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Vegetable Gardening

3 Most Healthy Vegetables to Grow in Your Kitchen Garden

Introduction

Freshly picked, home grown vegetables are the best source of rich and healthy nutrients; you can have anytime you want. It is always tough to choose what to grow in your kitchen or home garden. But today, i am going to solve this problem by writing on 3 most healthy vegetables that you should give a try in your kitchen garden. I hope this article will help every dirt lover in troubleshooting his/her most important concern. But first, let’s discuss why to choose healthiest vegetables when there are several other options available.

The reason of this article is that all vegetables don’t have equal benefits when you talk about your health. In fact, the element of health is pivotal in choosing what you grow in addition to fulfill your hobby. So it is always wise to grow most healthy vegetables.

Also Read: Kitchen Garden for Beginners

Now, internet is full of articles suggesting which crops are best to be grown in your garden. They give you a mammoth list to choose like top 10 or 20 veggies, however many of these fail to address the specific benefits of each vegetable they suggest. My list of 3 most healthy vegetables to grow in your garden covers these aspects so, that you have full confidence on what you are growing and eating. I always advice my readers, don’t stick in just cultivating your own garden, but also teach your neighbors and others about what you learn here and by your own way of cultivation. This is the best way to serve the community.

Now here is the list 3 most healthiest vegetables to grow in your garden.

1. Spinach

Popeye? Yes I know that’s what comes in your mind in first place. Definitely, spinach has something in it that we had watched Popeye eating spinach and getting balloons in his biceps and forearms. Though I am not preparing you to eat spinach and fight, but yes, spinach adds power to your immune system to fight foreign invaders in your body.

Spinach: 1st Best Veggie to Grow in your Kitchen Garden

Benefits: It provides basic nutrients to bones, hairs and skin. Spinach is also known for improving blood glucose, especially in diabetic patients, pull down the risk of cancer, control and optimize blood pressure and most importantly it aids in curtailing the risk of developing asthma.

What your body gets? 28 micro grams of Vitamin C from 100g serving. It fulfills 34 percent of your daily Vitamin C requirement. It also contains an antioxidant known as Alpha-Lipoic Acid, fibers, Vitamin A and Iron.

Also Read: Five Cheap DIY ways to Kill Home and Kitchen Garden Weeds

2. Broccoli

Sowing and watching these tiny trees growing in my kitchen garden is always a fun for me. However in my childhood, i remember of pushing my plate with Broccoli away from me. Since I learnt what these tiny veggies give to my body, I am using it at least thrice a week now.

Broccoli: 2nd Best Veggie to Grow in your Kitchen Garden

Benefits: Broccoli is a nutrient powerhouse that has lot of healthy calories. Obesity is a global phenomenon that is the root cause of many other diseases. Broccoli is on top of the list to fight obesity. Further, it is helpful against diabetes and heart diseases. Skin complexion is also improved because of certain amino acids present in it.

What your body gets? A cup full of broccoli provides your body with 43 milligrams of Calcium. In addition to this, it also adds 92 micro grams of Vitamin K, fulfilling your 100 percent daily requirement of it. Also it helps in improving digestion system and gives you fresh feeling.

3. Beet Roots

Apart from the delicious taste, it’s the color of the beets that always fascinated me since my childhood. I remember those days, when I used to go to the veggie store with mom and my first choice was always to pick green leafy reddish color beets in the shopping basket. As I grow older, and studied the advantages of eating this God’s gift, I made the routine to add it 3-4 days at least in my meals.

The most common way to use this veggie is in the salads. However, very few of you know that its greenish leaves are more nutritious than the beet root itself.  It is actually a great “two-fer” crop. Roots ad leaves are edible. Young green leaf can be added to the salad, while mature ones are perfect to sauté as a quick and delicious side meal. Red colored beet juice is equally popular in many parts of the world to reduce excess body fat.

Beet Root: 3rd Best Veggie to Grow in your Kitchen Garden

Benefits: The roots of the beets are high in potassium, iron and vitamin C. On the other hand, the greens are superior to roots in terms of nutritional value. These are rich and high in iron, Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc, Potassium, and Vitamins A, B6 and C.

