essay on kitchen garden

Paragraph, Essay and Speech on “A kitchen garden” Paragraph for Class 9, Class 10, Class 12 Class and Graduate Exams.

A kitchen garden

A kitchen garden is a garden where various kinds of seasonal vegetables are grown for the consumption of a family. Since I know that vegetables are essential to keep good health, I have made a kitchen garden behind our house. I usually work there in the morning and in the afternoon. I weed out the garden, water the plants, spread fertilizer etc. I spend busy time in the afternoon. I cultivate all kinds of seasonal vegetables like cabbage , cauliflower egg-plant , tomato , gourd, pumpkin, pepper etc. my kitchen garden is not only a source of vegetables to my family but also a source of income. We don’t need to buy any vegetable from the market. It supplies fresh vegetables to my family. Thus it helps my family.

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How to Plan, Start, and Maintain a Kitchen Garden

David Burton / Getty Images

• How to Start
• Soil and Climate
• Raised Beds vs. Containers
• What to Grow
• Winter Preparation

If you love adding a handful of basil to a homemade pizza or garnishing a quiche with a few green onions on a whim, then it's time to say goodbye to last minute grocery store trips and, instead, learn how to grow a kitchen garden. A kitchen garden is a small, functional garden that is used exclusively to grow vegetables and herbs for cooking and use within the kitchen.

Meet the Expert

• Annette Hird is a horticulturist and expert gardener at Easy Urban Gardens .

"Kitchen gardens are normally located conveniently close to the kitchen of the home or commercial premises like a restaurant," says Annette Hird, a horticulturist and expert gardener at Easy Urban Gardens . "Most of the original kitchen gardens grew herbs because these could be harvested continuously just by snipping off a few sprigs here and there."

Want to start your own kitchen garden? Here's your guide for how to start, plan, and grow a kitchen garden, as well as how to continue to keep it thriving all year long.

How to Plan and Start a Kitchen Garden

Kitchen gardens come in all shapes and sizes, and your approach to planning your kitchen garden only needs to be as involved as you have time for.

The main considerations will be space, your USDA hardiness zone , sunlight and soil, and the type of plants you want to grow. Early spring is typically an ideal time to start your garden, but that can change depending on the type of plants you choose.

"To start a kitchen garden, all that's needed is a sunny spot that provides easy access from the kitchen," Hird says.

When planning, think about its proximity to your kitchen, whether the spot gets the right sun for the plants you plan on growing, and how you'll actually position the plants within the garden. Companion plants are a critical element of a successful kitchen garden.

Soil and Climate Considerations for a Kitchen Garden

Your climate and hardiness zone will determine what you can grow during different times of year, which herbs will be winter hardy, and how you'll plan your kitchen harvest. You don't have to limit your kitchen garden to spring and summer if you choose vegetables and herbs that will continue to produce throughout the winter .

Additionally, if you plan on using in-ground beds, it's helpful to test the soil to determine where it falls in terms of neutral, acidic, or alkaline, and how the nutrients are within the soil. You can always add amendments , but you need to know the baseline first. Generally, a layer of compost will add much-needed nutrients into the soil.

Choosing Raised Beds vs. Containers for Your Kitchen Garden

Kitchen gardens can be grown in raised beds , in-ground beds, or containers . In-ground beds work best when your soil is high quality or can be easily amended. You'll have to water an in-ground bed less than a raised bed or a container, but that option isn't always available depending on your soil.

With both raised beds and containers, you'll have control over the soil since you have to fill both. When it comes to decided between a raised bed or a container, think about size and effort.

"The size that you choose will determine how many different varieties you can grow," Hird says. "So, a raised bed could accommodate quite a number of different plants but with something like a 12-inch diameter pot, you're limited to just a handful of different varieties."

With raised beds or large containers, you'll need to keep in mind watering needs.

"This is especially important during summer when daily watering will be needed," Hird says. "In winter, if you live in a mild climate, watering can be reduced to whenever the top couple of inches of soil feel dry."

One final consideration is mobility. If you have mobility issues or trouble bending down, then the highest bed or container possible will make kitchen gardening easier.

SbytovaMN / Getty Images

What to Grow in a Kitchen Garden

"Start with a range of different herbs that you use often in your cooking," Hird says.

Your kitchen garden is your kitchen garden, so grow what you like. What do you gravitate towards at the farmer's market? What herb do you always find yourself reaching for while cooking? Do you crave a tomato sandwich nearly every day during the summer? You should grow the herbs and vegetables that you use and enjoy.

"Things like parsley, marjoram, thyme, oregano, basil, chives and cilantro will grow well in a kitchen garden," Hird says. "You could also include greens such as loose-leaf lettuce, spinach, kale, and swiss chard. If you want to get a bit more adventurous during the warmer months, you could also add a tomato plant, cucumbers and beans."

HildaWeges / Getty Images

Advantages of Growing a Kitchen Garden

The most obvious advantage to growing a kitchen garden is access to fresh produce right out your back door. Produce can be expensive and growing your own allows you to prepare and cook nutritious meals without a trip to the grocery store.

The other advantage is that a kitchen garden is typically smaller than a vegetable garden, making it easier to take care of and maintain. You can plant just a few vegetables or a handful of herbs — ones you know you'll use — and the maintenance is minimal.

How to Care for a Kitchen Garden

Depending on the size, a kitchen garden is typically lower maintenance than a vegetable garden. You may need to stake tomatoes, beans, and other plants that can become heavy as they grow but, typically, plants and herbs that are regularly harvested shouldn't need pruning. Plants that grow in a vine-like pattern, like cucumbers, might need to be controlled if they're impacting the plants around them.

Your watering schedule will depend on the plants that you choose. For example, mint will need to be watered regularly, while rosemary thrives in a drier environment. And don't forget about fertilizer.

"You'll need to feed your kitchen garden plants on a regular basis," Herd says. "You could either use slow-release pellets or a liquid fertilizer that you mix with water. Pellets usually only need to be replenished every four to six months, while liquid feed should be applied once every two weeks during the warmer months and around once a month during winter."

