How-To Make an “Instant Kitchen” Garden

 In Tips and Tricks, Webinar

Here at Cambria Nursery & Florist, we understand that during and after this pandemic you may find yourself not wanting to go to the store, having a lack of availability to fresh produce, or you no longer want to have other people handle your food. So we decided to teach you how to make your own “Instant Kitchen” garden full of herbs and vegetables. Would you prefer a step-by-step video tutorial? Check out our instructional video and all other webinars here!

Supplies:

  • Large container with a lot of root depth
  • Potting soil 
  • Fertilizer
  • Water polymer 
  • A selection of fresh veggies and herbs
  • Some kind of pest deterrent 

We have all of these supplies right at Cambria Nursery & Florist and our team of specialists can help you find the perfect plants for your location. We even offer local delivery to Cambria Residents and Curbside Pick-Up to those who fall outside of the 93428 zip code! Just stop on by, or give us a call at (805) 927-4747 to place an order. 

First, you will want to fill your large container about ¾ of the way full. You will want a tall container for this project to allow for a lot of root growth. Choose a container that is pretty wide as well so that you can fill it with a wide variety of herbs and vegetables! You will only want to fill it ¾ of the way because we will be adding fertilizer and water polymer next. 

Next, give a generous serving of fertilizer as well as water polymer. These ingredients will help the plants get the maximum amount of water and nutrients in order to grow to the best of their ability. Mix these ingredients into the top third of the soil. Once those are mixed into the soil, fill the rest of the container with soil, leaving a few inches at the top for water purposes. 

You can pick whatever vegetables and herbs you want for your garden and can place them wherever you would like in your container. This “instant kitchen” should be the food that you like to eat! I will be listing the plants and placements that we used when we filmed our webinar to give you an idea of what to do. 

First, we started by placing our tomato in the middle of our pot with a little space around it to place a cage. Tomatoes are an incredibly easy plant to grow and are delicious on a variety of foods. We then placed swiss chard and kale surrounding the tomatoes. Greens and “lettuce-like” vegetables are also easy to grow and can add volume to any meal! On the outer edges of the container, we placed herbs because they easily cascade over the side of the pot. We finished off with marigolds! These pungent flowers are great because they smell amazing to us, but pests hate them. It will deter pests and insects away from your garden as well as add a nice pop of color. When planting all of these ingredients, be sure to loosen the root ball a little so that the roots are free to grow and wander throughout the soil. If you did decide to get plants that like to vine and grow tall, add your cage, or wire that they can grow up. 

After your “instant kitchen” garden is complete, be sure to place it in an area that gets a lot of sun. Vegetables and herbs thrive in full sun and aren’t in much danger of getting burnt. You could place it on your front porch, or deep in your backyard, but just make sure it is outside or by an east-facing window. 

It’s that easy! Before you know it, you will have your very own homegrown food that you can add to your meal plan. Not only is this a great way to get your hands dirty and get gardening, but it is also a very rewarding experience to be able to grow your own food. What are you waiting for? Get started and grow your very own “instant kitchen!” 

 

Happy Gardening, 

Cambria Nursery & Florist Team

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