Your kitchen garden should be an extension of your home . It should provide you with the chance to use up healthy and fresh vegetables while keep money and reduce your environmental footprint .
With that in mind , it is important to design a kitchen garden that will meet all of these indigence . As we ’re still designing this new country , and it will take years to create adream backyard blueprint , one of the first thing we ’re planning on doing is design a potager kitchen garden .
What is a Potager Kitchen Garden?
A potager kitchen garden is a garden close to your kitchen where you could get at clean vegetable and herbs easily .
It is a kitchen garden position out in a formal design , divided into beds and subdivide into compartments fill with vegetables and herbs .
The term potager garden is also applicable to modern garden where the emphasis is on intimate layouts and more naturalistic plantings .
Many Ithiel Town or urban center indweller with special space have such gardens within or around their homes .
A potager can be an ordinary garden , or part of a large enclosure , containing culinary herb , sweet pea , yield trees , and vegetables .
It is usually enclosed by I. F. Stone walls orgarden fences , to keep out raiding beast such as deer and hare .
Typically there is one main central path conduct to the house ( or may be divided into two paths , one for walking and one for wheelbarrows ) , with several narrow-minded track leading to the kitchen room access .
A maze of route among the bed provides memory access .
There ’s some wondrous history behind kitchen gardens and some great books on kitchen garden design .
One of the most common report you see with potager design are plants growing on the outside border as well as the middle
Garden designing examples fromthe Complete Kitchen Garden Koran
How do I Plan a Potager Garden?
A potager garden must be able to provide at least four garden bed and a grid - shaped garden can influence fine with pathway in between . Arranging beds in design changes the look of the garden .
Before the planting begins , you need to contrive your garden blank . Make a plan of where everything will be implant . A introductory design for a potager may include the following :
Tall Planting Borders
These are used as dividers between department . One instance is using bamboo fencing which may be set up around other garden seam or along pathways .
Wide Planting Borders
These are used in front of marvelous plantings or at the end . They may be plant with low - growing alpine strawberry which will conceal the bamboo fencing , but still allow visibility through to create a good sense of openness in your garden .
Herb Garden
A herbaceous plant garden is locate near the kitchen for contrivance , and may be used for planting and dry .
Edible Greens
Potager gardens should have This includes spinach , lettuce , and other greens that will not need trellising to keep sustain . Plant in radical and stagger the dustup so they do not compete for sunlight .
Plant Vegetables in Groups
For example , plant several staked tomatoes together rather than one plant each . This will maximize the infinite and give plant enough way to develop with wad of sunlight .
Tomatoes
These are best grown on a sturdy double cross treillage that may be pair with magniloquent planting for increased privateness .
The recess of magniloquent plantings may also be used as unadulterated spot for tomato to cascade down down , furnish a suspect canopy for other plants .
Cucumber
These may be trellis vertically and should be engraft inside the raised beds of other veg because they want a pot of way to turn and distribute out .
If there is no space , give them their own bed to allow the vines to fully develop .
Strawberry plants
Strawberry plants can be used in a wide of the mark planting to aid mask the tall plantings . They will grow well with blueberry bush bushes , espaliered orchard apple tree , and hops .
Herbs
Herb borders admit thyme , parsley , and rosemary which can all grow well together . They also make skilful edging plant at the end of beds to facilitate define boundaries between sections
Other planting – Some examples include peppers , onions , eggplant , and squelch . These may be planted near the edges of wide plantings or grouped together in a single seam .
Different Kitchen Garden Designs
When you start brainstorming ideas for your garden you ’ll need to make certain you ’re planting it in the correct station . You also want to doodle and out sketch out your kitchen garden to get idea for design .
Things to keep in mind before designing your potager garden are
Some designs fromGroundbreaking solid food gardens(which has many AMAZING garden designs , I highly recommend this book )
FromDesigning the New Kitchen Garden : an American potager handbook
Creating a Beautiful Potager Garden
All gardens are beautiful , but few have the easiness and timeless design of the potager garden .
A wonderful way to introduce you to creating your own beautiful potager garden is by studying some of these principles that have been used for centuries .
Here are some estimable pattern that are well-off to follow when designing a unexampled potager or updating an existing one .
1. Use simple geometric shapes as the basis of your design
The beauty of a potager vegetable garden comes from its simplicity and social system , so using bare agate line is an important first step .
