How To Grow Edible Flowers?
Decorating the dinner table with floral centerpieces has been a tradition for centuries. Some flowers are also used for garnishing the dishes on your dining table. Flowers have always been used to enhance the aesthetic sense of the dining table and dishes.
But hardly a handful of people know that certain flowers can be consumed as a main course too. Yes, you heard us right. Some flowers are edible as well.
Many chefs use edible flowers to cook delicious, nutritious dishes. You can either eat fresh flowers or can even cook them to consume.
One can easily find edible flowers displaying on the shelves of grocery stores. Growing your edible flowers is much better and healthier than buying them from stores. By growing them yourselves, you get a whole new dimension of satisfaction and insurance that the growing flowers are 100% organic and free from harmful chemicals (fertilizers).
But before you learn how to grow edible flowers, first you need to know which flowers are edible and which are not.
HOW TO IDENTIFY EDIBLE FLOWERS?
There is a long list of flowers grown on earth. Every flower represents its uniqueness. Out of this long list, some flowers are edible and can be used for decorating purposes in cooking. Edible flowers add colors and flavor to many dishes.
Adding edible flowers to your dining table seems captivating. But it can become a fatal mistake as many flowers are poisonous when consumed by humans.
Thus, if you are planning to add edible flowers to your diet then be sure enough to discriminate between poisonous flowers and edible flowers.
To be extra sure, you should know the scientific names and physical features of all edible flowers. You can also search the list of edible flowers on the internet and can select which edible flower to grow at home.
Down below we have compiled a list of all the edible flowers that you can grow and enjoy turning into delicious dishes.
LIST OF EDIBLE FLOWERS TO GROW:
Here are some edible flowers that can be consumed by humans.
✓ Hibiscus (used to make tea, jams, and salad)
✓ Dandelion (used for making wine and jelly)
✓ Lavender (used for many purposes e.g., baked goods, liqueurs, and dry spice rubs)
✓ Honeysuckle (the flavorful syrup made from honeysuckle can be used in iced tea and lemonade)
✓ Nasturtium (the flowers are used for garnishing the cakes and pastries and the leaves are used for making salads and pesto)
✓ Borage (used for treating cough and sore throat)
✓ Purslane (provide vitamins and omega-3 fat to consumer)
✓ Rose (used for making jams and jellies)
✓ Pansy (used for decorating desserts)
✓ Chamomile (used for making chamomile tea)
✓ Zucchini Blossoms (use for garnishing and making salads)
✓ Calendula (tastes like saffron)
✓ Sage Flowers (used for garnishing)
✓ Violets (used in iced drinks and salads)
MATERIAL REQUIRED TO GROW EDIBLE FLOWERS:
The following material will be required for growing the edible flowers. You can purchase these things from the market or can order them online.
