There's nothing like cooking with fresh produce and what better way to have them readily available then to grow your own kitchen garden! A kitchen garden not only gives you good fresh produce but it also adds a bit of interest to your yard. It can be as simple as just a few herbs or you can go all out and grow vegetables too.

Fruit, vegetables and herbs are very rewarding to grow and there's an extra special flavor to produce you've grown yourself. Plus you know that no pesticides or chemicals have been used when you grow it yourself.



While cooking with fresh foods you've grown yourself might sood great, be warned, a kitchen garden is going to be very labor-intensive. If you don't like gardening or working outside, you might be better off getting your produce at the grocery store. The only way you're going to get a good healthy crop of fruit, vegetables and herbs is by lavishing tender loving care and attention on them.



If you do decide that a kitchen garden is for you, start growing early and you may produce a bountiful crop weeks ahead of the normal time. This will give you a good harvest during a time when those fruits and vegetables are particularly expensive in the store.



You can make your kitchen garden as functional and attractive as possible with careful planning. If space is at a premium you can choose some of the more decorative vegetables and herbs and plant them in your flower beds.

Make sure you pick a sunny site in your garden as most herbs and vegetables need the sun to do well. If you are growing fruit trees, you should ensure that they do not cast a shadow over the vegetables and herbs.



When planting your herbs, remember that they will stay green almost all year so make sure you plan for how they will contrast with the existing plants. Tall herbs can be planted at the back of a traditional flower garden and low-growing herbs make excellent flower garden borders.

If you don't have a lot of garden space, you can plant herbs in containers and they will do well. You can also plant many vegetables in containers. Peas, potatoes and tomatoes are just a few that will do well.

Some vegetables are even attractive enough to be planted amongst the flowers - but remember that you are going to have gaps once the vegetables are harvested.

Many people think you need acres of land to have fruit trees, but there is a large range of fruit that you can grow even if you have a small yard. Small apple trees can even grow in pots on the patio and strawberries do well in containers. There's even varieties of cordon-trained apples and pears that can be grown against a garden fence.



If you want to enjoy the flavor of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs in your gourmet cooking, there really is no reason at all why you can't have the joy of growing and harvesting food for your own kitchen table in your own kitchen garden, no matter how small the plot.

About the author:

Lee Dobbins writes for Online Gourmet Foods where you can learn more about gourmet eating.