Planting Guide
Beginner's guide
Your first garden?
Never grown anything before? This is a simple guide to growing food at home in Kuwait and the Gulf. What to plant, when to plant it, and how to keep it healthy. No difficult words.
A note from Alzainah · @itallgrows
Thinking about starting a garden? That makes me happy.
My gardening friends and I have grown organic food in this climate for many years. One thing I wish someone had told me at the start: gardening in the Gulf is different. Advice written for cold, rainy countries often does not work here.
Everything on this page comes from our own seasons and our own results. You can do this.
Know your climate
Four things to know about our climate
Our heat, our sandy soil and our opposite seasons need a different way of gardening. These four points explain most of it.
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Our seasons are the opposite
We plant mostly in autumn and winter (September to April). Summer is for care and preparation, not for planting.
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The sun helps, except in summer
In summer the temperature goes above 50°C. Even plants that love sun may need shade from 11 am to 3 pm.
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Sand alone is not enough
Sand lets water run through too fast and has almost no food for plants. Mix it with potting mix, peat moss or coco peat, and compost.
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Water at the right time
In hot weather, water early in the morning or after sunset. If you water at midday, half of the water dries up before the plant can use it. In mild weather, check the soil first.
The basics
Five rules for your first time
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1
Start small
One or two pots is enough. Try one easy plant. When it works, add more. Many beginners stop because they start with twenty plants at the same time.
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2
Find 4 to 6 hours of sun
A balcony, a roof or a corner of the yard are all fine. A place facing south gets the most sun in winter.
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3
Buy real potting mix
Do not use soil from the yard. A bag of Potting Soil Mix is the easiest way to start. Or mix your own: 1 part compost + 1 part coco peat + 1 part Corlite.
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4
Water well, not every day
Push your finger into the soil. If it is dry, water until water comes out of the bottom of the pot. If it is still wet, do not water. Too much water harms more plants than the heat does.
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5
Plant at the right time
This is the biggest part of success here. Tomatoes planted in May will not survive. Tomatoes planted in October grow easily. Use the calendar below.
Start here
Six plants that are very easy
Easy, fast and rewarding. Choose one and you will harvest in a few weeks.
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Mint
Put a fresh cutting in soil and it grows. Very easy to keep alive.
Likes warm and mild weather -
Basil
Grows from seed in about one week. Loves warm weather.
Likes warm and mild weather -
Arugula
From seed to salad in 25 days. The fastest of all.
Likes warm and mild weather -
Radish
Ready in 30 days. Plant a few seeds every two weeks so you always have some.
Plant a few at a time -
Cherry tomato
Plant ready seedlings in October and pick tomatoes all winter.
Likes warm and mild weather -
Lettuce
Cut the outer leaves and it grows back. It keeps giving for months.
Likes cool and mild weather
Your planting calendar
When to plant what
Choose a month. This calendar comes from many years of growing in Kuwait.
September
The real season starts as the heat goes down
Plant seeds directly outside
- Arugula
- Radish
- Sunflower
- Zucchini
- Corn
- Zinnia
- Pumpkin
- Luffa
- Basil
Special timing
- Start tomato and pepper seedlings in the shade, if you have not already
The days are still hot. Water in the morning and evening, and give young seedlings shade. Birds are hungry now and eat seedlings, so cover them with a net.
October
The best month to start
Plant this month
- Tomato transplants
- Pepper transplants
- Swiss chard
- Carrot
- Radish
- Cilantro
- Parsley
- Kale
The weather is perfect and most vegetables and flowers grow easily. Plant seeds directly in the soil.
November
Cool and perfect for leafy greens
Plant this month
- Lettuce
- Spinach
- Arugula
- Potato
- Coriander
- Radish
A great time for herbs and leafy greens. They grow fast in this mild weather.
December
It is getting cold
Plant this month
- Peas
- Celery
- Lettuce
- Spinach
- Onion
Special timing
- Do not give too much water, and keep the leaves dry when you water
Look out for white powder (powdery mildew) on zucchini, cucumber, pumpkin and zinnia leaves.