● Seeds of edible flowers bearing plants
Here is the Bulk package with will last you for long time
Bulk Botanical Flowers Kit, 6 Pack - Edible
SIX BOTANICAL VARIETIES: This Bulk Botanical Flowers Kit by bMAKER comes with six varieties of flowers and buds. Included are six 1.5-cup bags of Jasmine buds, Rosebuds, Pink Rosebuds and petals, Ultra Blue Lavender, Marigold, and Chamomile. These flowers are useful in a wide variety of applications, and you get a great amount of each variety to start with
🌻 EDIBLE AND KOSHER: Each variety of Flowers are edible and kosher-certified, so you can add them to a wide range of products. You can use them for flavor in your food, from stews to baked goods and even teas and beverages. Add a refreshing, floral flavor to just about anything with this diverse flower kit
💐 MAKE YOUR OWN COSMETICS: bMAKER’s Botanical Flowers are also great for your skin, so you can use them to create your own all-natural cosmetics. You can make floral waters, soaps, toners, lotions, and a host of other products with these fresh, natural flowers and buds. Making your own cosmetics and soaps gives you better control over what you put on your skin
🌸 BEAUTIFUL, FRESH PACKAGING: Each botanical variety is packaged separately and contains 1.5 cups of flowers and buds. They are tightly packaged in sealed bags to make sure that they stay fresh for longer. The bags are re-sealable after use. The kit comes packaged in a beautiful gift box, making it a perfect gift for the botanical enthusiast in your life
🌺 BONUS ESSENTIAL OIL INCLUDED: Included with the bMAKER Botanical Flowers Kit is a 2ml bottle of Rose Absolute Essential Oil. This pure essential oil has great moisturizing properties, as well as cleansing properties for oily skin. It makes a great companion to the botanicals included in the kit and can help you create your own skin care products
● Pots for each Variety
Haliluya Indoor Plant Pots 7 inch - 9 Pack
Fulfill Your Multi-size Desire - Your plastic plant pots combine with 4 different sizes, which are suitable for planting most large and medium-sized home/office plants like hibiscus cuttings, geraniums, pothos, cacti, succulents and etc. Package includes: 6 × 7 inch large planters, 1 × 6 inch planter, 1 × 5.5 inch planter, 1 × 5 inch planter
✔ Indoor Modern Decoration – Full white and matte finishing surface plastic plant pots, give off a ceramic look, bringing out a minimalist modern style which make these decorative gardening containers perfect for indoor and outdoor. Moreover, you and your kids can feel free to express the creativity on the pots for plants, blend into the joyment of drawing and painting.
✔ Longlasting for Many Years - Compared to common flimsy plastic pots for plants, Haliluya planters are made of 3mm to 5mm ultra thick sturdy polypropylene, hard to broken, non-toxic and odorless. It makes the plant rotation process much easier and works great around kids or lively animals, great for decorate desktop, shelf, bedroom,windowsill, living room, kitchen, garden, office.
✔ Prolong Lifespan of Plants - The bottom drainage hole is specially designed to let exceed water flow out, and easily poked with any screwdriver or pins.
✔ Set of 9 Great Value - No matter token these as indoor desktop plant pots, hanging decorative planters or gardening flower pots, these plastic plant pots are ideal choice to brighten up your living place.
● Germination trays with a dome
Super Sprouter Premium Propagation Kit with Heat Mat
Super Sprouter 7 in Ultra Clear Vented Dome with built in light track channels
Super Sprouter 18 in high output T5 fluorescent grow light designed for the channeled dome is UL listed
Super Sprouter Double Thick 10 x 20 inch tray with no holes
Super Sprouter Seedling Heat Mat 10 in x 21 in is ETL listed
Art of Propagation booklet with expert advice for starting seedlings and cuttings
● Organic mixture HERE is the list of growing mediums what you can use to grow edible flowers.
RIGHT WAY TO PREPARE GERMINATION TRAY:
✓ As your plan for growing edible flowers collects all the material needed for growing the edible flowers at your home.
✓ Once the material is collected, start preparing the germination trays for sowing the seeds. Prepare 1 germination tray for 1 plant.
✓ Add potting soil to germination trays and spray some amount of water onto them.
✓ Label the trays with the names of plants that bear the edible flowers to prevent mixing.
RIGHT WAY OF SOWING THE SEEDS:
✓ Always use healthy seeds for growing edible flowers.
✓ After soaking for 24 hours, place the seeds in the soil.
✓ Put a tiny amount of soil to cover the seeds.
✓ Spray some amount of water with the help of a spray bottle on the soil.
✓ Cover the germination tray with a dome.
✓ Remove the dome after 24 hours.
× Warning: Do not water the soil until the seeds sprout.
✓ After the seedlings have emerged from the soil, place the germination tray in a location where the sunlight falls directly onto it.
TRANSPLANTING THE SEEDLINGS INTO THE POT:
✓ The pots you are going to use for growing the edible flowers should have proper drainage.
