Welcome to my first column on Kitchen Gardening. I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you and hope you will send me any questions you may have. This month we will look at getting started.

Fresh produce is sadly becoming a luxury for many New Zealanders what with the international  economic pressures and global warming, so for those of us lucky enough to have a bit of land a great solution is a Kitchen Garden – or veggie garden for the traditionalists among us.

You don’t have to have a huge veggie patch – if you want to it can even be grown in pots at the kitchen door. The idea is to make life easier and healthier – not harder and more stressful.  If you just want a regular supply of veggies for an average sized family, a few square metres will do fine, preferably in a sunny spot sheltered from the wind.

If your soil is very sandy or made up gluggy clay you will need to do a bit of work on it before you start. Sandy soils need to be enriched with compost and clay needs to be lightened up and fertilised. Talk to your local garden centre where the staff will be able to advise you on the best products to use for your region.

Another option is a raised bed. You will need to build a frame from wood, railway sleepers or garden edging which you then line with layers of newspaper.  Then fill the frame with good quality garden mix and compost and plant.  A no dig veggie garden is very similar but without the framing. The advantage of a raised bed of course is less bending so less  strain on your back.

Pots of course are the easiest – simply choose your pots and fill with good quality mix. These are fine if you don’t have a big family to feed or if the kids want to try growing their own beans or tomatoes. They’re also the perfect solution for herb growing.

Seedlings are the best option if you haven’t had a kitchen garden before, but as you get more confident give seeds a go. They are much cheaper and very satisfying – but we will look at that in a later column. In the mean time lets stay with seedlings. 

At this time of year, you should be putting in your summer green veggies: broccoli, mesclun, lettuce, spinach and beetroot.  Start with a half a dozen seedlings of each veggie you wish to plant then add another four to six every two or three weeks to ensure you have a regular supply. At the same time add four or five tomato, celery, courgette, cucumber, and bean plants – depending on what you like. It’s also the right time for capsicums, chillies and basil. Now is also the time to get your potatoes in if you like new spuds with the Christmas ham. 

There is nothing worse than planting a lovely new veggie patch and getting up to discover the local snail population has had a feast. If you decide to buy chemical snail bait, be very careful to ensure  pets and birds don’t eat it. You could try an alternative such as laying rock salt around the plants or dishes of beer or soda – in which the slugs and snails drown. My husband assures me there are worse ways to go than in a dish of beer.

Next month we will look at growing herbs for the kitchen. However, if you have any questions or tips you would like to share, drop me a line at kitchengarden@ruralliving.co.nz.

Happy Gardening!