by Sarah Halonen and Margaret Law, Volunteers
Kitchen gardens are present throughout human history, and exist in many forms around the world today. By definition, the kitchen garden is a small cultivated plot, situated close to the kitchen, that provides vegetables, herbs, and often fruit for a family’s table. The variety of plants grown in the earliest kitchen gardens was dependent on the locality.
Now, let’s imagine a kitchen garden in the most literal sense: a crop borne of the kitchen pantry!
In quest of the easiest available and most accessible seeds for your “kitchen garden” mid-pandemic, look no further than your kitchen seed bank: in the spice cupboard, pantry, and even fridge! How much more local can you get?
Some common seeds you may find in your kitchen seed bank:
Spice cupboard: mustard, black pepper, cumin, cardamom, coriander, fennel, dill
Pantry: dried lentils, chickpeas, beans, peas
Fridge: citrus, apple, papaya, avocado, squash, grape, tomato
So, how to plant your kitchen seeds to grow your very own “kitchen garden”? Here are some family-friendly fun ways:
Kitchen Seed Propagation
Planting Seeds from the Fruit you Eat
And here are some creative ways to use up an overabundance of kitchen seeds:
Kitchen Seed Art
Seed Mosaic Build A Flower Activity
Bean Art Animals Inspired by Dolittle
Fine-tune your Fine Motor Skills
Seed Science
How Many Seeds in a Squash – Estimation Fun