What your body gets? One cup of raw beets (100 grams) delivers about 3 grams of dietary fiber and 60 calories. In addition to this, your body gets 0.01 and 0.06 grams of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids respectively. You also get 1.6 grams of protein and 6.8 grams of sugar.

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Vegetable Gardening

Kitchen Gardening For Beginners

“I want to spend a life healthy, full of energy in a natural environment and feeding myself and family with fresh organic food”. This is the statement what I come across regularly whenever I meet my friends, neighbors and students. Well I encourage them that yes environment and healthy food are two basic requirements to spend a joyous life. However, in today’s fast pace urban life, I can’t promise to help them in spending a life in healthy environment but yes, getting fresh, healthy and organic food is in their own hands. How? My reply is simple, grow a kitchen garden in backyard of your home or if you are living in an apartment, use your balcony and equip it with pots to grow your own daily use food items. Believe me, kitchen gardening is easier, safer, free of pesticides and chemicals and most importantly it gives of peace of mind and delicious meals.

The next question I come across with is ‘how much space do I need to exercise kitchen gardening?’ Well kitchen gardening doesn’t mean that it should be carried out right outside of your kitchen door. It can be in a balcony of your apartment, or in garden outside your home. You are in middle of making your delicious meal and you ended up with no green chilies in your fridge? No problem – it’s just steps away.

Balcony Kitchen Garden

Location and Soil

The place where you want to establish your kitchen garden should have access to plenty of sunlight and soil that has good draining capacity. If puddles don’t disappear from soil after a good rain, then your soil is not fit for it. After locating a place with strongest sunshine and good draining soil, my recommendation for kitchen gardening beginners is to start small that is easily manageable to allow you to earn experiment in the first season.

How much Space for Kitchen Garden?

To do a simple garden math, if you are a family of four adults, a kitchen garden measuring 800 square feet is enough to feed you annually. This means, 200 square feet per person a year. More generous climate with healthy soil can even grow more however; you should not forget the goal of your kitchen garden that is to have fresh, healthy and delicious meals of your choice whenever you want. So my recommendation, don’t race behind more production especially if you are a beginner and in first year of your kitchen gardening. Don’t forget that chief driving element to grow kitchen garden for a beginner is to have a garden that tastes good.

Kitchen Gardening in Pots

What to Grow in Kitchen Garden?

After solving the space factor, next is what to grow? Well it is rather easy. You know the taste of you family and their liking. But for beginners, I recommend, don’t go for buying expensive seeds. Start with salads like lettuce or may be green chilies and tomatoes. These are the crops that can easily grow and keep you motivated.

Choosing Crops in Kitchen Garden

Choosing the Healthy Seeds or Transplants

Next thing is choosing a seed or transplant? Well it’s totally up to you. Most of us like to use seeds in a fascination to see juicy baby stems coming out of soil. I don’t want to do a recommendation here. But it’s good to have transplants for kitchen gardening beginners. If you have prior and good experience with seeds in your flowering gardens—go for seeds.

Stay Away from Synthetics

As the stem is out of soil, never ever think of adding any pesticide, herbicide or chemical fertilizer. If you do so, the objective of having a kitchen garden will die immediately. Mulch, Mulch and Mulch, that’s the only option for you keep your meals organic. Grass clippings, straw, shredded leaves, pine needles, dead weeds that haven’t gone to seed good source of mulch. Farm yard dung from livestock can also be a good source of organic fertilizer.

Mulching Kitchen Garden

Don’t Die Your Plants of Thirst

Watering the garden is your chief responsibility. Vegetables and fruits are made of water. So they drink a lot of water. Water your kitchen garden as much as they need. Again–draining of soil matters a lot here. If your soil has poor drainage, then you have to be more careful.

Production in Kitchen Garden

Safeguard Your Efforts

Last but not the least; keep an eye on your kitchen garden. Harvest your crop timely or someone else does so. These ‘someone’ may be bacteria and insects as you are growing organic so they have greater opportunity to get their share. And if you ‘someone’ in your kitchen garden includes four legged animals like rabbit or deer, fencing your garden is the best option. If you are growing your kitchen garden in pots, you can use mesh to eradicate any chance damage.

Safeguarding Kitchen Garden

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