Photo credit:
The White House
Perhaps no news has been so gladly heralded as a sign of hope, since Barack Obama took office, as the news this week: the Obamas are planting an organic vegetable garden. And everyone is taking credit; some say it's Alice Waters; others point to a Facebook app for Eat the View; still others to the White House Organic Farm Project (TheWhoFarm).
There are so many people to doff one's gardening hat to, but perhaps the real credit goes to Michelle Obama and her mother, Marian Robinson, who were both on hand to help break ground Friday. Fifth-graders from Bancroft Elementary helped dig and joined the First Lady and Grandlady in a cheer of "let's hear it for vegetables, let's hear it for fruits!" (There was one "boo", say reporters.) The 1,100-square foot garden plan has been released, and there are bunches of reasons to thrill here: kale and collards and so many kinds of lettuce, rhubarb! Sorrel! Shallots! Fennel! Loads and loads of peas, and some spaces reserved for late plantings of lettuce. Broccoli and carrots and spinach, oh my. White House assistant chef Sam Kass, who we hoped would be an advocate for food change, appears to have been key in the project; though Michelle said she'd been thinking about planting a garden (this is her first) since January.
But bees! Who knew there would be a beehive?
The seedlings will be started in the White House's greenhouse, and the produce will feed both the First Family and their guests, and what's left will go to Miriam's Kitchen, a nearby soup kitchen. No word yet on whether the White House, Senate and House of Representatives will be composting their food waste, as TheWhoFarm suggested; but we all have plenty of Obama-style hope left for that.
How to green your detergent usage
Comments (2)Add a Comment
Inappropriate or promotional comments may be removed.
Really suprised to see Ms Obama start an old-school garden that wastes water, offers poor yields, promotes topsoil erosion, and reduces oxygen producing grass.
Its a shame that they didn't read on modern gardening and install a nice square-foot garden. A square-foot garden uses 20% of the space and 10% of the water of a traditional garden, but with 100% of the yield. Not to mention they look far nicer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ILWPt-tgI&feature=player_embedded
Its much easier to convince Americans to install a 3- or 4-foot box of food than the monstrosity they're building in the South Lawn. Especially since theres no digging or tilling involved.
Also, the White House garden is not organic as that is a federally protected market standard which the White House garden does not meet.
Great points Timothy. I feel the White House garden is a fantastic symbol however it is configuration.
While I don't care about 'federally protected market standards' -- my garden fits organic standards -- I'll continue to call it that -- I'm sure the sod they are digging up was overly fertilized in the preceding administration which would definitely not pass organic standards.