From designers to foodies, today’s find is bound to get you seriously excited! I haven’t been this excited about a built-in appliance for kitchens since the Miele built-in esspresso maker and wine fridge. Well, there’s a new kid in town, ready to infuse any gourmet kitchen with a luxurious love of all things fresh and gourmet. I will seriously be dreaming about this one {neatly tucked into my butler’s pantry, of course} with nearly every meal I make from now on.

As you know, I love fresh herbs for cooking. Who doesn’t? From micro greens to fresh sprouts to the classics like cilantro, parsley and basil, any cook worth their weight in oregano would choose fresh over dried any day of the week. The challenge? Keeping them fresh in the fridge. How many times have you bought a bunch of fresh herbs only to find them limp and soggy when you pull them out to use them?

{image via Pinterest}

In response to this dilemma, we actually attempted to sprout our own herb garden from seed last summer. Let’s just say it was not exactly a huge success. We started out strong with some very exciting sprouts showing up under the lights and constant misting in the basement, but a few long weekends away and a couple of days of unexpected weather once they’d been moved outside and our dreams of organic, seed-sprouted herbs were dashed. We resorted to a few pre-grown pots and set our urban gardening dreams aside for the season.

Well, I’ve found the answer to all of our year-round herb-loving dreams. Friends, meet the Urban Cultivator.

The size of a dishwasher, the Urban Cultivator can be integrated into a fitted kitchen as a freestanding unit with a butcher-block top or easily built-in to any kitchen cabinetry design. This ingenious under-counter-sized greenhouse allows you to go farm-to-table without ever leaving home. Locavores take note: you can’t get much more local than this!!

{image via Urban Cultivator}

The Urban Cultivator – a proudly Canadian innovation – offers the latest and best hydroponic growing technology with pre-programmed optimal growing cycles. It is plumbed to water and hooked up to electrical just like a dishwasher, automatically controlling the light, fan and watering of your four-season, under-counter kitchen garden. Genius. Add to that the fact that fresh greens cut from your own kitchen greenhouse have twice the nutritional value of store bought greens and I am completely sold!

Not surprisingly, the commercial version of this innovative appliance is being integrated into high-end kitchens in restaurants and hotels across North America.

“You simply add 100% organic food once a week and your chosen bounty of fresh herbs and greens will be on their way to your plate. After growing the basics, you may wish to move on to more exotic fare and expand your culinary horizons.”

It’s the details that make me remember a meal. I still remember a stunning salad I once had that was finished with delectable little micro beet greens. The possibility of plating and finishing dishes in my own kitchen with that kind of detail practically makes me giddy.

Needless to say, I am salivating over the possibilities and now officially dying to design The Urban Cultivator into my next kitchen project! Hope you’re inspired to go fresh and local today! No doubt you’ll all be dreaming along with me of your own urban gardening adventures.

xo
s.