Did you know that astronauts on the International Space Station plant their own garden, and grow food while they are in space? Their “garden” area is named Veggie, and it has continued to be utilized since first installed in 2014.
You can read more about how astronauts grow plants in space, and then plant your own Astronaut garden here on Earth. I bet it will be a little easier to manage in your backyard instead of 200+ miles up in the sky!
Begin by picking your favorites from some of the seeds that astronauts have grown (affiliate links):
For my Astronaut garden I selected 2 varieties of lettuce, 2 varieties of Zinnias, and some Red Russian Kale.
In my area, folklore dictates that outdoor planting takes place after Derby Day (the 1st Saturday in May). So even though our “safe” frost date is still a few weeks away, I was anxious to direct-sow these into a raised bed that is special for this garden. I’ll be keeping a good eye on the weather over the next few weeks, and will cover the bed with frost cloth if needed.
I used plant markers so I would remember where I planted, and then I also decorated my Astronaut garden with “moon rocks,” a small flag stone, and a solar powered globe.
The lettuces and kale seeds I selected have very short germination times – so I will be harvesting very soon! I plan to make a large summer salad, and have a date night under the stars.
p.s. After planting our Astronaut Garden, it continued to be a space-focused week in our home. Over 4 days, we watched the 4 episodes of the Netflix documentary Challenger: The Final Flight. (If you haven’t seen it, I strongly encourage the viewing. We are completely overwhelmed by the “behind the scenes” events surrounding the Challenger disaster.)
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My kids will love this! We have a small raised garden bed on our back porch. I’ll save some space for their astronaut garden 🙂
Plant markers are essential. I use them when I plant flowers, too, so I know how to care for each since they all have different water requirements.
I love this! My sons going to really enjoy doing this with me. Lots of great info!
I didn’t know they grew veggies in space! What a cool new fact 😆
I love this! Now I have to give the space garden a try.
What a fun idea! Ilove veggie gardens!
I’ve never heard of an astronaut garden before – what a great idea (to plant one here on Earth, lol)!
This is so cool! What a great idea to try here on earth. We homeschool and I’ll definitely be researching and talking about this veggie space garden with the kids. We’re excitedly planning and preparing our garden here in Michigan right now.
This was great information. I had no idea astronauts had gardens in space. I am inspired to start my own. I just have to get hubby to build a large fence to keep the deer away.
I didn’t know they had a garden on the International Space Station – I guess it makes sense. Very interestting.
I’ll have to check out the Challenger episodes on Netflix. My son is obsessed with space. Whenever the international space station can be seen overhead, we are outside looking for it. What a fun idea to create an astronaut garden! My kids would love this.
This is such a fun idea! I’d love a space garden.
I miss gardening. Unfortunately, we haven’t been in a place to garden for the last two years, but are planning a move next month. If things go as planned, we should be back to gardening next year.