Now that monsoon is gradually retreating, time is ripe to concentrate on your kitchen garden and open your arms to welcome a healthy and ‘herbalicious winter!’
Start sowing now to get a good produce this winter. Accepted; that it is not everybody’s cup of tea to grow vegetables in the backyard, but at least a few green herbs and spices can easily be grown in every house. Coriander (dhania) can easily be sown in a thali pot and green mint (pudina) in a basket, hanging on a balcony or a windowsill.
If you have a terrace or an open garden, what more can you ask for? A few seasonal and perennial vegetables and fruit plants such as guava, lemon, cherry tomatoes, strawberries etc. are a good option for your kitchen garden. Similarly, spices such as turmeric and ginger along with medicinal plant basil, can also be sown this season.
Few planting tips:
- Get few fresh twigs of mint and plant it in a hanging basket or plate-shaped pot filled with well drained manure rich soil.
- The best time to plant un-scraped rhizomes of turmeric or ginger plants is in the month of April or May. Right after monsoon, leaves turn yellow indicating that fresh rhizomes are ready for you to harvest.
- Coriander must always be grown from fresh seeds, which are greenish-yellow in colour with good fragrance. This leafy herb can be grown any time of the year.
- Fruit plants such as lemon, papaya, guava, passion fruit and pineapple creepers can be grown either in large pots or in a kitchen garden. Saplings are easily available in nurseries.
Most herbs are fond of water but detest wet feet, so a good drainage system is essential for your herb plants to survive. It is an important task to judge the moisture content of the soil by the weight of the pot.
While gardening, always try to prolong the cropping period to ensure a good produce. With proper care and a little bit of extra effort, you can literally reap the benefits of your toil by gorging on fresher and nutrient-rich food. A flourishing vegetable garden is by far the best reward for your home.
photo courtesy - foodarian.com & aliexpress.com
