March 3, 2023

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, we began to grow and donate flowers. Our friends at Cedar Lake farm donated two rows of Snapdragons and Zinnias. The flowers were truly beautiful, and we were able to send them home as gifts of thanks to our wonderful volunteers as well as send them to our food pantry partners to spark a little joy during an especially challenging time. 

This season, to regain a sense of normalcy, and to better align with our mission, we have planted an edible flower plot. 

Edible flowers are a fun way to spice up your cooking, and get kiddos excited about eating the food beneath the beatify flowers. Our field trip students test tastes the flowers straight out of the garden, but they can also be eaten on salads, jellies, jams, teas, and minced into herb butters. When eating an edible flower, we typically recommend that students eat the petals and remove the interior part of the flower (anthers and pistils) as they can be a bit bitter. 

 Our Edible Flowers: 

  •  Borage- Blossoms and Leaves have a cool, faint cucumber taste. They taste great in punches, lemonade, sorbets, soups, and dips
  • Pansies- Their flavor isn’t strong so they work with lots of different kinds of dishes, sweet or savoury.
  • Sunflowers – The individual petals and whole young flower buds are edible and come in a surprising range of oranges and yellows. Their nutty flavor works beautifully in salads.
  • Marigolds- can be used as a substitute for saffron, and have a citrus flavor that is great on salads.
  • Basil – an herb in the mint family that is essential in Italian cooking, although it is also used in a variety of other types of cuisines including Thai, Indonesian, and Vietnamese. It is known for being the main ingredient in traditional pesto and is also a favorite seasoning in tomato-based pasta sauces.
  • Lavender – best known for its distinctive fragrance, and its calming effects. Lavender in a great addition to baked goods, syrups, and herbal teas.
  • Nasturtium – a culinary favorite because of the brightly colored blossoms and savory flavors.

* Please remember, that consuming edible flowers at the JK Community Farm is safe because we do not use chemicals but that may not be true if you find them in nurseries, garden centers, or on the road side.