A relatively unusual “style” of pond that is increasing as people become more interested in self-sufficiency, local food production, and sustainability, is the concept of a kitchen garden pond. While any garden that produces food is, in reality, a kitchen garden, using a pond to produce interesting vegetables or salad greens for your home not only offers interest and beauty, but a veritable culinary adventure!
Kitchen garden ponds should be set up and maintained like a regular pond, including a liner, biological filtration and a pump, but it’s better to exclude fish and discourage wildlife access as much a possible—possible contamination from visiting birds, mammals, including animal excrement isn’t likely something you’d like to be concerned about. Locate your pond away from roads, buildings, or other places that are exposed to concentrated pollutants. Even so, it’s a good practice to carefully wash/rinse your harvest, especially if you intend to eat it raw.
Three Familiar Examples
Watercress (Nasturtium officinale)
Watercress is a perennial pond plant, easy to grow in ponds with some moving water, and is already a popular food among nutrition advocates. In fact, it scores a perfect 1000 on the ANDI scale, right beside kale, meaning it has the highest nutrient density possible and outcompetes most popular superfoods like blueberries, edamame, and even spinach. We could go on and on about the wonders of watercress, but we’ll leave that research to you.
Like other members of the nasturtium family, watercress features spicy, peppery leaves and can be eaten raw, mixed into a smoothie, serve as the foundation of a fresh salad, or add a pleasant bite to a pilaf. Even better, watercress can be frozen without any loss of nutrients, so harvest a bunch before warm weather ends and keep a supply on hand to carry you through the winter.
Chinese Water Chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis)
It’s unfortunate that Chinese water chestnuts prefer tropical or sub-tropical regions (USDA zones 9-12), because freshwater chestnuts are surprisingly flavorful, crunchy morsels sometimes described as sweet, nutty and tart all at once, somewhat like a cross between a coconut and an apple, with the texture of an Asian pear. Sounds delectable, no?
Water chestnuts are tall plants, reaching up to 3 feet, so keep that in mind if you add them to the edge of your pond. The underground corm is the edible part -- harvest it in the winter after the leaves have turned brown. Water chestnuts can be eaten raw, boiled, grilled, or pickled. They remain crisp after cooking, which makes them great candidates for stir fry. The corms can also be dried and used to thicken sauces.
Wasabi (Wasabia japonica)
Wasabi is well known as that green paste that accompanies sushi rolls and sashimi. However, you may be surprised to hear that most “wasabi” sold outside of Japan is powdered or pureed horseradish mixed with artificial coloring. Real wasabi is served freshly grated to capture its unique herby, sweet and fragrant flavor. It’s pungent, yet delicate enough to highlight mild flavors, rather than overwhelming it. Most importantly, the heat in real wasabi fades quickly and won’t invade your sinuses like horseradish.
Because real wasabi is so expensive and difficult to find, it can be a very exciting plant to add to your kitchen pond. Wasabi has a reputation as difficult to grow, partially because it’s an emergent plant that prefers to grow in shallow water, but that’s a real plus for pond owners like us! Wasabi needs shade and summers averaging around 50-60 degrees but cannot survive winters that dip below freezing (move them inside for the winter if you’re in a colder environment).
The rhizome should be finely grated and used within 5 or 10 minutes to maintain the best flavor. Try topping a steak with fresh wasabi alongside a dish of soy sauce, or sprinkle some on a raw oyster. Soba noodles with fresh wasabi and sauteed vegetables makes a unique Japanese version of pasta primavera! Leaves and stems can be enjoyed too. They’re similar to mustard greens with a bit of heat. Add fresh leaves to salads, sauté or quickly pickle them to make wasabi zuke.
Try Something New
Duckweed (Wolffia globosa)
Duckweed can be found almost everywhere, and is typically considered a pond nuisance because of its rapid proliferation, but that can be an advantage for food, right? Many varieties of duckweed are edible, though the variety known as watermeal is generally considered the tastiest and is packed so full of nutrients that we may someday see it added to the list of “superfoods”.
How to eat duckweed: Duckweed has a mild green flavor, somewhat like spinach, which makes it a great addition to anything from smoothies to omelets to pesto.
- Duckweed should be harvested from a clean, well-maintained pond where no chemicals are used.
- Giant Duckweed (Spirodela) is not edible.
Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), American lotus (Nelumbo lutea)
Lotuses are popular pond plants known for their fragrant, showy flowers and huge round leaves that stand elegantly on stalks well above the surface of the water. In fact, lotuses are one of the most fascinating and majestic pond plants that you can grow. Even better, lotuses are quite easy to grow across most of the US (hardiness zones 5-10) in small or large kitchen ponds that enjoy full sun.
Every part of a lotus plant is edible, including roots, immature seeds, stems, and young leaves, (although some parts can be bitter if eaten raw).
- Fresh lotus root has a mild sweetness and a starchy, crunchy texture similar to a raw potato. Lotus rhizomes are extremely versatile and can be baked for a healthy snack, stir fried or added to soup for a main dish, and even dessert stuffed with rice and soaked in syrup. Lotus root retains a slightly crunchy texture even after stir frying or deep frying.
- Immature lotus leaves can be eaten raw or steamed, but mature leaves are generally too tough to eat and are popular instead as fragrant wraps for a variety of foods.
- Teas made from lotus flowers, seeds, or rhizomes, are popular in Korea for their taste and health benefits, including soothing coughs, controlling blood sugar and blood pressure, and even aids in digestion after eating too much oily food.
Common Cattail (Typha latifolia)
Several types of cattails are extremely invasive, including hybrid cattails and narrow-leaved cattails. Even if they’re legal to purchase in your area, it’s best to avoid them. The common cattail, however, is native to the US and adapted to the local ecosystem. Cattails grow in shallow water around the margins of a pond, although due to their size and vigorous growth, they’re best suited to larger ponds.
All parts of a cattail can be eaten and are considered a healthy culinary delicacy. Young shoots can be used in place of asparagus, while mature stems can be peeled and eaten raw. Young flowers can be boiled, slathered in butter and enjoyed like corn on the cob. Seeds have a nutty flavor when toasted, and even the protein-rich pollen can be added to flour. Cattail roots and stalks can be grilled, baked, or boiled. Cattails are so versatile that they can even be used in preparing pancakes, bread, and stir fry.
