A kitchen garden produces harvests that support what we do in the kitchen: cook! When you think about your favorite recipes, there are probably several plant-based ingredients that go into them. From the herbs, such as thyme, basil, and oregano that make your favorite dishes so flavorful, to the peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, and other vegetables that are the basis of so many delicious culinary fares. All of these things, and more, can be grown in your kitchen garden. One of the most wonderful aspects of having your own garden is that you can go right outside and harvest the ingredients for your meals, bring them into your kitchen, and cook with them when they’re at their peak of freshness. This is superior to cooking with store-bought produce in so many ways: knowing exactly where your food is coming from and how it was grown, consuming it while it is fresh off the plant and is the most nutrient-rich, engaging in more sustainable practices by reducing plastic container waste, and reducing emissions from transporting produce, and last but not least, you get to have the experience of working directly with nature and witnessing how amazing it is!
Zero! Even if you’ve never grown anything before, it’s still possible for you to have an abundant kitchen garden. During our initial consultation one of the things we’ll talk about is your level of experience, and I’ll make some recommendations for the best types of plants for you to start with. There are many types of crops you can grow in a kitchen garden, and some require very little care once established. I always want to set my clients up for success and being happy with their harvests, so I will tailor your planting plans to your level of experience. Each year as you gain more experience and confidence in the garden, we will incorporate plants that have more stringent requirements to grow.
Not necessarily. While some plants definitely need full sun (8+ hours per day) to really thrive, that isn’t the case for all plants. Herbs and salad greens are happy with only about 4 hours of sunlight per day. During our consultation we will evaluate your garden space(s) and pick a spot that has the best growing conditions.
That depends on what types of plants you want to grow, and how much harvest you want. A standard raised bed is between 2’-4’ wide and 4’-10’ long. Just one of these beds will allow you to grow a variety of plants that you can harvest from throughout the growing season. However, even if you don’t have the space, or desire, to have raised beds, you still have options. For example, containers can be used instead of raised beds. They take up much less space than raised beds and can even be moved depending on the type of container.
This really depends on a few things: the size of your garden, what is growing in it, and whether you have an irrigation system in place or if you’ll be hand-watering. Every week the garden is going to require watering, tending, and harvesting. For a small garden you can plan on spending approximately 30 minutes per week on these activities, and for larger gardens it will probably be 1 – 1 ½ hours. If tending and watering really aren’t areas of interest to you, I do offer maintenance packages that would take care of those services for you.
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