✓ After merging the seedlings from the soil, remove the weaker seedlings from the tray. Keep the healthy and stronger seedlings. Now transfer the seedlings to the pots.
✓ Place the pots outdoors in the garden. There should be enough sunlight falling on pots because edible flowers grow best in full sun.
✓ Water the plants after 2 to 3 days. Do not let the soil dry out completely.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
When the seedlings start growing into plants it is better not to use the pesticide. Because the pesticide will add some dangerous chemicals into the flowers. Which will not be good for your health. You have to scout on the plants to remove the pest by hand. Growing edible flowers is a very sensitive procedure. Because at the end you are going to consume the flowers. So, it's better to stay away from toxic chemicals.
HARVESTING:
The best time for harvesting edible flowers is in the morning. It is because in the morning the edible flowers are turgid because of water content. The petals of the flowers that have been harvested in the morning will stick to each other less.
Harvest only those flowers which are completely opened. Keep harvesting the flowers to promote the growth of more flowers on the plant.
RIGHT WAY OF STORING THE EDIBLE FLOWERS:
✓ Store the edible flowers right after harvesting them. Different methods can be used to store edible flowers.
✓ You can store them in plastic containers. Keep the container away from sunlight.
✓ Before moving them into containers place them on paper towels. Paper towels will keep the edible flowers moist.
✓ The clean flowers can be stored directly. But the dirty flowers need to be cleaned before storing. The delicate leaves of edible flowers can be clean by dipping them into water.
✓ Oil and vinegar can be used as well for storing edible flowers.
× Warning: Pistils and pollens should be removed from the flowers before consumption. This is because some people can be allergic to pollen.
✓ Edible flowers can also be stored in ice cubes. These ice cubes then can be added to drinks for additional flavor.
HOW SHOULD YOU CONSUME EDIBLE FLOWERS?
Edible flowers can be consumed as a whole or you can prepare them to eat.
Few edible flowers can be consumed as a whole but many of the edible flowers need to be prepared before eating.
The edible flowers that can be eaten as a whole are:
✓ Squash blossoms
✓ Nasturtium
✓ Viola
Other than these 3 flowers other edible flowers cannot be eaten as a whole. You have to cook them before consumption.
Edible flowers can be consumed with cakes and salad. There are many ways by which you can consume edible flowers.
Salads made with microgreens and edible flowers would be the best combination for your dining table. There is a variety of salads in which microgreens and edible flowers are mixed. Microgreens and edible flowers complement each other in salads.
PRECAUTIONS WHEN CONSUMING EDIBLE FLOWERS:
You need to take care of some precautionary measures before deciding to eat edible flowers.
● A person who has asthma or pollen allergy should not eat edible flowers.
● Be very sure about the edible flowers you have bought from the market before consuming them.
● it is safer to eat edible flowers as a food garnishing than eating them as a whole.
● If you are planning to give edible flowers to children, introduce them into small quantities.
● Never use pesticides when growing edible flowers at home.
● If you are going to grow edible flowers with heavy pollen, use a face mask made of cotton.
● If you want to add edible flowers to the salads or for decorating the cakes it is better to not purchase them from the florists and nurseries. It is because there is less chance that they did not spray the pesticides on them.
CONCLUSION:
Centuries ago, people preferably cooked certain flowers to gain maximum nutrients and health benefits. Later it became famous for garnishing the deserts due to their bright colors. Even now, famous chefs utilize flowers in their dishes either as a main ingredient or just for garnishing.
Edible flowers are becoming popular among people all across the globe because of their potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds and easy-to-grow nature. The edible flowers that are grown in small containers are usually rich in vitamin C and vitamin A.
Edible flowers are also considered a good alternative to salt and sugar. As the edible flowers have vibrant, rich colors, they make the best companion of desserts. The cakes and sweets that are decorated with edible flowers look amazing to the eyes.
With just a little care and attention, you can grow several vibrant edible flowers with an unlimited flow of nutrients and antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.