Preparing Your Kitchen Garden for Winter

Your kitchen garden can be used year round if you plant herbs and vegetables that can stand up to colder temperatures, however Hird recommends covering the kitchen garden to protect it from snow and frost.

"You could either use a cold frame or a protective type of greenhouse structure," Hird says. "Or, you could repot the plants into individual pots and then bring them indoors over winter."

Hird suggests leaving hardy vegetables like kale outside during a frost, as the leaves can actually become sweeter.

How to Protect Your Kitchen Garden From Pests

Like all edible gardens, the biggest threat to your kitchen garden is the pests that also find your plants delicious. To protect your kitchen garden from pests, you can take several steps that will deter rabbits, bugs, and other ravenous critters.

• Install a fence with mesh wire and a barrier along the bottom to keep rabbits out. Make sure it's at least six feet high to stop deer too.
• Plant companion plants that will help distract or repel bugs. These can be herbs and vegetables, or you can plant flowers like marigolds that attract aphids and other bugs away from your garden.
• Spray neem oil or another organic insecticide to deter bugs.

More from The Spruce

Planning a kitchen garden – from layouts to picking the best crops

Planning a kitchen garden is easy with this expert advice – whether yours is in beds, borders or a dedicated patch – you're guaranteed success

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There is something so satisfying about planning a kitchen garden – laying down ways to provide your own homegrown vegetables, fruit and herbs for the kitchen table, all year round. 

Planning a kitchen garden begins with inspiration – provided by countless kitchen garden ideas – however, the next step transforms these ideas into a reality. From figuring out the right position and defining its size and shape through to picking your crops, discover how to start planning a kitchen garden to add a new dimension to your vegetable garden ideas .

Planning a kitchen garden

'Have you heard the promise that every minute planning saves you 10 minutes in execution?' says Nicole Burke, founder of Gardenary and author of Kitchen Garden Revival  . 'My years in the kitchen garden keep convincing me that every minute spent planning the garden really does save, not just 10 minutes of execution, but maybe 10 weeks of frustration.'

'A kitchen garden should be planned according to the size of the available space. A good way to start is by drawing a sketch of the area and then dividing it into squares or rectangles. Each section can then be allotted a specific type of vegetable or herb,' advises Lindsey Hyland, founder of  UrbanOrganic Yield .

What is the difference between a kitchen garden and a vegetable garden?

Before you get started planning a kitchen garden, it is important to know the difference between a kitchen garden and a vegetable garden.

A kitchen garden is a small, compact space, located close to the house (ideally near the kitchen) where you can quickly nip out to get herbs, tomatoes, salad greens or other delicious produce when cooking. They often also incorporate a sitting area, and are more curated and aesthetically pleasing than large vegetable gardens. 

Vegetable gardens, on the other hand, are usually more functional, expansive and industrious spaces where large numbers of vegetables are grown. Vegetable gardens can range from a few feet to acres. 

How do you plan a kitchen garden?

Kitchen gardens and the grow-your-own movement has seen a recent resurgence, and it's understandable. Growing the best fruit trees and planting the easiest vegetables will reward you with the freshest and tastiest crops to enjoy straight from the ground. Plus, you can be sure of enjoying wholesome, organic food, bursting with nutrients and free of any chemical nasties, as you will know everything that has gone into growing those tasty edibles.

• Work out how much space you have – take some time to consider what would suit your needs and where you may have space for beds or containers when considering how to plan a kitchen garden. 
• Decide on the size of plot you would like to create and can manage.
• Draw up a plan of the beds needed . A large plot with room to grow a lot of crops will involve a lot of work, both in terms of preparation and maintenance, so be realistic. 
• Consider combining a kitchen garden into borders – you may already have space for a dedicated kitchen garden, but if not you can grow crops with clever small vegetable garden ideas , by mixing them amongst ornamentals in the flower beds.
• Grow in pots – a wide variety of crops can be grown in vegetable garden container ideas in even the smallest backyard. 
• Think vertically – vegetable garden trellis ideas allow you to grow crops upwards in the narrowest of spaces, against fences and walls. 
• ' Arches and pergolas can be used to support climbing plants, such as beans and even pumpkins, freeing up more space for crops at ground level. Space limitations can lead to creativity,' says horticulturalist Aaron Bertelsen.
• Planters and shelves can be attached to a wall, and pots can be arranged on ladders or steps. You can easily double the growing space in a window box by hanging pots from it. Even if space is limited, with some creative thinking you can see many ways of planning a kitchen garden.

Let the weather inform your kitchen garden plan

• Take note of weather patterns : 'Understanding the weather predictions in terms of the high and low temperatures for the next seven to nine months is the first step to how to plan a kitchen garden,' says Nicole.
• What is your kitchen garden's micro-climate? ' Although most of us are taught to learn our gardening zone, this doesn’t always give us a clear picture of what’s happening in our own local area each month in terms of weather,' she adds. So, take some time to chart out the predicted weather for the rest of the year first. 
• Match plants to the temperature and weather : 'Each plant in the kitchen garden, from lettuce and potatoes to carrots or tomatoes, has a particular type of temperature and sunlight they prefer to grow their best. So for how to plan a kitchen garden, match the plants you want to grow with the months when the weather will suit them best,' explains Nicole.
• Make a plan for each month in the garden . 'Knowing the predicted weather for each month, and the plants that prefer that particular amount of heat and sunshine, you can start to chart out how to plan a kitchen garden and what you’ll plant and harvest each month in the garden,' says Nicole. Plan for small plants like radishes and lettuces to be ready as soon as 45 days from planting and larger plants to take as much as 100 days before you can harvest. 

What are the advantages of having a kitchen garden?

There are lots of advantages to having a kitchen garden, including:

• GROWING QUALITY CROPS – you fruit, vegetables and herbs will not only taste better but will also be better for you than commercially grown veg as they are higher in nutrients.
• BEING MORE SUSTAINABLE – one of our favorite sustainable garden ideas , growing produce in your own kitchen garden cuts down on your reliance on intensive farming and significantly reduces the carbon footprint of your food.
• GOING ORGANIC – growing vegetables organically is surprisingly easy and will cost a fraction of the price of purchasing organic produce in the supermarket.
• GOOD FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH – gardening offers so much more than just a delicious crop, spending time amongst nature and growing plants has also been medically proven to have positive effects on your mental (and physical) wellbeing.

