep the soil moist. Once it develops a few leaves, remove it from the soil and remove the old onion scales. Replant it and let it grow. You can harvest green onions or fully matured onions, as per your choice.
Carrots
Container
Use one that is about a foot deep or more. Make sure that it has holes or a draining system at the bottom for the release of excess water.
Soil
Use soil that drains well and is high in organic matter.
Sunlight
Place the pot such an area that it can receive an average of 6 hours of sunlight.
Planting the Seeds
- Take the container and fill it with soil.
- Dig holes of up to half an inch depth and 3 inch apart, in the soil.
- Place 2-3 carrot seeds in each of these holes.
- Lightly drop the soil over these seeds.
- Thin your carrots out once the germinated greens become an inch tall. Cut the till only one seedling remains in each hole.
- Water your carrots adequately. During summer, you may have to water them twice to keep the soil moist.
- Use fertilizer once a week if you prefer.
Harvest
Your carrots should be ready for harvest after about 2-3 months, depending on the variety you planted.
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Let us know in the comments below about the gardening tips that you follow!
