6 Time Saving Tips for Kitchen Gardeners
If there is one thing I miss now, it is the organic herbs and vegetables that I got from my sister-in-law’s garden during the pandemic. So, this year I decided to start my own little kitchen garden. Gardening I have realized is a natural stress buster, and growing my own produce will also help in reducing my monthly grocery bill.
Here are some time-saving tips I learned:
Plant the herbs and vegetables as near to the kitchen as possible, so you can water them regularly, you can also use the wastewater from the kitchen. You will end up harvesting more if it is near the kitchen and this way you will also end up eating fresh vegetables throughout the year. Plant in containers if you don’t have much time for gardening.
Pull out the weeds a day or two after a good rain, you can easily pull them out the wet soil. You can also weed in the morning before the dew has dried. I usually set a timer for 15 minutes for weeding. Use mulch to retain moisture in the soil, suppress weeds.
Invest in plants that are native to your region – Native plants are plants that evolved over hundreds or thousands of years in the area and adapted to the climate and cultural conditions of an area and became part of the ecosystem. PlantNative has a state by state listing of native plant nurseries.
Place plants with the same watering needs in the same area – This will help you to save the amount of water required for each plant and time. I don’t have a strict schedule for watering. Try to be flexible in your plant care habits.
Grow what you love to eat – The best vegetables to grow are the ones you would enjoy eating. So, grow vegetables that you not only enjoy eating but are easy-care. Some of the choices are heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, peppers, garlic, cucumbers, peas, spinach and beans.
You can use kitchen scraps to garden – The most valuable tip was that scraps have plenty of life still left. Growing food from kitchen scraps helps to reduce food waste.
Happy Gardening!!