When should I plant my kitchen garden?

You can start planning a kitchen garden at any time, but it is best waiting until spring before you start planting. 'You can start planting your kitchen garden whenever the temperature starts rising  and you are past the frost day which usually is after the third week of April. You can start planting the seeds of your produce indoors toward the last weeks of winter, this way you'll have more mature plants ready to be planted outside during spring,' says landscape designer  Jonathan Fargion . 

However, there are a few vegetables that can be planted at other times throughout the year, explains Lindsey Hyland:

• Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants should be planted in May or June.
• Zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers can be planted in June. 
• Beans, corn and okra can be planted in late June or early July. 
• Lettuce, spinach and other greens can be planted in early spring, late fall or even during the summertime. 
• Potatoes can be planted in early spring or late fall. 
• Herbs can be planted at any time of year.

You also can't beat Swiss chard and perpetual spinach that will crop for a whole year and throughout the winter.

How do you plot a kitchen garden layout?

If you want a traditional vegetable plot, aim for a neat and structured layout with a system of raised beds and garden path ideas . This formal style is known as a ‘potager’. Divide into four areas, ideally with paths, with a small, round central bed if you have the space. 

‘The four beds are then allocated to different plant groups,’ explains plant expert Sarah Raven . ‘Use the first one for roots, subdivided between new potatoes, beetroot and carrots. Use the second for crops like beans and peas (known as legumes). The next one should be for salad and herbs, and the final one a mix such as courgettes, sweetcorn and leafy greens like chard and spinach.’ 

Every plot is different, so work out the best design for your space and needs. There are no rules and you can mix fruit, herbs, vegetable and flowers together, in rows or in blocks. Draw the design on paper first to get the layout clear in your mind.

Symmetry and balance are key elements in designing a kitchen garden with a formal layout, but they also work to add drama and focus to an informal look. For the highest yield, though, stagger the plants in triangles. 

It can be helpful to mix plantings as a large area with a single crop can attract more pests.

Don't forget to include access pathways so that you can get between crops for weeding, planting and harvesting.

How do I start a small kitchen garden?

There are crops that can be started each month of the growing season that will give you a succession of crops. 

Aim for small, successional sowings and plantings every couple of weeks for a year-long harvest.

'While garden stores might have you believe that you can only plant your garden in spring each year, the truth is that there are plants and seeds you can add to the garden each and every month of the growing season, as long as you plan it out,' Nicole says.

Starting in summer with your kitchen garden gives you a varied selection to sow for harvesting through the autumn and winter, including beans, beetroot, spring cabbage, sprouting broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, chard, cut-and-come-again leafy salads, peas, pumpkin and pak choi. 

There are many crops that can be sown directly into the warm soil. You can also buy small vegetable plants from nurseries to add directly into beds or containers. 

Growing a kitchen garden in raised beds or containers

Raised beds are an easy and manageable choice for kitchen gardens. They can be filled with organically rich, deep soil ready to use. They are the perfect choice if the soil in your garden is not of a good quality.

Raised garden bed ideas offer good drainage and increase soil temperature and can also act a barrier to pests such as slugs and snails. You can buy ready-made beds or make them yourself. Line timber beds with black polythene to keep the timber dry and increase longevity. Four beds would work well with crop rotation – you can learn more with our guide to crop rotation .

Containers can also be used to grow many fruit, vegetables or herbs. There are many different types of upcycled and recycled containers that can be put to this use, just ensure that they are big enough for the chosen crop and that the material they are made from is safe for the purpose.

A tripod of beans in a container or rising out of a garden bed takes up little room and looks pretty in flower.

What can you grow in a kitchen garden?

You can grow almost anything in a kitchen garden. The key to success when planning a kitchen garden, though, is to choose high yield crops that take up little space. For instance, growing tomatoes, while high maintenance and needing plenty of water and feeding, can be done vertically so don't take up too much space, and produce lots of fruit. 

As with all kitchen gardening, choose the right plant for the right place, selecting strong, healthy plants that suit the conditions.

If this is your first time growing edibles it is best to start small, and with the easiest crops, such as cut-and-come-again salad leaves, zucchini – or courgette – beets, strawberries, broad or runner beans, garlic, onions and potatoes.

Aim for a mix of crops you love to eat, herbs you use regularly, and fruit you enjoy – adding in perennial flowering plants, annuals and some shrubs for year round structure. 

Sow successionally in the growing season, interplant compatible edibles, and rotate crops to avoid disease building up in the soil. Pop in some bulbs for spring color, such as tulips and alliums, during the 'hungry gap' – when harvests are lower. 

Henrietta Courtauld and Bridget Elworthy of the The Land Gardeners are known for their pretty planting combinations. 'Big pots of tulips look lovely planted with mint, and we also incorporate peonies in a kitchen garden and interplant with Verbena bonariensis and cosmos for when the peonies die back,’ they advise. 

'Move the flowers around the beds each year – looking for beautiful combinations and always experiment,' they add.

It's worth hunting out organically grown seeds and plants, as conventionally grown plants are often already loaded with pesticides and chemical fertilisers – exactly the type of things you are trying to avoid.

Try using companion planting when you grow your own veg, as a natural and organic way to reduce pests attacking your crops, increase yields and to attract beneficial insects - such as edging with chives or marigolds. Aim to be as organic as possible for the most nutritious produce. 

Factor in herbs to your kitchen garden plan

Herbs, such as mint, thyme, parsley and sage, are expensive to buy but easy to grow, and many are perennial so will keep supplying your kitchen year after year.

'Herbs are the perfect plants to grow in your kitchen garden given their versatility and universality in recipes, and you can also grow multiple varieties in a small space. They offer the best 'bang for your buck' given you often only need a small amount for each recipe but they can cost a lot when buying direct from the grocery store. This way, you also don't have to worry about waste either!' explains Sandra Nanka, herb expert and owner at Mudbrick Herb Cottage .