If you begin with a focal stage or element at the center , then work out from there to create a focal statement , you ’ll find that it ’s leisurely to select the most beautiful plants for your garden .
2. Keep it durable and functional
The majority of vegetable plants and fruit tree will grow in most any eccentric of soil , so keep this in mind when creating your landscape design design — you may have more fun with the types of industrial plant you choose if you design for function .
you may do this by choosing plant that are low - maintenance and drouth - resistant , which also yield your garden its ’ own rude dash through strength .
3. Use plants you love to create beauty every day of the year
The pottage is an everchanging work of art that brings beauty to your spirit with each guide season .
If you pick out plant life that are low - upkeep , they will give you more clip to make relaxed in your garden and revel its splendor of cosmetic plants throughout the year .
If this is not enough , learn how to make our own compost plant food for constitutive vegetables .
4. Plan for multiple harvests, with succession planting and fall plantings
The beauty of a potager garden come not only from its structure and function but also from the plants it holds – which brings us to another principle of successful potager excogitation : multiple harvests .
you may make your life easier by imbed plants that allow for more than one harvest time ( think tomatoes and green beans ) and by doing so , you ’ll have more of your favorite vegetable for sweet eating or preserving .
5. Simplify to create a style
It ’s easy to get overwhelmed when be after a potager garden because there are so many different design styles to choose from , but if you start unproblematic you wo n’t be paralyzed by indecisiveness and can alternatively enjoy the process .
Everyone has their own idea of what a beautiful garden is , but regardless of the style you choose , it ’s best to keep it as simple as potential .
6. Use companion planting in your potager garden
In your potager garden , as with any garden , you will not leave a plant alone . You will choose plants to grow next to each other and there are understanding why you do this .
You have credibly heard about companion planting before or peradventure somebody evidence you that it helps keep pests aside .
This is right but the benefits of companion planting go beyond pesterer control .
familiar planting is also about give your plants the considerably possible growing weather condition and making Quaker with your neighbors , even if they are industrial plant !
The following will explain what familiar planting is and how you’re able to use it in your garden .
The end of comrade planting is to advance certain flora to grow well next to each other , partake in food and deter pestilence . For example , basil will draw in hoverflies which will corrode flies that lay eggs on your vegetables .
Planting dill alongside cucumbers will improve the growth charge per unit , yield , and quality of cucumbers .
Using this method means that you need few pesticide to keep your plants well .
Best Crops for a Potager Kitchen Garden
Although you may grow anything you ’d like in your kitchen garden , because it ’s close to the sign of the zodiac sure crop are skilful than others .
The best crop for a potager kitchen garden tend to be ones that are eat on fresh not preserved .
You want to choose crop that are quick to glean sooner rather of waiting until the end of summertime . You also require to choose place - saving crop alternatively of ones that take up Lot of quad like pumpkins , Zea mays or potato .
Flowers and herb are often added to a potager kitchen garden
What to Grow in your Potager Kitchen Garden
Your garden plot is for growing fruit , fresh vegetables , and herbs . You need your garden to depend inviting to the eye , but only plants that you would eat are leave in this place .
If you select to arise vegetable , see that your garden has enhance beds . This will help you to easily weed and tend them
You may find it helpful to keep a few ornamental plant around , such as Viola tricolor hortensis or marigolds , but your main focus should be on the plant you ’d come up in a traditional garden truck stand .
Some potager design tipsfrom Fix
Frequently Asked Questions
The following are some unremarkably expect doubt about potager garden layout plans and their answer .
Can I have a potager garden in a small space ?
small-scale spaces are often more hard to garden in than larger spaces . However , if you choose the veracious varieties of vegetable , it ’s possible to be very rich even with limited blank .
First adjudicate on an area that get full sun ( in most subject , six hours of unmediated sun is what you ’re looking for ) . Choose four or five dissimilar vegetables which you ’d wish to grow , and engraft them in a pocket-size quad .
Some veg which are well - beseem to container gardening include : tomato , cucumbers , gelt , squash and carrots . The smaller the wad you have for your vegetables , the more likely they ’ll be to produce a large amount of fruits / vegetables .
When using a container for grow vegetable , you ’ll want to verify that there is enough room left for water and root growth after you ’ve occupy it with soil .
Select a pot which will be large enough for the mature sizing of the plant(s ) you choose to grow . If you ’re using a container which will be placed on the ground , do n’t forget to put stones at the bottom for drainage .
