What’s Growing in your Kitchen?
I know the first thing you probably think about when you read this title is the leftover fruit from breakfast or the slices of pizza from the Big Game parties, but in actuality, I’m not talking about organization, cleaning out your kitchen or even disinfecting your counters. Instead, I’m focusing today on things that can grow in your kitchen that will help you survive the gray days of winter.
What’s growing in your Kitchen?
I have never been able to keep anything green in my house. My outside gardens usually look pretty nice. But I am the person with the black thumb that has easily been able to kill even the hardiest indoor plants or ivy.
But this winter, I’m doing really well! I have found four solutions that are helping me keep something growing all winter long! Here are a few of my ways that I am growing beauty on my counter.
Aerogarden:
Back in November I started growing an indoor herb garden on my kitchen counter with the Aerogarden
Right now I’m in the middle of growing cascading petunias. I should have beautiful flowers in about a week or two! The Aeorgarden is a water based system that uses a special grow bulb to provide the sunlight needed to help the flowers and plants grow.
Aquafarm:
Another way I have added growing things to my kitchen is the addition of a small 3 quart Aquafarm. This is a fish tank for a single betta fish with a plant tray on top. The AquaFarm is a self-cleaning fish tank that grows food! The natural waste produced by the fish is pumped up to the plants, and broken down into nutrients the plants need to grow. The clean water then cycles back down to the fish tank, creating a sustainable tabletop ecosystem. You can enter to win your own Aquafarm.
Hyacinth Bulb:
I purchased a hyacinth bulb from ALDI a few weeks ago. It was nestled in a small glass jar and growing in water. I was skeptical that it would actually bloom, but decided that for $2.99, it was a gamble worth taking. In just about a week I had a beautiful, fragrant pink hyacinth in full bloom in my kitchen window.
This hyacinth has gotten me curious about how to force blooms for other spring bulbs. I know that many people do grow spring flowers like daffodils, tulips, paperwhites and crocuses during the winter months. I’m planning to try a few other bulbs in the next few weeks.
Solar Flower:
For those of you who really can’t keep anything green and growing on your kitchen counter, then maybe you should purchase a Dancing Solar Flower
I have been talking to my Grandmother who has started a full collection of dancing flowers and animals. At last count, she has 9 of these solar dancers– all different colors, animals and holidays. You can purchase them for just a couple bucks at most dollar stores.
So what do you have growing in your kitchen? Got anything of beauty bringing color to the drab days of February? I’d love to hear your tips for keeping something green in the house!
I enjoyed reading your piece in our Danville Ky yesterday on green things in the kitchen. I’d like to suggest growing sprouts,. I Googled a Mother Earth News article that tells about the nutritional value and how to sprout seeds but the way I would do it was very simple…I used a large glass mason jar. Cover bottom of jar with a couple of inches of mung, alfalfa, radish or radish seeds from a health food store. Cover and soak seeds with water for a few minutes. Create a sieve out of a piece cut from a clean stocking big enough to fit over the mouth of the jar and secure it by screwing on the metal ring. Pour the water out. Place the jar horizontal in a dark kitchen cabinet with the seeds resting evenly on the long side. Once a day rinse seeds and swish them around and drain water out through the mesh and lay the jar down in the cabinet again. You should have a crop in three or four days!