'There are some herbs that are even ideal to keep in a restricted container so they don't overtake your whole kitchen garden, such as mint, nasturtiums, oregano, parsley, calendula and chives. A salad green mix which you can harvest in small amounts as needed is another great plant to grow in your kitchen garden.

Easy kitchen garden crops to grow

ONIONS are easy to grow. Plant in spring and they will be ready for lifting by early midsummer and store until early winter. And don't forget, onion companion planting can improve your crop.

SQUASH comes in many varieties, some summer, some winter so when looking at planning a kitchen garden they are a good choice for a succession of crops. Sow in spring outside where they are to grow. They are also good for growing in large containers.

AUBERGINES can be treated much as you would treat tomatoes. Sow seeds in spring and place in a propagator or on a warm window sill. Ideally grow in a greenhouse or cold frame as they need plenty of warmth.

PLUMS are not difficult to grow but need a warm, frost free spot in well-drained, moisture retentive soil. Mulch in mid spring and thin out young fruit to avoid over laden branches breaking.

RADISHES are easy to look after and you will see quick results. Enrich the soil with good compost and sow seeds about 1cm deep and at least 2.5cm apart between March and August. They will be ready to harvest after about a month. 

LETTUCES  are easy to grow and cut-and-come-again leaves will give you a selection for weeks. Sow every few weeks so that you can enjoy them through the year. They like fertile, moisture-retentive soil.

CARROTS  can be sown in March or April in the open. For sweet, small carrots, sow every few weeks from early spring to late summer for a harvest from June to November. Plant in full sun for earlies, or part shade for main crop varieties, with plenty of organic matter dug in.

BEANS are among the easiest vegetables to grow when considering how to plan a kitchen garden, particularly for beginners. Plant once frosts have passed, in a sunny spot, in well-drained soil.

POTATOES  are truly delicious when homegrown. If growing potatoes , plant them out from early spring, they grow best in fertile, slightly acidic, loose soil, and need watering regularly.

STRAWBERRIES  can be planted in April for a summer harvest. Feed from flowering to harvest time with a product high in potassium.

ZUCCHINI/COURGETTES can produce up to 4kg of vegetables in a growing season, with two plants ample for most families

What is the best position for a kitchen garden?

Positioning the kitchen garden close to the kitchen allows you to pop out quickly and grab a handful of herbs or a larger harvest as needed.

If you prefer a more informal look opt for a vegetable patch amongst cottage garden ideas , with a mix of crops, flowers and shrubs. You can grow edibles anywhere – you don’t need a dedicated plot. 

‘Choose an area you can get to easily,’ says Sarah Mead, head gardener at Yeo Valley Organic Garden . ‘That way you can harvest and add successional plantings throughout the season. Don’t be afraid to mix edibles and ornamentals for a really interesting display.’ 

This also means you rarely plant the same crop in the same place, giving you an easy solution to crop rotation. 

For success in planning a kitchen garden you need to get right the principles of sun, water, soil and wind protection

SUN – for crops to grow well they ideally need morning sun and around six to eight hours of direct sunlight every day. 

If you don't have the right sunny conditions in your backyard, though, don't despair as there are some fruit and veg that still grow well in a part shady spot – these include lettuce, greens, some herbs, cherries, rhubarb, raspberries, blackberries and blackcurrants.

WATER – position your kitchen garden in a spot where you have easy access to water, or where the hosepipe will extend to. Crops can get very thirsty during summer months, so you don't want to be lugging water up and down the yard all day!

SOIL – the ideal soil is rich in nutrients, has an open texture to allow water and roots to penetrate, while holding moisture well. The less you do to the soil the better; single digging is sufficient and many gardeners advocate a no-dig method, which uses thick mulches to suppress any weeds.

WIND PROTECTION – is also important when planning a kitchen garden, so hedging, fencing or hurdles can be used to shelter plants from the wind. Added to which, these can help you to maximize every space by growing crops up the vertical surfaces, such as espaliered vegetables or fruit, or peas, beans and cucumbers up climbing frames.

Mixed native hedging, such as hawthorn intermingling with dog roses, around the plot can provide attractive shelter and protection.

How do I make a vegetable garden look pretty?

Growing crops among flowers is a way to introduce edibles if you don’t have the room or time for a separate kitchen garden area. By having produce interwoven with companion plants and cut flowers can create an attractive feature that is too lovely to have hidden away at the bottom of your backyard.

You can integrate a small selection of edibles among herbs and flowers, moving crops and flowers in rotation. A wide variety of herbs, such as rosemary, chives and sage, are an attractive addition in any garden.

Remember that many fruit and vegetable plants are also quite beautiful to look at – such as the vibrant stems of chard against the deep green crinkle of the leaves, or deep purple veins on cabbages – so they can be a decorative addition to your garden planting, too, and needn't be hidden away.

At RHS Rosemoor in Devon in South West England, ornamentals and edibles blend in an effervescent profusion in the kitchen garden. They grow the likes of Kale ‘Black Magic’ and ‘Redbor’ next to each other, 'as the dark green and red foliage of the two varieties contrast so well with one another,' explains Peter Adams, the Edibles Team Leader. 

Another attractive combination used is the bold colors of Swiss chard varieties including ‘Fantasy’, ‘Bright Yellow’ and ‘White Silver’, with surrounding plantings of borage, Californian poppies, and the delicate flowers of coriander ‘Confetti’,  helping to set the chard off. 

‘Swiss chard has lovely ornamental value,’ says Jamie Innes of Artisan Landscapes . ‘It can also be allowed to bolt, which can have a really interesting effect on a mixed border. The leaf formation makes them look like a type of tropical Verbascum.’ 

Kale can be worked into naturalistic plantings. ‘I especially like the glaucous blue-tinged forms. They seem to work really well against the backdrop of a golden haze of ornamental grasses,’ says Jamie.

If you want something a little more exotic, Jamie suggests trying New Zealand yam ( oca ). It has a long growing season with lush lime green foliage. ‘The harvested tubers come in a wonderful range of colours and look beautiful on any plate of food.’

