Kitchen Garden 🌱

Subject: Hygiene and Nutrition — Topic: Health Practices

A kitchen garden is a small garden near your home where you grow vegetables and herbs you can eat. It helps your family have fresh, healthy food and learn good hygiene.

Why have a kitchen garden?

• Eat fresh vegetables that help you grow strong and stay healthy. 🥬🍅
• Save money — you buy less from the shop.
• Learn how to plant and care for food.
• Family can eat clean food and avoid sickness when we follow good hygiene.

Good plants to grow (Kenyan examples)

• Sukuma wiki (kale) — grows quickly and is tasty.
• Spinach (mchicha) or amaranth (mrenda) — good leafy greens.
• Tomatoes — for stews and salads.
• Onions and carrots — add flavour and vitamins.
• Herbs: coriander (dhania), basil — add smell and taste.

How to start a small kitchen garden — 6 easy steps

1. Choose a spot: Near the kitchen with good sun (4–6 hours). Keep it away from latrines.
2. Get soil: Use healthy soil or mix soil with compost. Compost is old plant material that becomes food for soil.
3. Plant seeds or seedlings: Put seeds or young plants in rows or pots. Follow instructions on the seed packet.
4. Water: Give water in the morning or evening. Not too much — the soil should be damp, not puddles. 💧
5. Weed and care: Pull out weeds, watch for pests, and ask an adult to help with anything hard.
6. Harvest: Pick leaves and vegetables when they are ready. Eat them fresh or cook them safely.

Hygiene tips for the garden (very important!)

• Wash hands with soap and clean water before and after working in the garden. 🧼
• Wash all vegetables well with clean water before eating.
• Do not use fresh (raw) manure on plants you will eat. Let manure compost for several months first, or use finished compost.
• Keep gardening tools clean and store them in a safe place.
• Always ask an adult before using any sprays or chemicals — natural methods are safer for children.

Simple salad from your kitchen garden (easy to make)

Ingredients: clean sukuma wiki leaves or spinach, 1 small tomato, a little onion, a squeeze of lemon or lime. Wash everything, chop, mix in a bowl and enjoy! 🥗

Try making a small pot garden with your family. You will grow good food and learn how to stay healthy!