Kitchen Garden Defined

The formal definition of a kitchen garden is a garden where vegetables, fruits and herbs are grown for culinary use and household consumption. The less formal definition is that a kitchen garden can really be anything you want it to be, so long as it contains those plants that you and your family members use and eat the most in your daily life.

Today’s modern Kitchen Garden usually is a separate gardening area located in close proximity to the kitchen and seamlessly intertwined with everyday life. It's a space that is used regularly, intentionally designed, simple to maintain and beautiful to look at. It contains vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers, and promotes healthy living and eating local - from right outside your back door.

What Size is Right

A kitchen garden can be any size. It can be located in a fenced area that contains many raised beds, or it can be just one raised bed on wheels that sits on your deck. The size of a kitchen garden really depends on the answers to several key questions including: Where do you intend to place your kitchen garden? How much space is available in this area? What are your goals for your kitchen garden? And, how much time do you have to tend your kitchen garden? The answers to each of these questions can help you decide where to start. So let’s take a look at each one.

Kitchen Garden Location

When looking at different areas to place your kitchen garden, it’s important to consider sun, shade and access. You’ll often read that a kitchen garden should be located on the southern side. That’s because if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun shines from the south. And since it shines at a slight angle, if there are tall structures between the sun and your kitchen garden, shadows will appear.

But sometimes, there isn’t any location that faces south. Not to worry! Many kitchen gardeners have gardens that are not located on the southern side. Just look for a location that will provide the most sun - what you plant in your kitchen garden can be adapted to fit your garden location.

Another consideration is access. Ideally, your kitchen garden should be located close to your home where there is easy access and you can see it every day. If you can see your kitchen garden, it’s more likely that you will venture out into your garden.

Available Space

Another consideration is how much space there is available in the area you’ve chosen for your kitchen garden. Common sizes for raised garden beds are 4 x 6, 4 x 8 and 2 x 8 feet in width and length. Pathways between garden beds can be 3 to 4 feet wide. So the size of your kitchen garden often is somewhat dependent upon the amount of space with which you have to work. And sometimes you might need more space than you think! The key is to keep it simple so your kitchen garden is manageable and not overwhelming.

Kitchen Garden Goals

Here’s where a deep dive into your reasons for wanting a kitchen garden will be beneficial. Perhaps you’re looking to add more fresh, organic fruits and vegetables into your daily eating. Maybe you’re an avid cook wanting to have fresh herbs at your fingertips. Or it may be that you’re searching for a new hobby or a way to connect with nature. Whatever your gardening goals might be, there’s a perfect kitchen garden just waiting for you. Identifying these goals and knowing what’s most important to you will give you valuable insight when designing your kitchen garden.

Time to Tend

When you’re thinking about your new kitchen garden, not only is it important to consider what you want to get out of it, but what you’re able to put into it. Even though the amount of time your garden needs will likely vary by season, tending a kitchen garden still requires a certain amount of time and commitment in order for it to flourish and be productive. Maybe you only have a few minutes each morning and evening, or maybe most of your gardening needs to happen on the weekend. It may be that you have several afternoons a week to devote to your kitchen garden, or perhaps you travel for days at a time.

Whatever time you have available to tend your kitchen garden will be enough - so long as your kitchen garden is designed with the knowledge of how much time it will need and how much time you can give.

To learn more about kitchen gardens, sign up for the Kitchenairy Gardens email list and get your free downloadable Kitchen Garden Guide. And be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook (@kitchenairygardens) and on Pinterest (@kissmygardenish).