Peter Adams offers more advice for how to create a kitchen garden that is pretty as well as productive:

• Look for color : When choosing varieties to grow, look for ones with particularly attractive features, such as colorful leaves and stems, including Beetroot ‘Bull’s Blood’, or unusual leaves like curly kales that come in a fantastic array of colors, such as kale ‘Candy Floss’. Make use of vegetables with unusual flower colors, such as broad bean ‘Crimson Flowered’ and runner bean ‘Celebration’ or ‘Painted Lady’ .
• Build layers up in your kitchen garden; it adds depth and height, which are important, too.
• Don’t always grow lots of one thing : dotting the odd unusual vegetable or fruit among the mix helps to capture the eye.
• Let plants such as dill and poppies go to seed – their seed heads are beautiful and as they self seed it will help naturalize your kitchen garden in years to come, as they germinate and fill gaps naturally.

How do you prepare the soil for a kitchen garden?

Soil health is vital when planning a kitchen garden. Healthy, fertile soil, with good structure encourages good growth in the fruit and vegetable plants by helping them to absorb water and nutrients.

Test the PH levels of your soil to see if it is more acid or alkaline as this will help you choose the best crops to grow.

Clay soil types will need breaking up and takes longer to warm up so is better for later crops. Light, sandy soils are better for early vegetables but will need plenty of compost and manure adding. These bulky materials release nutrients slowly, improve soil condition and to help retain water.

Penny Hemming, head gardener at Riverford Organic , offers this basic recipe for a nice, crumbly, rich-smelling and loose textured compost that makes a fantastic soil conditioner within six months:

• Add one third green materials , such as stems, lawn clippings, kitchen waste and teabags - not cooked food, diseased waste or weeds, to...
• Two thirds brown materials , such as twigs, roots, straw, ashes or wood chippings.
• Air is important for decomposition so start the heap with a load of broken branches.
• Add the ingredients in layers .
• Water occasionally .
• Cover to encourage the build up of heat.
• Turn every few weeks .

Henrietta Courtauld and Bridget Elworthy research plant and soil health and advise to grow 'a lot of green manures, such as phacelia, buckwheat and mustard, which look beautiful, heal the soil and also attract beneficial insects.'

Crop rotation will also help to put new nutrients in the soil and avoid the build up of diseases.

This feature was created by H&G sister brand, Period Living magazine

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Leigh Clapp is a professional photographer with over 25 years experience, primarily as a garden specialist photojournalist but also with food and travel. She delights in exploring gardens, discovering the tiny elements to their overall essence and meeting lots of enthusiastic gardeners along the way. Leigh’s work appears in magazines, newspapers and books, both in the UK and abroad, including Period Living, Country Life, and Gardens Illustrated; as well as being sole photographer for a number of books, including Garden Details, Feng Shui in the Garden, Vertical Gardens and From the Garden – fresh seasonal cooking.

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Leonora Carrington, The Kitchen Garden on the Eyot , 1946

By solomon adler , december 2020.

Leonora Carrington, The Kitchen Garden on the Eyot , 1946; tempera on wood panel, 11 ¾ × 19 ¹¹/₁₆ in. (30 × 50 cm); Purchase, by exchange, through a gift of Peggy Guggenheim in honor of Whitney Chadwick, 2019; © Estate of Leonora Carrington / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

In Leonora Carrington’s The Kitchen Garden on the Eyot (1946), a magical scene unfolds in front of a walled “kitchen garden” where fruits, vegetables, and herbs are grown. While much of the painting’s action takes place in the foreground, the title instead references this garden in the background. One might wonder why the artist would direct our attention to a place where little seems to happen. But Carrington, who was pregnant while making this work, uses this garden as a grand metaphor for creation. She punctuates her composition with references to the egg—a mystical symbol of fertility—that draw us into this garden as a space of biological and artistic conception.

Like so many paintings by Carrington, The Kitchen Garden on the Eyot is an ethereal vision. On the right, a white phantom springs from the trunk of a tree; on the left, a horned figure in red robes resembling the Celtic god Cernunnos consorts with fellow spirits. Growing up in Northern England during the 1920s, Carrington was steeped in the Celtic myths told by her nanny and her Irish grandmother. “I had very strange experiences with all kinds of ghosts and visions and things,” she later recalled. 1 Her paintings offered a place for these supernatural fantasies to come to life.

The Catholic Renaissance was further grist for Carrington’s wild imagination. When, at fifteen, she attended an academy in Florence, Italy, she was captivated by the Quattrocento paintings of satanic ghouls and saintly miracles. The Kitchen Garden on the Eyot borrows the extreme perspective, simplified figures, and small heads that made the work of the early Renaissance feel otherworldly, as if adjacent to reality. Carrington also adopted the egg tempera medium used in much early Christian iconography, which lends The Kitchen Garden on the Eyot a numinous glow.

This painting dates from Carrington’s years in Mexico City—after fleeing Europe during World War II—when she began to immerse herself in mystical thought. She had spent her twenties with the Surrealists in England and France, where she became acquainted with esoteric spirituality, from the Jewish theology of the Kabbala to the medieval spiritual science of alchemy. In Mexico she found other Surrealists who encouraged these interests, including the painter Remedios Varo and photographer Kati Horna. Together, they experimented with potions and explored obscure mythologies. The three figures on the left can be interpreted as Carrington, Varo, and Horna convening in their spiritual sanctuary, while an orange figure on the right sprinkles a substance that recalls the spellcasting powders they purchased in Mexican markets.

Carrington completed The Kitchen Garden on the Eyot just days before the birth of her son, and her composition focuses on the egg as a vessel of creation. She described her childbearing experience as “an earthshaking thing” that brought a maternal consciousness “out of the depths.” 2 The egg’s metamorphosis from gelatinous goo to conscious life makes it a symbol of such radical transformation in many spiritual doctrines. In alchemy in particular, it represented both artistic creativity and biological fertility. Perhaps for this reason, Carrington peppers her canvas with its form. A glowing bird lays eggs in midair next to the three figures on the left, while the white figure in the tree holds a gigantic specimen. The egg’s shape echoes in the rotund figures of hens, the oval gate that encircles the tree, the tree’s rounded branches, and the vessel held by the orange figure. By using the technique of egg tempera, in which pigments bind with fresh yolk, Carrington also literalizes the egg as a means of formation.

