WANTED: Edibles (veggies, herbs, etc.) for kids

9 years ago

I am looking for seeds to grow edibles. Particularly, vegetables and herbs. My husband and I have five kids, and we are going to begin home schooling at the end of the current school year. Our finances are limited, so we're hoping to trade our way into more variety in the garden.. This is our first year gardening, so we are starting fresh. I have a number of different seeds right now, but most are in such small quantities that I only have enough to plant, and not trade. I do have some seeds to trade (listed below). Here's an idea of what we're looking for...

My 12 year old wants to grow different varieties of cucumber so she can try various pickling recipes to see which she likes best. She has also asked if we can grow all the ingredients we need to make our own spinach and artichoke dip, and salsa.

My 10 year old is a chef in the making. He wants to try new recipes to showcase what we grow. He will also be building his very own herb garden this summer. He is willing to try just about anything if it means trying out a new recipe.

My 8 year old is excited to grow anything and everything. She's willing to try it all, regardless of how mundane or exotic it may be. She's already planning a schedule to water and weed the garden we haven't planted yet. If it's yellow, that's a bonus.

My 4 year old has asked me to gather as many purple things as I can find. So far I think I've done alright... but I'm sure there's more out there than eggplant and purple carrots.

I don't have a lot of seeds to trade, but I do have bell pepper seeds (red, orange, and yellow, as well as mixed mini bell pepper seeds), some cucumber seeds, some broccoli, and lettuce. I think I have some spare Cherokee Purple tomato seeds too. Hopefully we will have even more varieties to trade next year once we can harvest some seeds from what we grow this year.

Would anyone be interested in trading with me, and helping to encourage some kids to grow, cook and eat their own food?

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Comments (6)

aquawise
9 years ago
I woulds share some seeds for postage !!

Here is a link that might be useful: Trade list
stefaniechamo_gw
9 years ago
I will also give you seeds for some postage, I have cilandro, dill, cumin for your little chef, and cucumber marketmore 76, also I have some spinach to spare as well :) email me if interested
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Amanda Wenger
9 years ago
I have some purple shiso/Perilla that I'd be willing to send for cost of postage--your purple fan will love it (purple's my favorite color, too!), and it's a great herb for pickling (pickle the leaves themselves or add the seeds as a seasoning) as well as for your aspiring chef's recipes.

A tip for your pickler: grow some plants that are rich in tannins--"tannic acid keeps pickles crisp if you're lacto-fermenting them. My favorite is horseradish (the leaves are a good source of tannins and the root gives pickle flavor a marvelous kick), but grape leaves, raspberry leaves, bay leaves, and even the perilla I'm offering all work. Oak is too tannic unless you use it extremely sparingly. Alternatively, drop a teabag into your pickling brine. :)

Of all the skills your kids learn in homeschooling, I would argue that learning how to provide food for themselves is one of the most important.
xiangirl zone 4/5 Nebraska
9 years ago
You're doing everything right on this website.
When you receive seeds be sure and post on the Rate and Review Site. Others will do the same for you.
I've got some seeds I can send you if you'll send me your address (in an email). We don't want people putting their addresses out here in the public spaces.
Have you looked into saving seeds for next year? That's as exciting as growing the stuff to eat. Then you have something to trade. There are different ways to save and label seeds on this website that will help, too.
Plant some flowers in your garden, too. Blooming flowers encourage pollinators like bees to come and then you get more tomatoes, beans or whatever you're trying to grow.
Heidi in Nebraska
graceann82
9 years ago
I have straight-eight cucumbers, dill(to make pickles) columbine(large colorful flowers), peas, cilantro, parsley, and a bag of miracle gro(it makes plants grow bigger!) I would love some broccoli and lettuce! Please email me at graceann82@gmail.com for a trade!
followingadream
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you for all of the wonderful and generous replies! For some reason, not all of the replies came to my email, so I apologize for the delay in responding to some of you. I emailed everyone back!

Yes, we plan to be seed savers, so we can trade and plant more next year, or donate to other people looking to start gardening... or maybe to a community garden. I keep coming back to this site and finding there's always something new that I didn't see before (or didn't have time to check out). I hope to learn all kinds of things here and check out lots of forums and pick up tips and hints as we go. Maybe in the future, in turn we can mentor someone else. We're also experimenting with multiple gardening techniques including indoor container gardening, aquaponics (over the fish tank), and of course, outdoor gardening too... It's all a lot of fun, and the kids are having a blast (and it's not even warm enough to plant outside yet)!