WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty-six elementary schoolchildren wielded shovels, rakes, pitchforks and wheelbarrows to help first lady Michelle Obama break ground on the first day of spring for a produce and herb garden on the White House grounds.
Crops to be planted in the coming weeks on the 1,100-square-foot, L-shaped patch near the fountain on the South Lawn include spinach, broccoli, various lettuces, kale and collard greens, assorted herbs and blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.
There will also be a beehive.
(via Transition Towns Kapiti)
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.
Hi Tim,
Thanks for your comment. I completely agree with you. I’m a big fan of the square-foot/metre method and also of biointensive gardening. Either one of these would have been a really good, productive example garden to be put on the White House lawn.
You’ve prompted me to get my act together and do a series on these methods, in which I will try to embed your video file. Would love it if you could let me know what you think once they’re up, maybe offer more square garden tips? I’ll send you an email to let you know when they go live.
Cheers,
Anna