Returning to the painting’s titular garden, one notices that its shape also resembles a large egg, and Carrington draws us toward it as her central metaphor for creation. The many eggs in The Kitchen Garden on the Eyot guide the viewer into this garden: the white figure points to the garden with her foot, the orange figure points with his raised hand, and the floating bird gestures toward the central opening with its wing. Suddenly, what previously appeared as empty space is full of symbolic vibration. Carrington also superimposes two other symbols onto this area to multiply its significance: the walled garden, an emblem of the female body, and the six-pointed star, here represented by the six paths that converge at the center, which signifies the supreme balance of elements required in acts of transformation. The garden therefore brings together fertility and creativity at a moment when the artist embodied both.

The Kitchen Garden on the Eyot quietly but powerfully celebrates women, and their bodies, as agents of creation—a celebration at odds with prevailing tendencies of Surrealists. “The women Surrealists were considered secondary to the male Surrealists,” the artist later said. 3 “They only wanted us to entertain them as muses, mad or sensuous.” 4 Carrington inverts this role. Her garden is walled off from external influence, as an independent space of creative action. That this garden is on an eyot —a river island—doubles this autonomy, twice placing the artist in her own world of miraculous conception.

• Leonora Carrington quoted in Paul De Angelis, “Interview with Leonora Carrington,” in Leonora Carrington: The Mexican Years (San Francisco: The Mexican Museum, 1991), 42.
• Leonora Carrington quoted in Whitney Chadwick, “Pilgrimage to the Stars: Leonora Carrington and the Occult Tradition,” in Leonora Carrington , ed. Andrea Schlieker (London: Serpentine Gallery, 1991), 26.
• Leonora Carrington quoted in Susan L. Aberth, Leonora Carrington: Surrealism, Alchemy and Art (London: Lund Humphries, 2004), 37.
• Leonora Carrington quoted in Silvia Cherem, “Eternally Married to the Wind: Interview with Leonora Carrington,” in Leonora Carrington: What She Might Be , ed. Salomon Grimberg (Dallas: The Dallas Museum of Art, 2008), 20.

Solomon Adler

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Kitchen gardening: A culture model for environmentally sustainable food production

• 31 October 2021

Adeela Hameed

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The agriculture sector in Jammu and Kashmir has always been at the mercy of uncertain weather, structural problems and lack of investment. However, a rapidly changing climate is making the sector even more vulnerable in the face of droughts and extreme weather. With changes in rainfall patterns, agriculture faces threats from both drought and flooding. These growing vulnerabilities can destroy crops and exacerbate the threat of food scarcity. The impacts of extreme weather events and shifting climates also mean that agricultural pests, that retard growth or kill plants, can now expand to areas where farmers hadn’t previously dealt with them. They are expected to impact ecosystems as well, such as affecting pollinators, and natural predators that cater to pest control.

The bottom line is the following. Kashmir valley has a largely agrarian economy with a strong agricultural food sector, but every bit as vulnerable to unprecedented challenges that climate change poses.

Kitchen gardening offers low-cost and sustainable solutions, in harmony with the environment, to problems in the food system; threatened by climate change, mainly through the effects of predicted abiotic stresses.

The practice of setting up and maintaining a kitchen garden in Kashmir, locally known as Ve’ar, is as old as farming itself. Recognizing its importance at present, most people in Kashmir are tending to kitchen gardens, through experience and necessity. They have chosen to be self-reliant, especially at a time when it has become indispensable to grow food simply at home;  in inhospitable climates. For many Kashmiris, especially women in rural areas, setting up and maintaining a kitchen garden has become their way of life.  Cultivating a kitchen garden in an environmentally friendly way not only offers respite from stress, but it has numerous ecological and financial benefits. Freedom from daily visits to markets to buy expensive vegetables is one such benefit. The most common vegetables grown in kitchen gardens in Kashmir are tomatoes, spinach, gourd, cucumbers, cauliflower, string and green beans, green chilli, potatoes, mint, bottle gourd, coriander, and the famous collard greens -haakh. The kitchen garden acts as a saviour; protecting people from pesticide exposure, and helping them meet their daily nutrient requirements. On top of this, the vast majority of food waste generated in households is efficiently managed and utilized as compost for the soil, fertilizing it naturally, in kitchen gardens. This results in less garbage in landfills and less resource consumption.

Climate change represents the greatest challenges to maintaining the sustainability of agricultural systems stressed by increasing food demands. Therefore, agrarian activities such as kitchen gardening that favour agricultural sustainability by bringing economic and environmental benefits merit further discussion.

By 2050, the world population is expected to increase to almost 10 billion. With 3.4 billion more mouths to feed and the dependence of the middle class on dairy and meat products in developing countries, global demand for food could possibly increase by 59%-98%. What this means is agriculture around the world needs to rev up production and increase yields. But scientists are of the opinion that impacts of climate change — extreme weather, drought, higher temperatures, sea-level rise, and increasing levels of carbon dioxide — threaten the quantity and quality of food supplies.

It has been well known that warmer temperatures may increase crop yields. However, the overall impact of climate change on agriculture is expected to be negative — reduction in food supplies and increase in food prices. Many regions in the world suffer from high rates of hunger and food insecurity which include parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. These are predicted to experience the greatest declines in food production. And to top it off, elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) are expected to lower levels of iron, zinc, and other important nutrients in crops.

Floods wash away the fertile topsoil farms depend on for productivity, whereas droughts dry it out. Higher temperatures increase water needs and make crops more vulnerable during dry periods. Certain species of insects, weeds, and other pests benefit from this higher temperature and elevated CO2. It also increases their potential to damage crops, creating financial hardship for farmers.

With higher temperatures, most of our planet’s glaciers have begun to recede. This is affecting farmers — those who depend on glacial melt-water for irrigation. Meanwhile, rising sea levels compound flood dangers for coastal farmers. It also increases saltwater intrusion into coastal freshwater aquifers, thus making these water sources too salty for irrigation purposes.

