How to plant your slk freedom garden starter packs!

Studio Lily Kwong launched the Freedom Gardens initiative as a direct response to the COVID-19 crisis in April 2020 with a vision to reconnect people to growing food and empower our community to grow thriving edible gardens.  We started freedom-gardens.com to offer practical lessons on growing food and to help make gardening resources accessible.  As our community grew, we noticed that many shared the same questions - where do we get seeds and how do we start growing?! 

In response, we wanted to offer tangible resources to help you get started on your own Freedom Gardens!  We are so excited to announce our partnership with Halden, a family-owned company committed to farming quality, non-GMO and organic seeds.  Together, we curated a collection of seeds featuring three Freedom Garden starter kits: Fall Salad Seed Mix, Aromatic Seed Blend, and Flower Power Seed Mix.

FALL SEED MIX

This fall salad starter kit features seven cold weather tolerant, reliable and hardy crops that are packed with nutrients.  In this kit you will find:

• Kale (100 seeds)

• Broccoli (100 seeds)

• Lettuce (100 seeds)  

• Pea (25 seeds)

• Red Beet (100 seeds)

• Radish (100 seeds)

• Carrot (100 seeds)

These seeds should be planted out 8 to 12 weeks before the first fall frost or just before the last spring frost.  All crops can be started indoors for outdoor transplant.  We recommended starting kale, broccoli, and lettuce indoors to be planted as transplants once they become more mature.  Peas, beets, radish, and carrots are great crops to direct sow right outside.  

If you are starting an indoor Freedom Garden, all seeds can be planted directly into planters.  Make sure that the planters you choose have sufficient drainage and are ideally 12 inches deep for kale and broccoli, and at least 6 to 8 inches deep for peas, lettuce, beets, and carrots.  Keep planters near direct sunlight if possible, and make sure that they are at a consistent moisture level - not soaking wet, but damp at all times is a good rule of thumb.

You can expect to see the radishes popping first, after about 4 weeks they should be ready to harvest.  Most lettuce and beet varieties mature in about 7 weeks.  Peas, kale, and carrots should take around 10 to 12 weeks to be ready for harvest.  Broccoli will take the longest at about 15 weeks from seed to harvest.  

Aromatic Seed Blend

This aromatic herb starter kit features 6 kitchen staples that can be grown outdoors in your garden or indoors on your windowsill.  In this kit you will find:

• Parsley (100 seeds)

• Cilantro (100 seeds)

• Mint (100 seeds)

• Basil (100 seeds)

• Oregano (100 seeds)

• Thyme (100 seeds)

These seeds can be planted 8 to 12 weeks before the first fall frost or just before the last spring frost.  You can start all of these herbs indoors and transplant outdoors.  We recommend starting them in the Spring if you are planning to cultivate outside so that you can maximize your harvest window. 

In order to maximize harvest in the fall, you can try and grow them indoors, planting seeds directly into planter pots.  Make sure that each planter is at least 6 to 8 inches deep for best results. The larger the pot, the more soil and nutrients that plant has access to - which makes a happier crop overall. 

You can expect cilantro, parsley, and basil to germinate first, after about 8 to 10 weeks they should be ready to harvest.  Mint, oregano, and thyme take longer to establish and will be ready for harvest at about 12 weeks.

Flower Power Seed Mix

This impressive collection of edible flowers is rich in color and flavor.  Grow these varieties as cut flowers for your tabletop bouquet, dry and brew as a flower power tea, or use as garnishes for your favorite dishes and cocktails.  In this kit you will find:

• Calendula (100 seeds)

• Snapdragon (100 seeds)  

• Stock (100 seeds)

• Marigold (100 seeds)

• Pansy (100 seeds)

• Nasturtium (50 seeds)

These seeds can be planted out 10 to 12 weeks before the first fall frost or just before the last spring frost.  If planting outdoors, we recommend starting these seeds indoors for transplant. Pansy, snapdragon, and stock are wonderful early spring varieties - to maximize harvest, start seeds in the early spring.  Marigold, calendula, and nasturtium thrive in direct sunlight.

To maximize the harvest window during this time of the season, we recommend starting and growing these flowers indoors in planter pots.  Make sure that each planter is at minimum 6 to 8 inches deep.  For more in-depth tips on starting seeds, refer to our lesson on propagation. 

You can expect nasturtium, marigold, and calendula to flower first at about 7 weeks from sowing.  Pansies will take about 10 weeks until they are ready to harvest.  Stock and snapdragons will take the longest out of the kit to mature.  They will be ready to harvest after 14 weeks.   

We are so happy and grateful to be able to share these seeds with you, our community.  The collections were selected for their nourishment, beauty, ease, and reliability.  Each kit is packaged in a plantable box that will grow wildflowers when covered with ⅛ inch of soil and watered.  

We hope that they inspire you to reconnect with your food, health and relationship to the earth and possibly encourage you to start your own Freedom Garden.  Share your garden with us @freedom_gardens!