Bit of Fun,/Brain-tease
gardenjeannie
Posts: 360
My 6 Y O son has decided that this yr he wants to plant an ALPHABETICAL EDIBLE garden in his two old sandpit containers. He has around 15 sq ft, 10" deep, or double when his 11 y o brother gives up! Previously,he has sown seeds and potted out plants without my knowledge, and has done very well, better than when I try to tutor him! Was found, after a panicked search at 2 yo, happily sowing peas far too deep in wee pots, in our garage, not listening to our frantic calls. His grew best that yr!
So, tonight, we have tried to find an edible plant for every letter of the alphabet. He has only fallen down on 2 letters. Some will not grow in his space, so I promised that if he can find all of them, he can have some real space in the open or veg gardens. I will not help him, he has computer use tomorrow to find them, but I thought I would put it out to you all, so he may have more choices once he finishes the task. I filled all, but only by using latin names and one variety name.
The rules are
Some part of the plant MUST be edible, whether raw or cooked (he thought of some usually ornamental plants, eg roses, so hips, and was allowed)
Common Name or Latin name can be used
Variety name only allowed if nothing else available for the letter.
No looking up in books or on internet. Just what you know.
You may be surprised at the plants he has chosen, for his age. I was struggling, hence allowing Latin and variety names. It's harder than you think!
I look forward to your ideas, the more unusual, the better. W has shown so much aptitude/green fingers, that I don't believe in making things too easy for him. He can make his choices, I'll ask for advice if I don't know, but I will essentially leave it to him. Oh, he's autistic, too! Very good at some things, awful at others, but I believe in a challenge, especially if he sets it! So the challenge is set. Don't think about growing conditions, just at least one edible plant for EVERY letter of the alphabet. Bet It's harder than Sudoko!
I will post his original list, with the 2 'looked up' ones, after seeing what you all came up with.
Bit of fun? Brain training! I'm really interested to see what you all come up with!
Posts
Edd- common or Latin name just not variety.
Nasturtium
Vine ( leaf )
Asparagus, beet root, cauliflower, d, egg plant, f, gooseberry, h, i, j, kale, lemon grass, marjoram, n, onion, pea, quince, radish, strawberry, turnip, u, v, white cabbage, x, y, zucchini.
It's still a bit early for me, I have too many gaps and I may have cheated
Panda you can put these on your list
Dwarf bean
Filbert nut
Horseradish
Jerusalem artichoke
Nasturtium
Vine
Yam
Or Panda - how about dandelion - he might not even need to plant that!!
Fig? Iceburg lettuce?
Jalapeno
Nut tree
Vine (for grapes - is that cheating?)
Watermelon
U and X must be the two impossible letters I'm thinking? Ugli fruit may not be very easy to grow in this country!
BB2 Vine is good, we can use the leaves for stuffed vine leaves.
Ugly fruit good shout, I couldn't think of a U. X I've no idea.
W, maybe winter greens
but your watermelon is a good one.
Watermelon is much better than my white cabbage!
Thanks for helping to fill out my effort.
Can't believe I missed out watercress since I'm growing some in the greenhouse this year! Don't think Gardenjeannie's son would have much success growing watermelon anyway up in Scotland, but watercress is a goer!!
BB2 Watercress lol.
I think we are just coming up with names, doesn't have to be growable here.