In such scenarios, home-based gardens for food production will go a long way in pacifying, to some extent, the ever-increasing resource needs of most urban/rural lower and middle-class families in India. Apart from self-reliance, food security, thus, represents a significant factor in highlighting the importance of kitchen gardens in Kashmir. It encourages the idea of safeguarding our food production by being sustainable in approach and mindful in waste generation. People who cultivate crops and raise cattle; know their environment very well. Even though many among them might still be unsure or ignorant about scientific developments in crop production, yet they have an established sense of preservation. And in doing so, they act as front-runners in the race to save our planet. Self-sustainability is one of the main attributes of people with the least ecological footprint.

Recommendations

Our challenge is not to dismantle our current system of food production, but to help it evolve. And to better protect and promote public health, preserve natural resources, and improve food production and quality. No one-size-fits-all approach can help achieve these goals, given the complexity and dynamic nature of agriculture and our food system as a whole. Instead, a range of evidence-based approaches is needed. Approaches combining traditional wisdom with current science to ensure a sustainable, healthy, and equitable food system for everyone, at all times.

1. Cultivating a kitchen garden must become a sense of pride and accomplishment for every Kashmiri. It should not be perceived as unsophisticated or retrograde. Simply put, in this day and age, whilst examining the current world scenario, it represents the optimal way to overcome food scarcity.

2. Brainstorming for projects to maximize food production and reduce crop loss by adequately predicting and managing flood and drought risk should be encouraged by all concerned departments/research centers/educational institutes.

3. Improving financial practices and helping farmers explore new schemes for sustainable food production should be considered. These schemes can be extended to farming at home, strengthening the concept of kitchen gardening in Kashmir. Motivating people towards growing their own food and providing them incentives to help wherever possible is a must.

4. Before a food crisis unfolds, the need for relief efforts must be identified.

5. State-of-the-art climate information and prediction tools to be introduced.

6. Building quantitative economic models to examine vulnerabilities in our food system under different scenarios. This can be used to explore how changing certain policies might reduce vulnerabilities of the food system to disruptions.

Being strong in body and mind, acting resolutely, and adapting to survive makes us humans apex predators in the global food chain, and also the ones responsible for protecting it. Kitchen gardening will make us sustainable and independent for daily necessities. It highlights the basic human attributes we still share with our prehistoric ancestors today — our will to survive, even in turmoil.

References:

1. https://www.foodsystemprimer. org/food-production/food-and- climate-change/

2. https://www.foodsystemprimer. org/food-production/

3. https://news.climate.columbia. edu/2018/07/25/climate-change- food-agriculture/

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Adeela Hameed is a writer and Fellow – Himalayan Journalists Collective Against Climate Change. She has worked with organisations like The Global Times, Scribblers, and Kashmir Leader. She is a guest contributor for the wildlife magazine, Saevus, and ecotech website, Green Clean Guide. Adeela is a member of the writer’s community, WissenMonk, and the Editor of their monthly magazine – Wisdom Quest. She works for environmental conservation and social sustainability.

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Kitchen garden: An ideal approach to enhance household nutritional security in rural areas of Seoni district (M.P.)

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Essays on Kitchen Garden

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Crafting gobs of Kitchen Garden papers is an implicit part of modern studying, be it in high-school, college, or university. If you can do that on your own, that's just awesome; yet, other students might not be that fortunate, as Kitchen Garden writing can be quite challenging. The directory of free sample Kitchen Garden papers presented below was put together in order to help flunker learners rise up to the challenge.

On the one hand, Kitchen Garden essays we showcase here clearly demonstrate how a really exceptional academic paper should be developed. On the other hand, upon your demand and for an affordable price, a pro essay helper with the relevant academic background can put together a top-notch paper example on Kitchen Garden from scratch.

Three simple steps to having a kitchen garden

– seedbed preparation, sowing and transplanting.

Kitchen waste is truly useful. Oftentimes, persons discard vegetable and fruit seeds as waste. But, seed is an expensive commodity that should not be tossed out. So, the next time you peel your fruits and vegetables extract the seeds. This could be the start of a flourishing kitchen garden.

Khadu, a farmer from Laluni, transplanting germinated seeds into seed tray

Vegetables are grown either by directly placing the seeds into the ground or by transplanting seedlings that were sown in seedbeds. However, fruit plants are initially produced as seedlings in nurseries. Some are grafted or budded before planting.

Irrespective of the method or propagation, it is essential that the basics of seedbed preparation, sowing and transplanting be followed closely to maximize the benefits from crop production.

Seedbed Preparation Setting up a seedbed or nursery to begin your vegetable production is simple. This is a small area set aside for raising tender young plants for transplanting to other areas. Whether raised or flat, the seedbed should be firm allowing seeds to be in close contact with soil particles.

It is important that the seedbed is free from trash and vegetation, which usually hinder seedling growth. The seedbed should have sufficient moisture for seed germination and to support the growth of seedlings.

For small vegetable seeds, the best type of seedbed is a mixture of sand and compost or well-rotted pen manure. Too much sand dries quickly causing the soil to form a crust on the surface, which is bad for germinating seeds. Meanwhile, excess compost causes the soil to retain too much moisture, exposing the seedlings to “damping off,” a fungal disease.

The width of the seedbed is very important. If the bed is too wide it may not be possible to tend to seedlings in the middle of the bed without injury to those on the outer edge. Seed boxes or seed trays could also be used to produce the seedlings.

The seedbed/nursery should be adequately shaded to protect seedlings from wind and heavy rainfall. Evenly distributed shade reduces the intensity of the sunrays, and water loss by the crop and soil, and the amount of stress on the seedlings. The amount of shade should be reduced gradually until the time of transplanting.

It is a very good practice to sterilize the soil in the seedbed before sowing. You could either use chemicals or hot water. Boiling water poured onto the soil at a rate of one water can per square metre of bed is enough to disinfect that area. Using a jute (plant fibre) bag or any suitable material, cover the bed for a few hours. In addition, all the tools in the nursery should be cleaned so as to reduce the possibility of contamination of the soil or crop.

