It is so satisfying to be able to pick your own herbs, vegetables and maybe even fruit from your own garden. Goodbye $2.50 sad, spindly bunches of basil or parsley or coriander and Hello fresh, organic greens that won’t rot in the fridge! You don’t have a garden, you say? Well you can achieve great results creating your own Kitchen Garden using pot plants on a balcony, rooftop, courtyard – anywhere that gets sunlight, and access to water.

You’ll need:

• plant pots – self-watering pots are great, but any pot is good as long as it has a drainage hole.
• trowel
• gardening gloves
• stakes – for tomatoes, peppers, and any tall or climbing plant
• twine – to secure the plants to the stakes
• potting mix
• netting and rocks to weigh down the edges – optional; to protect from birds, possums, bush rats, and other hungry creatures

Getting started

Buy seedlings or start with your own seeds. The kids like to plant seeds from fruit and vegies they have eaten into a little pot with some soil, store on the windowsill in the kitchen and keep watered. We have successfully sprouted some strong watermelon seedlings, which we then transplanted to the garden. Can’t wait to see how they grow!

Use good quality potting mix for best results. Fill pots ¾ with soil, and divide the seedlings between the pots, giving enough room for growth. Use the trowel or your hand to create a hole, gently remove the seedling from the plastic pot (try squeezing the pot if it is not already loose), and place into the hole. Top up the pot with extra soil and ensure all roots are covered. Give newly potted plants a good water.

Basic Kitchen Garden

The plants you choose to grow is entirely up to you, and dependent on the type of food you cook. Some basic plants to round out a Kitchen Garden include:

Basil

Basil is a great, versatile plant that will turn tomatoes into a gourmet lunch. Excess basil can be used to make pesto. Our animal friends like basil too, so be prepared to share.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a fun crop to plant, as the kids will love to watch how quickly they grow, and pick the fruit (and hopefully eat it!) when it’s ripe. You will need to use stakes and twine to contain the plant. The options are limitless with tomatoes – add to the basil for a beautiful caprese salad, make bruschetta, add to pizzas, or simply eat as-is.

Parsley

Flat Leaf Parsley is one of those herbs that seems to go well with everything. You’ll be thankful you don’t have to buy expensive bunches from the grocery store, when you need a few snips on top of your pasta. Brighten up any dish with a scattering of parsley on top.

Spinach, Rocket and Lettuce

Once you have a never-ending bunch of spinach growing in your Kitchen Garden, you’ll find ways to add it to everything. A few handfuls are lovely on top of a pizza, chopped and thrown into a curry, stew, pasta and salad. The same goes for the lovely peppery rocket. And a small side salad is just a few steps away when you have lettuce in a pot by your back door. No more lettuce heads rotting away in the fridge. Simply snip off a few outer leaves and toss with caramelised balsamic vinegar (now we’re talking).

Chives

Chives are another herb (of the onion family) that you will use in everything if you have it on hand. A few snips will jazz up any dish, and are particularly good in omelettes, and tossed with hot, buttery potatoes. The gorgeous purple flowers are pretty tucked into a small vase too.

More Kitchen Garden Favourites

Oregano and Thyme

Oregano and Thyme are two herbs that are handy to have in your garden for Mediterranean cooking, with roasted vegetables, on pizza, marinating meats, and for making bouquet garni.

Rosemary

Rosemary is fantastic roasted with meat, and when you have your own potted rosemary, you won’t miss a few stems for barbequing. Again, a great herb to use for Mediterranean cooking.

Coriander

It can be a little temperamental to grow, and prefers cooler weather, but if you master coriander, your hip pocket will be thanking you, as it can grow profusely. It’s such a great compliment for most of the world’s cuisines including Asian, Mexican and Middle Eastern. The roots are also great for cooking, so this plant creates no waste. This is one of my favourites.

Mint

A few mint leaves are great in a jug of water (or frozen in ice cubes) and is useful herb for Middle Eastern and South-East Asian cooking. And of course, mint is fantastic in a mojito (or two!).

Fennel

Fennel is a natural accompaniment for fish and is also lovely with potatoes. The fennel flower is one of my favourite and beautiful displayed in a vase.

Sage

Sage is another herb that goes well with roasted meat, and is also fabulous with prosciutto and pecorino, stuffed with blue cheese in a chicken breast, or sauteed with browned butter to top fresh pasta. Another favourite for me.

Peppers

Like tomatoes, peppers are fun to grow and the kids love to watch the flowers turn into long green, then red chilli peppers or sweet peppers (capsicum). This is another plant that will need to be staked. Peppers of course have a wide range of use, both fresh and dried. A small bottle of fresh chillis tied with ribbon would make a lovely gift for a foodie friend, and if you have a bumper crop, you could make an amazing chilli jam.

Strawberries

Our kids’ favourite plant of all is the strawberry. It’s so fun to run out to the pots to see if the flower have turned to fruit, and if the fruit is ready to eat yet. Be prepared to protect your strawberries from animals as they are quite popular with all critters. Some strawberry varieties shoot out “runners” that can be transferred to new pots. Try to keep fruit off the delicate fruit off the soil so it doesn’t rot.

Pump Up The Volume

A great way to get growth from your potted Kitchen Garden is to add a good fertiliser like worm “juice” or casings. Use up kitchen scraps by feeding your worm farm, then use the casings from the farm (diluted in water) to fertilise your potted plants.

Don’t be afraid to move your plants around. Read the labels carefully (or check online) for levels of sunlight required, and move them until you find a spot that works. We like to keep an organic garden (who wants to grow gorgeous fresh food, just to cover it with toxic chemicals?), so we don’t mind if our leaves have a few holes in them. If your plants are being attacked, you can try spraying with soapy water, adding pepper to the soil can stop snails, and keeping your plants covered with netting.

You don’t need much space to grow all the herbs and some vegies and fruit to use in your kitchen. Creating your own potted Kitchen Garden is a great way to get outdoors and teach the little ones about where our food comes from. You never know – if they grow it, they may even eat it!