Once your plants are in the soil , make trusted they are n’t crowded , and keep an eye out for rotting or mould forming around / on any vegetables , particularly after a period of pelting .
If you ’re looking for a good container - grown vegetable to get , consider growing carrots . They like stain which contains clay , which is gross because it ’ll help oblige the wet around the roots of your flora .
There are many unlike varieties of carrots uncommitted ; some illustration include : Cosmic Purple , Lunar White and Thumbelina .
To maximise your harvesting , recall to plant seed densely and thin out many of the seedling as they grow so you have room for all of them .
Should I have box hedging in my potager garden ?
Box hedges appear great in potager garden . They are a majuscule option for the small garden . They always search tidy and in mastery , they add a picture - gross touch sensation to any garden space .
Not only this but their fruiting body allow for tasty constituent for you to use in your preparation .
The box is usually grow from seminal fluid , although it can also be corrupt as a vernal plant . When buy , verify you bribe one with at least three primary stem ; they can be pruned by and by on to shorten them if need be .
plug a minuscule hollow in the bottom of a with child bucketful and take it will compost almost to the top .
Make a small fix in the compost and pop your little box hedge plant in . The best time to do this is early spring , or you could start it off in a slew indoors and then transpose the whole thing into its terminal position at this metre too .
Fill around the flora with compost until it ’s just covered , but no further .
If you want to take the plants out at a late date it would be wise to make indisputable you pull up stakes around an inch or two of compost when constitute them in , this allow you to lift the plant when required .
urine well and let your little flora grow for a few weeks until it is strong enough to withstand light frosts .
Then start cut back back the sides , you’re able to keep it as a square if you want to or admit it to get into a more natural configuration .
I would commend keep the sides at around 4 inches for a pocket-size potager , although magnanimous box hedge could have their sides reduce by up to six inches .
If you are going to grow your box hedging in a larger pot or in the land , I would urge using a large works . Do the same as above but do not swerve back until next year when it can be shaped to look more lifelike .
Once you have your picayune boxful hedge pruned to shape , keep an heart on it and remove any dead or diseased leafage immediately . This will serve protect your little plant against diseases .
glean the leave as you need them , you’re able to practice them like bay leave if you do n’t want to make a hedging or if you would like to keep it smaller .
Otherwise keep harvest the tips of the leafage ; this will help encourage further maturation and finally more yield will form on your endearing - await hedging .
It may take a couple of years to get there but it will be worth the delay .
How do I save metre with my potager garden design ?
A lot of people are concerned in creating a small kitchen garden , but they find it arduous because they experience overwhelmed by the amount of piece of work required .
By garden first thing in the morning , you may make certain you have enough time to drop on your garden every daylight , without feel pressured to complete tasks quickly .
Read on to find out what you’re able to do to love your meter in the garden .
Harvest in the morning
you’re able to always try harvest veg first thing in the morning , since this will allow them to stay wise for longer compare to harvesting at any other sentence of day .
If you imbed carrots , radish or leafy veg like kale , collard greens or kale , you could avoid unnecessary wear and rent since they do n’t bruise as easily as other vegetables .
Weed in the morning
If you ca n’t bump time to weed in the morning , verify to sack up any weeds aside from the stem of your industrial plant before they start producing fruit , otherwise they may stunt them or prevent them from get .
If you have a few more minutes , try adding some mulch around your plants to keep wet in and the weeds out .
If you have time , spend a small while weed or pulling out spend plants . you may expend this time to let out your path and cook the soil for new crops .
Do n’t vex about being too exhaustive with weed , since it ’s always possible to do a more thoroughgoing job later on . You do n’t need to get every individual weed out .
Since you ’re function in the morning , you ’ll have time to drop vegetables off at your local food larder or soup kitchen if they are not right enough to be eaten fresh .
This is another great manner to make indisputable all your hard work does n’t go to dissipation . Remember that harvesting vegetable when they are not fully right can encourage them to continue grow , so strain not to do it unless you really have to .
If you find yourself with some supernumerary time in the tardy afternoon or early evening , recollect that summer squash and cucumbers savor great when pickled .
you’re able to make indisputable they stay fresh for longer by marinating them in a brine made of three - living quarters water and one - quarter acetum , along with salt and loot .
check that to check where you ’re earmark to dump your brine ( if you ’re not allowed to utilize it in your compost passel ) , since it ca n’t be pour down the drain .
What are your fav plants to grow in a kitchen garden ?
