How To Grow A Kitchen Garden Full Of Fresh Herbs And Veggies
Ever wanted to try your hand at gardening? Vegetable patches can be a great way to immerse yourself into the outdoors. They can also be a great supplement to your cooking. Fresh, home-grown organic vegetables often taste better than the supermarket substitutes, and they’re very easy to grow when given the right tips.
Choose plants and flowers that complement the colors of your home. Flowers that are pink or fuchsia, may go very well with your burgundy shudders. Tying in the colors of plants and flowers that you choose to harmonize with your house, will save you a lot of time at the garden center by simplifying your plant choices.
If you have many potted plants, do not water them all the same way. Some plants do well with plenty of water, whereas other plants might prefer a drier soil. Over-watering can do as much damage to a plant as under-watering. So, be mindful of what types of plants that you have in the pots, and water them appropriately.
When growing potatoes, make sure you choose a variety with a starch content that corresponds with the way you’ll be cooking them. The more starch there is in a potato, the drier and flakier it will be when cooked. Potatoes that are good for mashing have approximately 7% starch. These potatoes cook quickly and retain a high moisture content, so they’re easy to mash. Baking potatoes have a starch content between 15% and 18%, and frying potatoes have the highest level at 22%.
To save money, consider making your own garden fertilizer. For instance, broken eggshells make a great fertilizer for small gardens, indoor plants and container plants. Mix the eggshells throughout the soil to get the best effect. Eggshells even have the added benefit that they aerate the garden soil as well.
Sometimes you will need to re-pot your plants. One good way to check if your plants need re-potted is to turn them over and look at the bottom. If you see many roots, it is time to get it into a new pot. If you see few roots, you may not need to disturb the plant.
Keep an eye on your lilies. Unfortunately, lilies are prone to virus disease, such as lily mosaic. If you can, purchase bulbs that are guaranteed ‘virus-free’. During the growing season, keep a sharp look out for any aphids, as they spread the disease. Make sure to spray with insecticidals soap at the very first sign of them.
To make sure you’re able to fully enjoy your garden, keep it simple. A large garden may sound great, but the work involved can make it a major source of stress. The bigger your garden is, the more time you’ll have to spend weeding, watering your plants, and performing routine garden maintenance. A small garden is easy to care for, giving you more time to appreciate your plants.
As outlined in this article, growing your own vegetables is simple and beneficial. Physically appealing and mouth-wateringly good, home-grown vegetables are simply a matter of seconds of research, minutes of work, and a few weeks or months of growing time. While results aren’t instant, they certainly are gratifying and can provide you with a bountiful supply of food.