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Kitchen Gardening A Step Towards Green Economy

& Poverty Reduction

ByAllah Dad Khan

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Vegetables

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Nutrition in Vegetables• Calcium: broccoli, nuts, kale, legumes, greens veg.• Iron: green leafy vegetables• Zinc : Beans, peas• Potash : Tomato• Iodine : Potato skin• Protein: peas, potato, sweet potato ,okra• Vitamin A : Carrot • Vitamin B-1, B-2, B-6 : Tomato , water melon • Vitamin C: tomatoes, strawberries, broccoli, peppers, dark-green leafy

vegetables, potatoes, Brussels sprout • Vitamin D : Mushrooms• Vitamin E : Mustard and turnip greens• Vitamin H or Biotin: Cauliflower• Vitamin K : Broccoli, spinach and kale

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Health Benefits of Vegetarian

CardiovascularHypertensionCancerDiabetesObesityKidney disease/ renal stonesGallstonesDiverticular disease

History of the Kitchen Garden• While gardening has been a part of human culture for more than 10,000 years, the

idea of kitchen gardening is something unique.

• These small family plots have been called by a variety of names over the years: kitchen gardens, victory gardens, portage gardens, cottage gardens, Roman peristalses and horticulture gardens, and the Japanese tea garden.

• Though each of these grows vegetables, fruit, flowers, and herbs, they are all adapted to their environments and the culture of the people tending them.

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• The traditional kitchen garden, also known as a potager (in French, jardin potager) or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. Most vegetable gardens are still miniature versions of old family farm plots, but the kitchen garden is different not only in its history, but also its design. The kitchen garden may serve as the central feature of an ornamental, all-season landscape, or it may be little more than a humble vegetable plot. It is a source of herbs, vegetables and fruits, but it is often also a structured garden space with a design based on repetitive geometric patterns.

• The kitchen garden has year-round visual appeal and can incorporate permanent perennials or woody shrub plantings around (or among) the annuals

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Purpose of kitchen Gardening• The main purpose of a kitchen garden is to provide food for the

family. • To save the amount incurred on kitchen vegetables.• The saving so made is utilized for other beneficial purposes. • In ancient times, kitchen gardens were the sole source of food in a

mainly vegetarian diet. • In the modern era, the kitchen garden supplements the food

budget and provides balanced nutrition in a hurried, ready-made-meal world.

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Kitchen Gardening Serve as• The kitchen garden may serve as the central feature of an

ornamental, all-season landscape, or it may be little more than a humble vegetable plot.

• It is a source of herbs, vegetables, fruits, and edible flowers, but it is often also a structured garden space with a design .

• The kitchen garden has year-round visual appeal and can incorporate permanent perennials or woody shrub plantings around (or among) the annuals.

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Advantages of Kitchen Gardening• 1. To Save Money , Vegetables from your own garden cost less.• 2. Home Grown Vegetables are Healthier• 3. You Know What Has Been Put On Them• 4. Home Grown Vegetables and Herbs Taste Better• 5. Growing Your Own Vegetables is Satisfying• 6.Austhetic value• 7.Hobby• 8. Exercise• 9. You can grow fruits , vegetables • and herbs on your own choice

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What is vegetable Kitchen gardening?

Gardening vegetables is one of the many past time activities that people indulge in.

Apart from being entertaining, these are profitable, as the garden later provides you with some excellent home grown vegetables.

However, before planning into the activity of gardening vegetables, you need to make sure of certain factors.

The place or site you choose should receive 6-8 hours of sunlight a day and also it should be near to a water supply. 14

Kitchen Garden

Vegetables occupy an important place in our daily life particularly for vegetarians. Vegetables are the only source to increase not only the nutritive values of foods but also its palatability.  For a balanced diet, an adult should have an intake of 85 g of fruits and 300 g of vegetables per day as per the dietary recommendation of nutrition specialists. But the present level of production of vegetables in our country can permit a per capita consumption of only 120 g of vegetables per day.

