Finding the agricultural soil is the best which is full of earthworms. Alternatively, soil from a park or play garden can also be used.

• Soil should be mixed with cow dung, dried organic waste like wood and leaf and vermicompost. Here is a step by step guide to prepare compost for gardening at home. Please remember not to use chemicals to make soil rich for gardening. Some amount of sand should also be mixed with the soil so that while it gets dried , and it does not turn into solid stone.
• Fill the pots with soil. At least, leave 2 centimeters from top empty and it should not be filled with soil.
• If you are using plastic pots, there should be hole in the bottom of the pots so that water will not stay for a long time in the pots. However, water will also affect the soil’s plant nutrient quality. In order to prevent that, the bottom of the pot can be filled with small pebbles and stones or broken glasses.
• Seeds should be put into the soil not more than 1 and half centimeters below so that when they start growing they should be able to come out in the open after germination quickly. Also seeds should be protected from bird’s eye otherwise mostly they will be taken away by them as their food.
• Note: If soil is filled with earth worms, it is very good indication of germination of seeds.

Earth worms increase soil quality. If you want to prevent soil from fungus and other harmful insects, it can be mixed with dried neem leaves.

How to procure seeds for your kitchen garden?

It is always better to have natural breeding seeds compared to hybrid seeds for vegetables. They can be purchased from the neighborhood nursery or from the market. There are many

Government organizations which make seeds available at affordable prices. If you are in New Delhi, Pusa Institute or Krishi Bhavan are good places to procure them.

In today’s on-line world, you can also order seeds from the on-line portal like: 

• http://www.nurserylive.com/
• http://www.seedbasket.in/
• http://www.thespicemarket.in/
• http://www.amazon.in/
• http://www.flipkart.com/

Procuring ready made vegetable plants is also another option. You can also purchase ready grown plants from the neighborhood nursery of onions, tomatoes, brinjals, flowers, chilies ,etc. to start with. 

Which vegetables and fruits should we grow in the kitchen garden?

• You can start it by vegetables and fruits which can be simply grown like chilis, lady finger, spinach, basil, tomatoes and brinjals. These vegetables can be grown within 45 days.
• These vegetables can be grown in small pots also and later they can be transferred to some bigger area where bigger growth is possible. You can grow fruits like mangoes ( Mambalam ), bananas ( Pachai Valaipalam ), guava, lemon( Elumichai ) and pineapple ( Annachi Palam ) also in pots of 70 cm by 70 cm.
• Ready-made fruit plants are also available in the market or from your local nursery.

What should we grow in winter?

Following vegetables are suitable for winter session: