Kitchen Gardening - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

genuinegirly · 02-24-2011, 01:13 PM

Ever planted a sprouting potato?
How about some beans?

Share your stories about your kitchen garden!

Here's a fun article about raiding your pantry to grow a kitchen garden. Snippets below, but full article can be found at the following web address:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/garden/24seed.html

Quote:

Seeds Straight From Your Fridge

By MICHAEL TORTORELLO
Feb. 23, 2011

What I was imagining was a kitchen garden in the most literal sense: a crop borne of the pantry instead of the usual seed catalog.

For generation after generation of farmers, the staple crops we ate at the table — wheat and barley, maize and beans — were the same seeds we sowed in the fields. They were descendants of the first semi-wild crops that had more or less “ ‘volunteered’ for domestication,” as Peter Thompson, the British conservationist, wrote in his 2010 book, “Seeds, Sex and Civilization.” These seeds “germinated rapidly, completely, and at low temperatures.”

Today’s farmers, with their pedigree seeds, grow foods that are bigger and more bountiful than the peasant crops of the past. The viability of the seeds these cereals, legumes, fruits and vegetables produce, though, is an afterthought.

Avocado is a gateway seed — a way station on the path from horticultural dabbler to gardening addict. The pit, the toothpicks, the glass of water: this is seed germination at its most intoxicating.

Though they are invasive in the wild, water chestnuts won’t thrive indoors without an aquarium or a fishbowl, he said. But plenty of other seeds that look appetizing in the produce aisle also look attractive in a planter.

Once you invite a papaya seed to sprout, it will make itself at home. In tropical weather and full sunlight, a papaya plant will shoot up six feet before its first birthday.

“I’ve seen papayas fruit in a home,” he added. “Granted, the thing was like eight feet tall.”

Looking at an old bag of dried beans, it’s hard to imagine a handsome plant. Yet the pigeon pea will develop “beautiful silvery” foliage, Mr. Hachadourian said. And in the “fall to early winter, it will cover itself in bright yellow blossoms.”

“If the plant gets up to size,” Mr. Hachadourian said, “you just get a new one.” In other words, time to start snacking again.

I've shared my thoughts on the topic below, I hope others will share their stories as well.
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I've always been a big fan of planting kitchen waste. The affection for the process grew out of our family's backyard compost heap and the frequent volunteer plants we would obtain each spring. Tomatoes, potatoes, squash, and more - there was always something growing out of that fertile mess.

I took the concept with me to college at Berkeley, snatching the sprouting onions and potatoes from the pantry and planting them in our co-op garden.

In graduate school in Ohio, I find myself saddened at the long wintertimes without my usual plants. I stroll through the greenhouses and long for one of my own, then head home to my countertop hydroponic system that provides me with fresh basil and chives.

I have enjoyed the greenery that sprouts from the seeds collected from a canteloupe and butternut squash - even when the poor lighting doesn't allow them to produce fruit, they still liven up the front walk to our apartment. When I ran out of pots, I poked holes in old paint cans, then added colorful designs with oil paints, which could stand up to the unrelenting, life-giving rain.

I love taking unassuming kitchen scraps and giving them a place to grow.

Charlatan · 02-24-2011, 03:39 PM

I live in an apartment and don't have a lot of space to grow things. The only things I keep are a couple of herb plants (rosemary, basil, oregano) but they keep dying.

I have an onion that's sprouting in one my produce baskets. Maybe I should try planting it.

settie · 02-24-2011, 05:28 PM

iiiiiiiiiii

spindles · 02-24-2011, 06:21 PM

I have an avocado tree in the backyard that sprouted from a seed - it is 7 or 8 feet tall, but hasn't fruited yet - I've heard they aren't very productive for quite a few years, but I'm not in a hurry.

We also have tomato that just sprout every year - my wife has planted ones this year as well, but still got the ones that just appeared in the compost heap.

We don't do the inside growing - I have more than enough yard space and nice enough weather all year round, so the growing happens outdoors.

snuggy · 02-25-2011, 06:06 AM

I have grown sesame, mustard and cilantro plants with the seeds. They grew very fast and had very short life. Planning to plant sprouted potato & onions. Let me try my luck and let you guys know the status.

snowy · 02-26-2011, 08:04 AM

I didn't have time to garden last summer...planning my wedding kind of took up all the time I would've normally spent mucking around in the dirt.

I've used lentils to grow sprouts as a science project for kids. Same with other beans and peas. If you buy them from the local hippie co-op like I do, they'll sprout quite well. Actually, I'm thinking of doing a plant-related science demo for my kiddos at school.

My big project for this year is to get all my planters cleaned up, fill them with good soil, and plant yummy things, be they from my kitchen or elsewhere. We have a huge garden-garden at my house, but because of the way the garden is situated, I have to spend a significant amount of time each year beating back English ivy and Himalayan blackberry. We also have an enormous hedge (more like a forest) of laurel that has to go before I can ever hope to grow anything in the backyard. It's a project that's going to take years--taking out the laurel, removing some of the soil, tilling in new soil, building raised beds, etc.--but we'll get there.

ASU2003 · 03-01-2011, 02:15 PM

I have a 12'x10' garden that I grow raspberries and strawberries in. I will have to work on this when I get back to OH. They are easy to grow, you know when they are ready, the bees like them, and the raspberry plants don't need very much weeding.

One tip, spend the money on a plastic or non-rusting fence. Don't try and use wood and spend hours painting it just to have it peel two years later....

I think it would be an interesting idea to have people in the 'small'* cities be able to buy 'gardens' on a farmer's field. (*small = drive 5 or 10 minutes and you are in the farm fields). 1/8th of an acre = $50/year, 1/4acre = $90/year. Ownership of an apple tree on a apple farm = $70... They get to plant what they want, they get to harvest it when the time comes, and they can get advice from the farmers who have been doing this for a while.

I've never had a papaya, but would be interested in growing a cheap indoor plant that could get 4-8' tall, it would be better if it didn't need very much sun either. Do you know which plants from the grocery store are able to be planted versus the ones that aren't able to sprout anymore?

genuinegirly · 03-01-2011, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASU2003

Do you know which plants from the grocery store are able to be planted versus the ones that aren't able to sprout anymore?

That's the fun of it - it's a crapshoot.
99/100 apple seeds will give you worthless crabapple-like junk if they even produce anything at all. With peaches, plums, cherries & apricots you're likely to get a really nasty excuse for a stone fruit, those rarely work out into something truly delicious.

Avocados are great. They sprout easily, they grow up quickly with nice big leaves, though without aggressive trimming they will be too tall for your house before they produce good fruit.

Ginger is usually pretty successful, though you'll want to go for the healthiest-looking rhizome you can find. It won't grow a tree by any means, and you likely won't see it flower unless you have the conditions just right, but they do make pretty foliage.

02-24-2011, 03:39 PM	#2 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	I live in an apartment and don't have a lot of space to grow things. The only things I keep are a couple of herb plants (rosemary, basil, oregano) but they keep dying. I have an onion that's sprouting in one my produce baskets. Maybe I should try planting it. __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

02-24-2011, 05:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
settie Junkie	iiiiiiiiiii Last edited by settie; 03-25-2016 at 04:56 AM..

02-24-2011, 06:21 PM	#4 (permalink)
spindles Mine is an evil laugh Location: Sydney, Australia	I have an avocado tree in the backyard that sprouted from a seed - it is 7 or 8 feet tall, but hasn't fruited yet - I've heard they aren't very productive for quite a few years, but I'm not in a hurry. We also have tomato that just sprout every year - my wife has planted ones this year as well, but still got the ones that just appeared in the compost heap. We don't do the inside growing - I have more than enough yard space and nice enough weather all year round, so the growing happens outdoors. __________________ who hid my keyboard's PANIC button?

02-26-2011, 08:04 AM	#6 (permalink)
snowy Kick Ass Kunoichi Location: Oregon	I didn't have time to garden last summer...planning my wedding kind of took up all the time I would've normally spent mucking around in the dirt. I've used lentils to grow sprouts as a science project for kids. Same with other beans and peas. If you buy them from the local hippie co-op like I do, they'll sprout quite well. Actually, I'm thinking of doing a plant-related science demo for my kiddos at school. My big project for this year is to get all my planters cleaned up, fill them with good soil, and plant yummy things, be they from my kitchen or elsewhere. We have a huge garden-garden at my house, but because of the way the garden is situated, I have to spend a significant amount of time each year beating back English ivy and Himalayan blackberry. We also have an enormous hedge (more like a forest) of laurel that has to go before I can ever hope to grow anything in the backyard. It's a project that's going to take years--taking out the laurel, removing some of the soil, tilling in new soil, building raised beds, etc.--but we'll get there. __________________ If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

03-01-2011, 02:15 PM	#7 (permalink)
ASU2003 immoral minority Location: Back in Ohio	I have a 12'x10' garden that I grow raspberries and strawberries in. I will have to work on this when I get back to OH. They are easy to grow, you know when they are ready, the bees like them, and the raspberry plants don't need very much weeding. One tip, spend the money on a plastic or non-rusting fence. Don't try and use wood and spend hours painting it just to have it peel two years later.... I think it would be an interesting idea to have people in the 'small'* cities be able to buy 'gardens' on a farmer's field. (small = drive 5 or 10 minutes and you are in the farm fields). 1/8th of an acre = $50/year, 1/4acre = $90/year. Ownership of an apple tree on a apple farm = $70... They get to plant what they want, they get to harvest it when the time comes, and they can get advice from the farmers who have been doing this for a while. I've never had a papaya, but would be interested in growing a cheap indoor plant that could get 4-8' tall, it would be better if it didn't need very much sun either. Do you know which plants from the grocery store are able to be planted versus the ones that aren't able to sprout anymore? Last edited by ASU2003; 03-01-2011 at 02:21 PM..*

02-25-2011, 06:06 AM	#5 (permalink)
snuggy Banned	I have grown sesame, mustard and cilantro plants with the seeds. They grew very fast and had very short life. Planning to plant sprouted potato & onions. Let me try my luck and let you guys know the status.