January
Very cold
Plant this month
- Peas
- Lettuce
- Garlic
- Onion
- Carrot
Keep planting leafy greens and enjoy the harvest.
February
Getting warmer, time for the second season
Plant this month
- Tomato
- Pepper
- Eggplant
- Cucumber
- Zucchini
- Corn
- Sunflower
- Arugula
Special timing
- Start summer seedlings inside the house now
The last good time to plant warm-season crops before summer.
March
Last chance before the heat
Plant this month
- Okra
- Beans
- Green gourd
- Cucumber
- Zucchini
- New Zealand spinach
- Malabar spinach
- Basil
- Molokhia
- Sesame
- Purslane
Plant crops that love heat now.
April
The heat is rising, summer crops only
Plant this month
- Okra
- Radish
- Sweet potato
- Molokhia
- Purslane
- Sesame
- Malabar spinach
- Green gourd
Special timing
- Give some shade
Only plants that can take the heat. Water more, and cover the soil with mulch to keep it moist.
May
Very hot, more care than planting
Do not plant anything new this month.
Special timing
- Water early morning and late afternoon
Stop new planting and look after what you have. Shade and deep watering are very important.
June
The hottest time, a rest for the garden (and for you)
Do not plant anything new this month.
Special timing
- Work on your compost pile
Most plants cannot take this heat. Use this time to improve your soil and prepare your beds.
July
The hottest month
Plant this month
- Strawberries indoors under lights
- Crops that are slow to sprout
Special timing
- Plan the autumn season, buy seeds, and start strawberries, celery and slow herbs inside the house
Almost no planting now. Keep the soil moist and plan what you will grow in September.
August
End of summer, get ready to start
Plant this month
- Tomato
- Pepper
- Broccoli
- Celery
- Parsley
- Slow-growing flowers
Special timing
- Start seedlings inside the house
Start tomato and pepper seedlings inside the house now, so they are ready to go outside in October.
Learn from others
Mistakes most beginners make
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Watering every day, just in case
Too much water stops the roots from breathing. Check the soil first. Most plants want a good, deep watering every two or three days, not a little water every day.
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Planting tomatoes in spring
Tomatoes need time to grow before the summer heat. Start seeds inside the house under lights in August and move them outside in October, or buy a ready seedling and plant it in October.
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Using garden soil for seedlings
Young seedlings are weak, and garden soil can carry a fungus that makes them fall over (damping off). Use fresh mix, best of all a seed-starting mix.
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Starting in May or June
Use the summer to prepare: buy pots and seeds, mix your soil, and plan the autumn garden. Or try microgreens inside the house. Planting starts in September.
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No drainage holes
Every pot must have holes in the bottom. Roots that sit in water rot in a few days. No holes? Make some, or use Smart Pots, which are made of fabric and let water out through the whole bottom.
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Giving up after one plant does not make it
Every gardener, even the experts, loses plants sometimes. Find out what went wrong and try again. Put the old plant in a bag of compost and it will feed next season's garden.
From my garden
Real harvests from a real garden
Proof that all of this works, from my own home garden here in Kuwait.
Your first week
Your first-week checklist
- Pick one plant from the six above. Only one.
- Buy a pot with holes in the bottom (or a fabric pot), a bag of potting mix, and your seeds or seedling.
- Find a place with 4 to 6 hours of morning sun. The ground, a balcony, a windowsill or the yard are all fine.
- Fill the pot. Plant the seed as deep as the packet says (usually 2 to 3 times the size of the seed), or plant your seedling.
- Water gently until water comes out of the bottom. Then wait.
- Check the soil every day with your finger. Water only when the top few centimetres are dry.
- Take a photo on the first day, then every week. Watch it grow.
- When you harvest, post it and tag @itallgrows. You did it!
Everything on the list, in one place
Happy growing
A beginner's guide by Alzainah Albabtain, @itallgrows.
About us
Plantnmore began with a simple question: Can we grow our own food, here in Kuwait? Today, everything we offer is chosen to help you grow and enjoy food at home in our climate, and in real life. It all grows.