Ever wanted to grow fresh fruits and vegetables in your home garden but didn’t know how to go about it? Well… the wait is over. Given below are step-by-step instructions on how to grow eight nutrient-rich foods in your home garden. Have a look:
Growing carrots is one garden craft that anyone can master. If you wish, you can also grow the plant indoors in a glass bowl. Here are the step-by-step instructions to grow carrot:
- Cut the top portion of the carrot using a knife. You will need about 1 inch of the carrot root. We recommend that you select a carrot that has little green on top.
- Place the carrot top in a bowl. Pour water into the bowl until touches the bottom edge of the carrot stump.
- Place the bowl near a window that gets adequate natural light.
- Refill the water frequently. Soon, the carrot top will begin to form roots. Let the root grow indoors for about 7 days.
- Transplant the plant into a flower pot once the roots are over 1 inch tall and place it near a window that gets enough sunlight.
- Water the plant whenever the potting soil appears dry.
An exotic topical fruit, pineapple can also be grown in a temperate zone if you are ready to nurture the plant with care and patience. Here are the step-by-step instructions to grow a pineapple:
- Select a pineapple that has green leaves and a golden brown skin. Gently pull the leaves to ensure they are firm. If the leaves pop right off, it means they are not firm. Inspect the leaves closely to ensure they don’t have scale insects on them. Tiny grayish spots on the leaves and around their base indicate the presence of scale insects.
- Cut the crown using a knife and peel off the lower leaves. Remove any flesh that sticks to the base of the crown.
- Place the cut portion upside down with the cut end facing upward. Let the cut portion dry for about 5 to 7 days.
- Place the cut portion in a glass containing water. Let the crown stay in the glass until the roots starts growing out. Ensure that you change the water every few days.
- Prepare the growing medium by mixing 1 part organic matter and 4 parts light garden soil. Add the medium to a pot (use a 6 inch pot for growing the pineapple plant). Ensure that the cut portion is firmly placed in the soil.
- Keep the plant in a sunny and humid place. Keep the soil slightly moist all the time. Strong roots should start appearing within eight weeks or so. After two months, you can check if new roots have formed by gently tugging on the plant. If the plant does not come off the soil, it means new roots have formed. If the plant gets uprooted from the soil, replant it in the soil again and wait for a few more weeks.
- Water the plant lightly once every 7 days.
- During the summer, use a half-strength fertilizer for fertilizing the pineapple plant.
- You may have to wait for several years before your pineapple plant bears fruit. The fruit is preceded by blue flowers, and takes up to 6 months to develop.
Avocado is another tree you can grow in your garden. The procedure is fairly simple. Here are the step-by-step instructions to grow avocado:
- Cut the fruit right down the middle, and take out the seed. Rinse the seed with water to remove any residual fruit matter.
- Insert three toothpicks into the seed, one on each side, just below the top portion. Insert the toothpicks at an angle, otherwise they may fall off.
- Place the avocado seed in a cup.
- Pour water into the cup, until the water is touching the base of the seed. Do not soak the seed completely in the water.
- Put the glass in a warm place, but out of direct sunlight.
- The seed will start to germinate within about four weeks. Over the next few days, the crack would get bigger, and so would the shoot.
- When the shoot is about 35 to 40 inches tall and has leaves on it, you can transplant it into a pot. Ensure that half the seed is exposed.
- Water it lightly at frequent intervals. If needed, give it an occasional deep soak. However, do not over-water the plant. If the leaves turn yellow, it indicates the soil has too much water. In such a case, it is best to let the avocado plant dry out.
- Keep the pot in an area that gets plenty of sunlight during the day.
- When the stem grows to 12 inches, cut it back to half its length (6 inches). This will allow new shoots to grow.
- The plant will grow into a tree in a few years.
4. Potato/Sweet Potato
Who doesn’t like potato? These starchy vegetables are part of almost everyone’s diet. You can easily grow potatoes in your garden if it has well-drained, slightly-acidic soil. Here are the step-by-step instructions to grow a potato patch in your garden:
- Buy organic seed potatoes. You can get them from your local nursery or on amazon.com website.
- Seed potatoes must be planted in spring. Before planting them, put them outside for about 15 days so that they can get ample sunshine.
- Cut each potato before planting it. Ensure that each cut piece has at least one eye (potato eyes are the areas on the potato where shoot grows). Keep the cut pieces at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours.
- Next, dig a trench 5 to 8 inches deep in the area of your garden where you want to grow potatoes.
- Plant each seed potato in such a way that at least one eye is facing upwards. Keep a distance of approximately 12 inches between two seed potatoes.
- Cover the trench by putting back the soil from both sides.
- When the potato plant is 6 inches above the ground, mound additional soil mixture (containing soil, compost, and straw) around the base area of each potato plant. This procedure is known as “hilling”. Perform this step only when the plant is 6 inches above the ground, not before that.
To grow tomatoes in your garden, you can use the seeds of fresh tomatoes. If you wish, you can also use purchased organic tomato seeds. The procedure for both is the same. Here are the step-by-step instructions to grow tomatoes in your garden:
- Wash the tomato seeds with water.
- Place hyponex potting soil in the seed trays. Do not place more than 3 seeds in one tray.
- Plant the tomato seeds in the seed trays. You should plant the seeds ¼ inches deep into the soil.
- Place a plastic wrap over the seed trays, and leave them as they are for about 8 to 11 days to allow the seeds to germinate.
- Take off the plastic wrap once the sprouts are visible above the potting soil.
- Place the trays out in the sun for about 3 hours on the first day. Gradually increase their outdoor time, until they get 6 hours of sunlight daily.
- At this stage, you need to water the plant sparingly, about once every two days.
- Transplant the plants into pots containing the same hyponex mixture that you used earlier, once the stalk has grown about 2-3 inches above the soil.
- Tie the tomato stalks to a stick to ensure that vines grow upwards.
- As the plant grows, remove its lower leaves to help the fruit ripen.
6. Green Onions
Green onions are another good option for people who love gardening but have no gardening space. You can grow them in a small container on a windowsill, balcony, or patio. When growing indoors, you need to select an appropriate variety of the plant and an appropriate medium. Here are the step-by-step instructions to grow green onions:
- Select a container that is about 7 inches in diameter and 8 to 10 inches long. In addition, ensure that it has drainage holes on either side. The drainage holes should be 0.25 inches above the bottom.
- Prepare the soil by mixing equal amounts of perlite soil, sterile soil, sphagnum peat moss, and compost/cow manure. Add the mixture to your container.
- Plant the root side of the green onion plant in a container. Do not plant more than 6 transplants in a container.
- Place your container in an area that gets at least 3 hours of sunlight every day.
- Water the plant once every day. If the soil appears soggy from the previous day’s watering, allow it to become dry before pouring more water.
Rich in protein and iron, lentils are an excellent source of nutrition. The procedure for growing lentils is similar to the one which is used for growing beans. Lentils are cold climate beans. If you live in a cold climate, plant them right after the first frost and harvest them in June or July. People who live in warm climate can plant them in winter and harvest them in early June. Here are step-by-step instructions for growing lentils:
- Ensure that your soil has a pH reading of 6 to 8. To test the soil, use a soil pH tester.
- Sow the seedlings in your garden. For sowing, choose an area that drains well. Do not work the soil if it sticks together or oozes water when squeezed. Wait for a few more days until the soil thaws. You should sow the seedlings only when the soil is moist.
- Plant the seedlings about 1 inch deep.
- Harvest the plant at the end of the summer, or a bit earlier if you live in a warm climate.
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