The kitchen garden is where the farm family grows most of their vegetables and their herbs. While the field crops are tended to by the menfolk, the kitchen garden is primarily the responsibility of the farm wife and her daughters. Cool weather crops such as broad beans, cabbages, kale, lettuce, mustard greens, onions, parsnips, peas, radishes, spinach and turnips are planted in the spring and again in the fall. Summer crops such as pole beans, beets, carrots, cucumbers, okra, potatoes, muskmelons and watermelons are grown in the hotter months, and squash and pumpkins are planted in the summer for fall harvesting. Perennial herbs are well established in the corners of the garden. Winter savory, thyme, chives, sage and rosemary are among the herbs used to add flavor to the family's foods while herbs like comfrey, elecampane, garlic, pennyroyal and valerian make up the family's "medicine cabinet."

Early spring greens, both cultivated and wild satisfy the family's craving for something fresh after months of pickled and salted foods. In the summer, wild berries join crisp fresh vegetables on the table. Throughout the summer and into the fall, the farm wife works hard to preserve vegetables for the winter. Almost any vegetable can be pickled in a vinegar or salt brine with spices. Some vegetables, like peas and beans are easily preserved by drying them, while root crops like carrots, beets and parsnips will last for months buried in damp sand in the cellar. Pumpkins, squash and onions will wait patiently until they are needed if kept in a clean, dry place such as the loft in the farm house.

The farm family saves most of their own seed from year to year for planting the field crops and the vegetable in the garden. However, the stores in Alexandria do carry seed and one can always trade with neighbors.