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Kitchen Garden Considering the above facts, we should plan to produce our

own vegetable requirements in our backyards using the available fresh water as well as the kitchen and bathroom wastewater. This will not only facilitate prevention of stagnation unused water which will be hazardous to our health through environmental pollution, but can be useful for successful production of our own requirement of vegetables Cultivation in a small area facilitates the methods of controlling pests and diseases through the removal of affected parts and non-use of chemicals. This is a safe practice, which does not cause toxic residues of pesticides in the vegetables produced

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Kitchen Garden Site Selection There will be limited choice for the selection of sites for

kitchen gardens.  The final choice is usually the backyard of the house.  This is convenient as the members of the family can give a constant care to the vegetables during leisure and the wastewater from the bathrooms and kitchen can easily be diverted to the vegetable beds.  The size of a kitchen garden depends upon the availability of land and number of persons for whom vegetables are to be provided.  There is no restriction in the shape of the kitchen garden but wherever possible rectangular garden is preferred to a square one.  With succession cropping and intercropping, five cents of land would be adequate to supply vegetables for an average family of four to five persons.

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Land preparation Firstly a through spade digging is made to a depth of 30-40

cm.  Stones, bushes and perennial weeds are removed. 100 kg of well decomposed farmyard manure or vermicompost is applied and mixed with the soil. Ridges and furrows are formed at a spacing of 45 cm or 60 cm as per the requirement. Flat beds can also be formed instead of ridges and furrows.

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Sowing and planting Ø     Direct sown crops like bhendi, cluster beans and cowpea

can be sown on one side of the ridges at a spacing of 30 cm. Amaranthus (meant for whole plant pull out and clipping) can be sown after mixing 1 part of seeds with 20 parts of fine sand by broadcasting in the plots.  Small onion, mint and coriander can be planted/sown along the bunds of plots.

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Seeds of transplanted crops like tomato, brinjal and chilli can be sown in nursery beds or pots one month in advance by drawing lines. After sowing and covering with top soil and then dusting with 250 grams neem cake so as to save the seeds from ants. About 30 days after sowing for tomato and 40-45 days for brinjal and chilli and big onion the seedlings are removed from nursery and transplanted along one side of the ridges at spacing of 30-45 cm for tomato, brinjal and chilli and 10 cm on both the sides of the ridges for big onion. The plants should be irrigated immediately after planting and again on 3rd day. The seedlings can be watered once in two days in the earlier stages and then once in 4 days later.

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The main objective of a kitchen garden is the maximum output and a continuous supply of vegetables for the table throughout the year.  By following certain procedures, this objective can easily be achieved.

Ø       The perennial plants should be located on one side of the garden, usually on the rear end of the garden so that they may not shade other crops, compete for nutrition with the other vegetable crops.

Ø       The adjacent to the foot path all around the garden and the central foot path may be utilised for growing different short duration green vegetables like Coriander, spinach, fenugreek, Alternanthera, Mint and

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 Economic benefits of gardening Ø     Gardeners feed their families first and then sell, barter or

give away surplus garden foods. In certain contexts, however, income generation may become the primary objective of the home garden. In any case, it is counterproductive to impose the nutrition objective to the exclusion of the income generation objective, since in most contexts they are linked and compatible.

Ø       The potential economic benefits of home gardening, include the following:

Ø       gardening gives dual benefits of food and income generation;

Ø       gardens provide fodder for household animals and supplies for other household needs (handicrafts, fuel wood, furniture, baskets, etc.);

Ø       marketing of garden produce and animals is often the only source of independent income for women. 22

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Vegetable garden• A vegetable garden (also known as a vegetable patch or vegetable

plot) is a garden that exists to grow vegetables and other plants useful for human consumption, in contrast to a flower garden that exists for aesthetic purposes.

• A vegetable garden typically includes a compost heap, and several plots or divided areas of land, intended to grow one or two types of plant in each plot.

