Bringing the Garden Indoors

Want to start your own garden at home without walking out the front door? Zombie gardening is a fun and easy way to grow fresh vegetables on your windowsill or countertop using leaves and trimmings from your favorite produce, including celery, lettuce, cabbage, lemongrass, onion bulbs, and more! To bring these vegetables and herbs back to life, leave about 1” of the stem attached at the base of the plant, then place the scrap into a shallow dish of water, with the root end facing down. Refresh the water regularly. See all the delicious greens you can revive with this simple guide from GSF Garden Educator and Master Gardener Brie Wakeland.

 Cook and Learn with Us!

Right now, we're enjoying experimenting with easy-to-find ingredients like carrots, which stay fresh in the fridge for 3-4 weeks. Our Carrot Tacos are a flavor-packed camp favorite while our Quick Carrot Kimchi will add a blast of nutrients and spice to your stews, rice dishes, eggs, and more. For more recipe inspiration, check out @thatvegetablelady’s virtual cooking classes.

Looking for ways to get creative outside the kitchen? 

• Create a custom Bird Feeder and discover how birds survive during different seasons.

• Get up close and personal with worms by penning your own Worm Biography.

We LOVE seeing pictures of your family engaging with our Seed to Table activities so please tag @gardenschoolfoundation when sharing your at-home GSF-inspired adventures! 

Reflections from the Field: Annalee Avenue Elementary

Now more than ever we’re thinking about the soothing and generative powers of the natural world, from flowers to trees to the little bursts of chickweed along the sidewalk. Last September GSF held its first Seed to Table classes at Annalee Avenue Elementary in Carson. “Students helped with the entire process of growing the garden,” says Garden Educator Dana Swarth. “They emptied hundreds of bags of potting soil into raised beds, started seeds in fresh soil, and watered the plants.” When LAUSD schools closed in early March, the Annalee garden boasted radishes, beets, carrots, lettuce, broccoli, basil, mint, cilantro, tomatoes, and sunflowers. “Started from seed in October, our sunflowers grew over 6 feet tall by February,” says Ms. Dana. “They had massive, 1-foot diameter heads full of seeds. Most students have only eaten salted sunflower seeds out of a bag, so it was amazing showing them how the seeds were produced with the help of bees, and watching them eat seeds fresh from the flower. Getting to share these experiences with students has been such a special part of teaching at Annalee.”