Grow Your Veggies in the Kitchen

If you feel as useless as a silica gel packet, fear not. I have some good news for you. A kitchen garden will give your life the purpose it needs; it will not only earn you the tag of a “productive person” but will also earn you the bragging rights for “going green”. 

Unlike most things that require you to put an effort and still be uncertain about success, kitchen gardening actually pays off. When you get to taste the lemons or chillies or mint that you grew, it tastes sweeter…err sourer…or hotter. People who are thinking it's a girly thing to do, growing food is manly as hell, please. The farmers growing the rice you eat everyday are usually men. 

Start off by walking to your nearest nursery. Most nurseries sell baby herb plants. Some shops sell packaged dried seeds which are also pretty good but in that case you will have to wait a little longer for the plant to grow and bear fruit.

For my own kitchen garden, I bought mint with roots attached from the superstore and planted it in a tub filled with soil. Within a month, it turned into a dense bush. Whenever my mother is making a smoothie or lassi, I grab a handful of the leaves and put them in the jug. So refreshing.

For the lemon tree, I bought a baby plant and let it grow. Spring and summer are the most productive times for them from what I have seen. You can have as many as ten lemons when it's the season.

However, if you are planting it in a tub and placing it in a balcony like I did, the lemons won't grow as big as the ones you buy from the stores. However, their sizes are compensated for by their amazing smell and juiciness. 

To grow black chillies, I bought a baby plant. The plant grew well enough and bore as many as 20 chillies a month. After a year, however, it started dying in the December cold. I had collected, dried and preserved a few seeds and planted them again in spring. It grew back to a good height with lots and lots of chillies, only hotter this time and I don't know why. 

With everyday hydration and sufficient sunlight, plants would grow well any way. Just water them every day, preferably in the morning. Get pesticides and vitamins for plants from the nursery. Once a month or once every two months, spray them onto the plants but make sure you follow the instructions on the bottle. Dosage may vary. Trim the weeds once in a while and for climber plants, wrap them around a stick or the balcony rails to help them grow better. You could also go for flowering plants and take care of them 
using the same methods. 

Happy gardening, people!