• It is usually located to the rear of a property in the back garden or back yard

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Herb Garden• The herb garden is often a separate space in the garden, devoted to

growing a specific group of plants known as herbs.• Annual culinary herbs: aromatic plant, dill, • Perennial culinary herbs: mint• Herbs used for potpourri: lemon verbena• Herbs used for tea: mint, lemon verbena, chamomile, bergamot, Hibiscus

sabdariffa • Herbs used for other purposes: stevia for sweetening,

• Fever few for pest control in the garden.

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Vegetable Garden Planning

• The best advice I can give anyone when they want to start growing vegetables is to invest some time and effort in preparation at the vegetable garden planning stage.

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Why do people vegetable garden?

Kitchen gardensPurpose is to supply food for the kitchenFind in all cultures, traditions and gardening stylesSize and design depend on need, location, and choice of family

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Gardening philosophies Approaches

range from organic approaches to “inorganic” approaches

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Summer Vegetables

Name of Veg Name of VegGourds Sweet Pepper

Squashes Hot PepperTinda Tomato

Cucumber PotatoBitter Gourd KulfaOkra MelonBrinjal Water MelonTurmeric GingerArvi Beans

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Winter Vegetables

Name of Veg Name of Veg

Carrot CabbageTurnip Ice Berg SaladRadish CorianderSpinach MethiKuram Sag GarlicSarsoon OnionCauli Flower Peas

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Off Season Vegetables/Tunnel Tech

Name of Veg Name of Veg

Cucumber Sponge GourdTinda Ridge GourdBitter Gourd Bottle Gourd Marrow OkraPepperEgg PlantTomato

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Novel Vegetables

Name of Veg

AsparagusChinese CabbageIce Berg SaladBrussels Sprout

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Types of Tunnels

Three types;

1. High Tunnels - 11 feet or above high

2. Walk-In Tunnels - 6 feet high 3. Low tunnels - 3 feet high

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HIGH TUNNEL(30 W x 12 ft H)

Best MaterialZn galvanized steel pipes of about 1.5 inch dia and of medium thickness bent in the shape that it gives 30 ft wide and 12 ft high tunnel. It should be at least 6 to 7 ft high at the sides.

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WALK IN TUNNEL(12 W x 6 ft H)

Best MaterialZn galvanized steel pipes of 0.75 inch dia and of medium thickness bent in the shape that it gives 12 ft wide and 6 ft high tunnel. It should be at least 2.5 ft high at the sides.

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LOW TUNNEL(5 x 2.5 ft)

Best MaterialSteel rods of 6mm dia and 10 feet long bent in the shape of half moon.

Sticks of different plants can also be used but often create problems.

Plastic need to be removed at flowering for pollination.

Make the crop about 1.5 month early.

Problem of weeds if not controlled.

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Choose Location/site selection

The first and foremost requirement in setting up a kitchen garden is to have some space . If space is a constrain set up a kitchen garden in pots, window baskets or growing bags.

A back yard or some other plot near your home in full sunlight is the most convenient spot for a home vegetable garden. However, poor drainage, shallow soil, and shade from buildings or trees may mean the garden must be located in an area farther from the house.

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Soil Drainage, and Sunshine

Fertile, deep, friable, well-drained soil is necessary for a successful garden.

The exact type of soil is not so important as that it be well drained, well supplied with organic matter, retentive of moisture, and reasonably free of stones.

Good drainage of the soil is essential. Soil drainage may often be improved by installing

agricultural tile, digging ditches, and sometimes by plowing deep into the subsoil

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The garden should get the direct rays of the sun all day if possible. Some crops can tolerate partial shade, but no amount of fertilizer, water, or care can replace needed sunshine.

Even where trees do not shade garden crops, tree roots may penetrate far into the soil and rob crops of moisture and plant food. To set up a kitchen garden adequate sunlight of at least 4 hours each day is essential. There are a few vegetables that cannot grow without adequate sunlight.

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Garden Protection

Usually, the garden should be surrounded by a fence sufficiently high and close-woven to keep out dogs, rabbits, and other animals. The damage done by stray animals during a season or two can equal the cost of a fence. A fence also can serve as a trellis for beans, peas, tomatoes, and other crops that need support.

