00:00Your Best Self is brought to you by Maybelline New York.
00:10As you strive to keep down your food bill while ensuring that you eat healthy and be your best self,
00:17we told you last week about starting a kitchen garden.
00:20But while it is a simple process, like humans, those plants need to thrive.
00:25According to our farming expert, Marcus Maiku, founder and managing director of Marfa's Limited,
00:31where you place your crops can determine just how well they grow and how you benefit from their nutrition.
00:37What you should do is to plant no further than the height of the garden segment.
00:42And therefore that is just this.
00:46It's easier to do that at the backyard level because you're planting just a few plants.
00:51Harder when you're doing that on a big farm, right?
00:54But this is a real guide for a lot of the home growers.
00:59Another important tip is giving each plant enough room to grow.
01:03While it may be tempting to fit as many crops as possible into a small space,
01:08overcrowding, just as it impacts humans, can actually reduce your harvest.
01:13Each type of crop would have their own spacing.
01:15So for example, a kind of a normal spacing for lettuce might be 12 by 12 inches apart, right?
01:25Tomatoes normally may be 18 inches, which is like a foot and a half.
01:30So 18 inches is like this is a foot, 6 inches is somewhere here, okay?
01:38And again, just to the height of the stem.
01:42So this would basically give you the spacing for tomato, for example.
01:46Side might be something like 6 inches, look at here, something like this.
01:50Don't worry, while it's in your backyard space, while it is limiting,
01:54but you don't want to crowd up your plants.
01:57Just as important as spacing is keeping weeds in check,
02:00those unwanted plants aren't just unsightly,
02:03they're competing with your crops for essentials they need to survive.
02:07If you have weeds growing close to the plant within the drip circle,
02:14remember the weeds are competing with the parent plant for food and water and light.
02:21If you get that kind of competition too early in the crop,
02:24usually in the first 6 to 8 weeks,
02:27you stand to lose 25 to 40 percent of what the total yield should be.
02:34Removing weeds early and regularly helps ensure your vegetables and herbs
02:39get the nutrition they need during their most critical stage of growth.
02:43A thriving kitchen garden isn't about planting more,
02:47it's about planting smarter, giving your crops the space they need,
02:51keep weeds under control,
02:52and you'll be well on your way to enjoying a healthier, more productive garden.
02:57Until next time, I am Charlotte Kisto reminding you to be your best self.
03:03Your best self was brought to you by Maybelline New York.
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