Planning Your Kidney-Friendly Summer Garden

With summertime upon us, it’s the perfect time to start planting your own summer garden. Not only can planting a garden be a fun hobby to get you outdoors, it may also help to save money on produce and can help guarantee the best quality and freshness. Plus, you can choose to plant produce that complements your kidney diet. Starting your own vegetable garden can be as easy as finding the right location with soil and picking out your favorite plants. Here are some easy tips to get your vegetable garden growing soon!

Getting Started

Planning is the first step to creating a successful summer garden. It is okay to start small at the beginning and grow into something larger with time. Vegetable gardens can be started in your yard (existing flower beds, raised beds, newly plowed beds) or in containers (large flower pots, vertical containers). Once you establish where you are going to plant, it’s time to decide what to plant. By starting early in the spring time, seeds can be planted indoors or outside to get the plants started. However, if just getting started now it may be best to pick out vegetable plants at your local gardening or hardware store.

The best low potassium vegetables to plant in your summer garden are:

• Cucumbers, carrots, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, okra, snow peas, spinach, lettuce, peppers, onions, zucchini and radishes

It is also important to consider which fresh herbs you cook with on a regular basis, and add those as well. Using fresh herbs is a great way to add wonderful flavors without adding sodium. Some of the best herbs to plant are:

• Basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley and cilantro

You may even consider building a vertical herb garden as resources allow.

As your vegetable garden grows and begins producing those beautiful vibrant colors throughout the summer, check out some of these delicious kidney-friendly recipes:

• Chicken Fajitas (Peppers, Onions, Cilantro)
• Asian Lettuce Wraps (Lettuce, Peppers, Cucumbers)
• Roasted Vegetable Salad ( Peppers, Zucchini, Rosemary)
• Strawberry Spinach Salad (Spinach, Strawberries)
• Sweet and Sour Cucumbers (Cucumbers)

What are you planting this season?