Home Gardening Tips for Vegetables in India

Home gardening tips for those residents of India can help gardeners grow vegetables that survive well in such a specific climate. Some more general tips regarding soil qualities can help vegetable gardeners all over the world, including gardeners in India and other countries.

Consider planting a potted kitchen garden in India, as recommended by Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture. Gardening space is limited in crowded urban areas of India, so growers should consider windowsill container gardens. Some plants that grow well in India and are small enough for containers include cauliflower, cabbage, beans, cucumbers, lettuce, peas, tomatoes and spinach. Use fertilizer pellets to keep plants growing well, as recommended by the National Gardening Association. Alternatively, use organic compost, manure and kitchen plant scraps to provide more natural nutrients for container vegetables.

Make sure to choose a garden area with enough sunlight. The National Gardening Association recommends at least six hours of sunlight per day for most types of vegetables. Since India sits in the northern hemisphere, vegetables in India will get most of their sun from the south. Avoid planting vegetables in areas with large buildings or trees that block sunlight from the south, and try to place container gardens in south-facing windows.

Check the garden's soil drainage, as recommended by the National Gardening Association. Heavy clay soils hold in too much water so that plant roots do not get the aeration they need. Alternatively, overly sandy soils allow water to drain too quickly. If a soil feels very smooth to the touch and tends to have puddles of water, it probably contains lots of clay. If it feels very gritty, it may contain too much sand. The National Gardening Association suggests adding some organic compost to overly sandy or heavy clay soils to improve drainage.

Since India can have very hot summers, gardeners may want to choose an outdoor planting area for summer gardening with a slight slope to the north, which the National Gardening Association recommends to keep plants cool during hot weather. Alternatively, choose a garden area with a south facing slope to allow for warmer temperatures and earlier planting in the spring or cooler seasons.

Choose varieties of vegetables that ripen at different times throughout the year to ensure a steady supply of fresh food. For example, different corn and tomato varieties have different growth times.