Ashutosh Chattar
MSc Floriculture student
OUAT, Bhubaneswar
Importance of kitchen Garden
Kitchen garden is advice to grow vegetables on a small plot of land. It is delightful hobby and can be pursued at homes or in school. Develop a taste for kitchen gardening and it will stay in your life.
The importance of a kitchen garden is great and manifold. A kitchen garden ensures an inexpensive, regular and handy supply of fresh vegetables which are basic to nutrition. The green vegetables contain vitamins and minerals which protect us against diseases. Lack of vegetables, particularly the green leafy vegetables, leads o malnutrition which causes diseases like anemia and night-blindness. Dark green leafy vegetables such as Palak and brown vegetables like carrots prevent blinding malnutrition.
Kitchen garden also helps us to solve our food problem. Apart from green and leafy vegetables, we can also grow several roots and tubers like potato, suran, goradu etc. which are similar to cereals and provide us heat and energy. These roots and tubers can be substituted to cereals.
Kitchen garden prevents pollution of air. It purifies the air through the plants. Plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen which is vital for our life,
In order to preserve health and prevent malnutrition, we should develop a kitchen garden; grow fresh and clean vegetables and make them a part of our daily diet.
Nutritional requirements of farming family
They supply nearly all of the vitamins and minerals required for good health. Vegetable contains fibre and a few of them, such as legumes, are great a source of plant protein. Vegetables have little or no fat, no cholesterol and are low in calories. Vegetables are nutrient dense.
Nutritional value of leafy vegetabls
Green leafy vegetables are vital for growth and good health as they contain all important nutrients.
In India, a wide range of greens are consumed. The most popular ones being Spinach, Amaranth, Gogu, Fenugreek, Drumstick leaves, Mint etc.,
Leafy vegetables are particularly rich in mineral nutrient and iron. Iron deficiency leads to anaemia, a common health problem among pregnant and lactating women and also children.
Inclusion of greens in daily diet would help prevent anaemia and promote good health.
Green leafy vegetables are also a rich source of Calcium, Beta carotene and Vitamin C.
In India, nearly 30,000 children under five years of age go blind every year due to Vitamin A deficiency. Carotene in greens gets converted in the body to form Vitamin A which prevents blindness.
To preserve Vitamin C content in greens, prolonged cooking should be avoided, as this nutrient, which keeps gums in good condition is lost on overcooking.
Greens also contain some of the B-Complex Vitamins
Some Vegetable crops variety and special characters for kitchen Garden
Nutritional and Medicinal properties of Drumstick
Drumstick pods and leaves are a storehouse of essential nutrients, whereas the leaves are the most nutrient part of the plant and one of the finest sources of calcium, iron, zinc, selenium and magnesium. Fresh pods and seeds are a great source of oleic acid, a healthy fatty acid which is known to promote heart health. Moringa leaves is unique among all the greens as it is heaped with a good amount of protein about 9.8 gram of protein per 100 grams. Dry powdered leaves are an amazing source of good quality essential amino acids.
Drumstick is also referred as Moringa Oleifera. Phytonutrients are present in Drumsticks for preventing various conditions such as cancer, asthma, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, anemia, obesity and the phytonutrients improve immune system. The powdered leaves of drumstick also have health benefits related to allergies, stomach disorders, edema, eye protection, diabetes cure, hair care, healthy skin, bone health, cardiovascular health, wound healing. It is also rich in antifungal and antibacterial properties that help to fight against infections.
Nutritional properties of Root vegetable
Cowpea:kashi kanchan
This is dwarf and bush type (height 50-60 cm), photo-insensitive, early flowering (40-45 days after sowing) and early picking (50-55 days after sowing) variety suitable for growing in both spring-summer and rainy seasons. Pods are about 30-35 cm long, dark green, soft, fleshy and free from parchment.
Palak:all green
Leaf colour of this spinach variety is lush green. Variety has good tolerance to diseases.
Radish:pusa chetki
Roots flesh is crispy with mild pungency. Roots are pure white in color. The shape is long, cylindrical. It is grown as a summer and monsoon crop from April September. Root length is 30 to 35 cm.
Cucumber:pusa udaya
Suitable for cultivation both in spring-summer and rainy seasons. Maturity 50-55 days. Average Yield 155 q/ha, which is 28% higher over check (Poinsette).
Bottle gourd:pusa Naveen
Fruits cylindrical, straight and free from crooked neck. Average weight 550 g.
Drumstick:pkm-1
Plants grow to a height of 4-6 m and come to flower in 90-100 days after planting. The first harvest starts 160-170 days after planting and on an average each tree bears 200-225 fruits / year. Pods are 65-70 cm long with 6.3 cm girth and 150 g weight. Fruits are green coloured and highly pulpy.
Okra:Arka Anamika
Plants tall well branched. Fruits lush green, tender and long. Fruits borne in two flushes. Purple pigment present on both sides of the petal base. Green stem with purple shade. Fruits free from spines having 5-6 ridges, delicate aroma. Good keeping and cooking qualities. Resistant to Yellow vein mosaic virus Duration 130-135 days. Yield 20 t/ha.
Chilli:pusa jwala
The most popular hot pepper grown all over India and used in most popular spicy foods in India. This long thin wrinkled chilli which ripen from light-green to red when ripe. If you love hot chilli then this one surely needs your attention. This will be your favorite and won’t stop growing anymore! I assure you the beautiful aroma of this green chilli will stay in your mind for a long time!
This is an ideal chilli for flavouring Indian curries. So taste your own Indian food at home!
They are very easy to grow & easy to maintain. This plant will continuously produce chilli for 5/6 months each year. Best time to sow seeds after frost. Seeds need minimum 20°C to germinate. With a proper care in frosty time this will survive up to 3 years.
Soak the seeds in water for a few hours before planting and sow them in 5mm deep in a sunny, well-drained position. Sow them indoor in warmer condition and transfer outside when mature enough to survive. Germinates between 3-5 weeks, depending on the weather condition.
Onion:Agrifound dark red
Bulbs are dark red,globular round in shape, 4-6 cm in size withtight skin and moderately pungent.Keeping quality of bulbs is good. They contain 130B total soluble solids, 14-15%dry matter and12.
Cauliflower:kashi Gobhi-25 Indian/tropical cauliflower, November maturity (first fortnight of November around 25 °C temperature). White compact and hemispherical curd free from riceyness, leafiness and fuzziness. Marketable curd weight 600-700 g and yield 25-28 t/ha.
