Eu gosto de cultivar uma horta.

Because the verb gostar normally requires the preposition de in Portuguese.

So:

• Eu gosto de cultivar uma horta. = I like growing a vegetable garden.
• Eu gosto de música. = I like music.
• Ela gosta de viajar. = She likes traveling.

For an English speaker, this can feel unusual because English just says I like + noun/verb. In Portuguese, with gostar, you usually need de.

Gosto is the first-person singular form of the verb gostar in the present tense.

• eu gosto = I like

Some related forms:

• eu gosto = I like
• você gosta = you like
• ele/ela gosta = he/she likes
• nós gostamos = we like
• eles/elas gostam = they like

So Eu gosto de... is a very common pattern meaning I like...

Yes. In Brazilian Portuguese, you can often omit the subject pronoun when the meaning is clear.

So both of these work:

• Eu gosto de cultivar uma horta.
• Gosto de cultivar uma horta.

Including eu can add emphasis, clarity, or contrast:

• Eu gosto de cultivar uma horta, mas meu irmão não. = I like growing a vegetable garden, but my brother doesn’t.

Because after gostar de, Portuguese commonly uses the infinitive to talk about liking an activity.

So:

• gosto de cultivar = I like to grow / I like growing
• gosto de cozinhar = I like cooking
• gosto de ler = I like reading

English often uses either to grow or growing. Portuguese typically uses the infinitive:

• gostar de + infinitive

Horta usually means a vegetable garden or kitchen garden, a place where you grow things like lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, and other edible plants.

This is different from jardim, which usually means garden in the sense of an ornamental garden, with flowers or landscaping.

So:

• horta = vegetable/herb garden
• jardim = flower garden / yard garden / ornamental garden

Uma is the indefinite article, meaning a or an.

• uma horta = a vegetable garden

Portuguese often uses articles in places where English might or might not use them, depending on style and meaning. Here, uma horta sounds natural because it refers to a garden in a general sense.

You might also hear:

• Eu gosto de cultivar hortas. = I like growing vegetable gardens.
• Eu gosto de cultivar a horta. = I like cultivating the vegetable garden.
  This sounds more specific, as if a particular garden is already known.

Yes. Uma can mean either a/an or one, depending on context.

In this sentence, it most naturally means a:

• uma horta = a vegetable garden

If you wanted to strongly emphasize the number one, context or intonation would usually make that clear.

Yes, but the most natural neutral order is:

• Eu gosto de cultivar uma horta.

You could also say:

• Gosto de cultivar uma horta.

Other word orders are possible in special contexts, but they may sound marked or poetic rather than neutral everyday speech.

For a learner, the safest pattern is:

• Subject + gostar de + infinitive + object

No. That would sound incorrect in standard Portuguese.

With gostar, you normally need de:

• Eu gosto de cultivar uma horta. ✅
• Eu gosto cultivar uma horta. ❌

This is one of the most important things to remember about gostar.

Yes, it is natural and correct.

It sounds like something a person might say when talking about hobbies or interests:

• Eu gosto de cultivar uma horta.

Depending on the situation, Brazilians might also say similar things like:

• Eu gosto de cuidar da horta. = I like taking care of the vegetable garden.
• Eu gosto de plantar verduras. = I like planting vegetables.
• Eu gosto de mexer na horta. = I like working in the garden.

But your original sentence is perfectly natural.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

• eh-ooh GOS-too djee kool-tee-VAR OO-ma OR-ta

A few notes:

• Eu is often pronounced something like eh-ooh or yoo, depending on accent and speed.
• gosto has stress on GOS
• de before cultivar often sounds like djee in many Brazilian accents
• horta has a silent h
• stress in horta is on HOR

A more natural connected pronunciation may sound closer to:

• Eu gosto de cultivá uma horta in fast casual speech, though the full form is still cultivar.

They are related, but not identical.

• plantar = to plant
• cultivar = to cultivate, grow, raise, tend

So:

• plantar uma horta can suggest starting the garden by planting it
• cultivar uma horta suggests growing and maintaining it over time

In your sentence, cultivar works well because it refers to the whole activity of growing a vegetable garden, not just the moment of planting.

Yes. The present tense in Portuguese often expresses a general preference, not only something happening at this exact moment.

So:

• Eu gosto de cultivar uma horta.

usually means:

• I like growing a vegetable garden.
• I enjoy cultivating a vegetable garden.

It describes a general taste or hobby, not necessarily an action happening right now.

You need de with both.

Examples with nouns:

• Eu gosto de café. = I like coffee.
• Ela gosta de música brasileira. = She likes Brazilian music.

Examples with verbs:

• Eu gosto de cultivar uma horta. = I like growing a vegetable garden.
• Nós gostamos de cozinhar. = We like cooking.

So a very useful rule is:

• gostar de + noun
• gostar de + infinitive