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Prepare the site The first step

would be to dig the garden area to a depth of about 8-10 inches. However, make sure that you do not start the digging process, when the soil is too wet. 41

Fertilizing Soil To improve the quality of the soil, add

some organic matter to it. This would help release nitrogen, minerals, and other nutrients for plant use. Thereafter, add some well-rotted compost or manure into the soil.

This would help to keep the soil surface in good condition and also slows down the process of water evaporation from the soil.

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Lay out of vegetables Normally, the crops are planted

in a row of eighteen inches apart or just wide enough, allowing you room to move about.

An alternative to this would be to create a raised or wide bed.

In such a situation, the site is divided into a number of beds of

about four feet wide, with a narrow path in between.

This way you can reach the middle of the bed without

treading on the soil.

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Seed Choice Choosing Seeds

and seedlings Next in line

comes choosing the seeds. The best option would be to choose disease resistant varieties.

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Methods of seeding Planting Seeds One by One The Scatter Method/ broadcast Transplanting Seedlings/ nursery

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Method of Planting 1. Hill method (one foot high) 2. Mound /bed Method( Cucumber) 3.Furrow /row Method (Turnips)

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WateringOnce you have completed with the initial process of planting vegetables, all you need to do is water them regularly. Generally, vegetables require at least one inch of water per week. In case, you live in an area that does not receive much rainfall, you need to water the plants yourself. Early mornings serve as the best time to water the vegetable plants. To control the weeds, tidy your bed regularly and make sure to leave the soil in a loose, friable condition to absorb rainfall.

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Plant Protection Look out for weeds and pests. These can ruin your kitchen garden. Adopt practices such as companion gardening. For instance, try growing tomato plants interspaced with

basil plants. The bugs get attracted to aromatic plant plants. Your tomatoes are protected. Or else, get good organic

sprays to fight pests. To set up a kitchen garden learn the right techniques to

have a bountiful crop.

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Mulching the Vegetable Garden• Planning to mulch the vegetable garden involves placing a layer of

mulch material over the soil to prevent evaporation of moisture, to discourage weeds, and in general to help keep the soil in good condition.

• A variety of mulching materials can be used, from organic substances to plastic sheeting. Compost, manure, leaf mold, and other organic mulches have the additional advantage in that water will pass through them, collecting plant-feeding matter on the way.

• Mulches are usually applied in spring; always water the soil before applying an impervious mulch such as plastic.

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Value Addition of Vegetables• Low Cost Methods of Preservation and ProcessingChemical PreservationFruit pulps, juices and beveragesPickles, chutneys and saucesPreservation of vegetables by lactic fermentationDrying and dehydrationJams, jellies, marmalades and preserves

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Vegetable juices• The juices extracted from fresh raw vegetables are highly beneficial as

they furnish all the cells and tissues of the body with the elements and the nutritional enzymes which they need.

• Vegetable juices may be divided into three main types. • These are (i) Juices from vegetable fruits, that is, tomatoes and cucumber

(ii) Juices from green leafy vegetables such as cabbage, celery, lettuce, spinach and parsley and (iii) Juices from root vegetables like beetroot, carrot, onion, potato and radish

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Solar Drying • Solar drying technology offers an alternative which can

process the vegetables and fruits in clean, hygienic and sanitary conditions to national and international standards with zero energy costs.

• It saves energy, time, occupies less area, improves product quality, makes the process more efficient and protects the environment

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Income Generation through Value Addition

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Hydroponic

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• In hydroponic vegetable gardening, the seeds are planted in some type of container or tray, sprayed with a nutrient-enhanced solution and exposed to artificial light instead of natural sunlight

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Mushroom Production • Mushrooms are fungi, and

are usually placed in a Kingdom of there own apart from plants and animals.

Mushrooms contain no chlorophyll and most are considered saprophytes. That is, they obtain their nutrition from metabolizing non living organic matter. This means they break down and "eat" dead plants, like your compost pile does.

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