Sowing Now that the seedbed/nursery is prepared the next step is sowing. Make a furrow across the width of the bed about four inches from the edge of the bed. A furrow is a long, narrow trench used especially for planting seeds or irrigation). You should repeat this at 7.5cm intervals along the length of the seedbed/seed box.

Where planting is done on a seedbed, mix the quantity of seed with about six times as much sand; then take the sand/seed mixture and let it slip slowly through the finger into the furrows. This will ensure that the seeds are not planted too close to each other. Cover the furrow lightly with the soil and press gently to ensure proper seed/soil contact.

Water the seeds immediately after sowing. Watering should be done lightly to avoid the seeds being displaced or for “damping off” to occur. The seedbed/box should be placed in a shade for protection from “dry” winds and sunlight.

When the seedlings emerge, they should be toughened. Placing them in the early morning or late afternoon sunlight does this. As the plants get older, gradual exposure to more sunlight will prepare them for the time when they will be transplanted into the field.

Transplanting While the seedlings are growing preparation for transplanting them must be put in place. If they stay too long in the nursery their productivity will decrease. It is best to transplant plants when they are a few centimeters high and have between three and five leaves.

It is preferable to choose a cloudy day or after 16:00hrs, when the heat of the sun is less to transplant. This will expose the plants to the cool of the night to overcome the transplanting shock. At least one hour before taking out the plants, soak them thoroughly with water to cause as much soil as possible to cling to the roots.

When transporting them to the site for planting, ensure that the roots are covered and not exposed to the sun and or wind. Carefully separate the plants making sure that the roots are not damaged. Make a hole in the ground large enough to accommodate the roots and the soil adhering to the roots. Do not pour water into the holes before planting. Place the plant with soil into the hole making sure that the roots are pointing downwards.

Make the soil firm around the plant to force out any air pockets but do not press hard enough to break the roots. Water the plants immediately and use leafy twigs as shade for a day or two.

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On your next visit to Versailles, don’t miss “the King’s vegetable garden” where you’ll discover the genius of the King’s gardener, Jean-Baptiste La Quintinie, which built walls and terraces allowing a microclimate to develop, so that over 300 varieties of fruits and vegetables could grow out of season !!

“A good gardener must have passion for new discoveries” ~Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie, 1690 The King’s Main Gardener

1 – The Vegetable Garden of Versailles

Near the grand palace of Versailles , a fine mist rises from small mounds of black earth in a walled garden. Manicured, military-style straight rows stretch out from the pebbled pathway.

Three young gardeners dig their trowels deep into the narrow ditch, preparing the soil before planting asparagus, a favorite of the King.

The gardeners seem oblivious to the splendor of the Palace of Versailles in the background. Just like their counterparts before them, who worked for the King, their focus is on nurturing the plants rather than dealing with maddening crowds swirling around the palace.

2 – A Secret in Versailles

Millions of people visit the Palace of Versailles, but not many take a side step into Le Potager du Roi , the restored Kitchen Garden of the King, hidden adjacent to the palace.

In the 17th century, Jean-Baptiste La Quintinie, was hired as the gardener for King Louis XIV. His genius in building walls and terraces allowed a microclimate to develop, so that over 300 varieties of fruits and vegetables could grow out of season.

In addition to out-of-season asparagus, the King delighted in figs growing from mid-June to the end of October, strawberries in March and peas in April!

The restored garden, open to the public since 1991, is exactly as Louis XIV would have known it. A team of gardeners harvests over 80 tons of fruits and vegetables each year.

Nine hectares (around 22 acres) of terraced garden squares separated by low walls create a beautiful garden. Le Potager du Roi features La Quintinie’s unknown garden artistry of sculpted and espaliered fruit trees.

Next time you find yourself in Versailles…take time to visit this remarkable kitchen garden, watch the gardeners at work and taste some of the fresh produce and juices for yourself in the nearby store!

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3 – Practical Info About The King’s Kitchen Garden in Versailles

For more information about the King’s Kitchen Garden visit:  www.potager-du-roi.fr   (in French)

Le Potager du Roi ENSP 10, rue du Marechal Joffre 78000 Versailles Phone:  +33 1 39 24 62 62

And for more info about Versailles, read Camille’s tips about Versailles’ Castle and Estate

Kathy Morton

While Camille patiently shares secrets of French lessons with me, I passionately travel to France whenever I can to enjoy the cuisine, culture, people and no surprise - the wine. I'm a Certified France Specialist and retired professor who now designs culinary tours ( www.tourdeforks.com ) in my favorite country. I live in North Carolina, but my spiritual homeland is France!

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Krasnodar , kray (territory), southwestern Russia , extending northward from the crest line of the Caucasus Mountains across the plains east of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov as far as the Gulf of Taganrog. The plains, crossed by the Kuban and other rivers flowing to the Sea of Azov, form two-thirds of the region. Their steppe-grass vegetation on rich soils has been almost entirely plowed under. Widespread salt marshes and lagoons line the Azov coast. The southern third of the region is occupied by the western Caucasus, which reach 12,434 feet (3,790 metres) at Mount Psysh (in the neighbouring Karachay-Cherkessia republic) and fall gradually in height westward as they run parallel to the Black Sea, from which they are separated by a narrow coastal plain. The mountains’ lower slopes are covered by deciduous forest; higher up are conifers and alpine meadows.

The kray was established in 1937 with its headquarters at Krasnodar city in an area originally occupied by Kuban Cossacks. The population is overwhelmingly Russian but also includes some Adygey, Ukrainians, Armenians, Belarusians, and Tatars.

The northern plains form a major agricultural region that produces grains, especially winter wheat and, in the south, winter barley. Along the lower Kuban River, much swamp has been reclaimed for rice growing. Industrial crops, notably sunflowers, tobacco, and sugar beets, are important, as are vegetables along the Kuban and fruit and vines on the Caucasus foothills. Large numbers of cattle, pigs, and poultry are kept. Petroleum and natural gas are exploited on the Taman Peninsula and in the north. Novorossiysk and Tuapse are major oil-exporting ports. There are oil refineries at Krasnodar and Tuapse and a chemical complex at Belorechensk. Area 29,300 square miles (76,000 square km). Pop. (2006 est.) 5,096,572.