The Obama Organic Kitchen Garden

I've followed the 'Eat the View' campaign since late October. I did not sign the petition, but I was hoping they would be successful, and of course, they were. I give the President 'props' for doing the right thing, my gripe is that I think the Obamas are blowing this opportunity!

I think the idea is one of leadership. The Obamas want to set a good example for the country, and more specifically, according to Michelle, she wants to teach low income families that they can eat healthily and that it is just as easy to grow and eat organic vegetables as it is to buy prepared foods. What??? Is she kidding? She obviously hasn't done her own shopping in years. Labeling with the word 'Organic' doubles the price of the food. It is much cheaper to buy boxed food, however unhealthy it is, because the starch and sugars satisfy hunger and you get more full stomachs for the buck. It is sad, but true. For about $1.50, I can add a can of tuna to a box of mac and cheese and have a starchy meal that will fill up a kid, or, I can spend the same amount and get maybe two servings of organic broccoli. It's been a while since I've been to the inner city of a major city like Atlanta, but the last time I was there, I don't recall seeing a decent grocery store, certainly not one that would have any kind of choice in organic vegetables.

The people they are trying to set an example for live in small spaces, apartments or inner city lots where ground space is limited. The Obamas should be teaching square foot gardening or container gardening and intensive planting, but I'll bet you'll see rows. They'll have nice wood-sided raised beds-that'd be showy and 'organic-looking', but I think they have missed the boat on the opportunity that is present before them. Did you know that the Clintons actually had a small container garden on the White House roof? There was no hoopla that I can remember over that, and I have to admit that my opinion of the Clintons rose a few notches with that revelation.

There is always a next year or a next season with gardening, so maybe they will heed my advice and practice some alternative gardening techniques that would be applicable for those who don't have 1100 square feet on the South Lawn. Those of us who do put in a garden know that that is rather small for a family of 5, so really this is a showplace garden. From the published diagram, all I see are greens and peas, but it is early Spring and I'll be interested to see how they transition throughout the season to a summer garden. There's lots of lettuce and green leafies, but I don't see any carrots, broccoli, Brussell sprouts, cauliflower, or cabbage. It would seem that those would go in now if they intended to grown them.

I hope we will see Michelle really get out there and get dirty, but it's not going to happen. I think she's always been a diva, a Princeton co-ed. She admits she's never had a vegetable garden before. I was surprised to hear that though as I thought that might be why they purchased that little strip of land from Rezko back in 2005-they wanted a garden so the girls could have heirloom tomatoes. ;) Michelle will be out there with the kids for pictures, but the staff will be doing most of the work. I think if you are going to set an example, then you should set an example. Show people that it is tough, don't be elitist and delegate the hard work to the staff.

In the clip I saw on TV, she was dressed inappropriately for the task at hand, wearing stylish black boots no less. I saw her lay a shovel down and rake the grass onto a shovel with her hand, then lift the shovel and move the grass. There was no dirt, no sod, just grass. It was laughable-especially for someone who claims to work out and has such 'toned arms'.(If I've heard the media ooh and aah over her arms once, I've heard them a thousand times) Michelle and the school kids couldn't break the sod with their shovels. All those little plants that they bought to transplant for Insta-Garden were wilting away because they couldn't clear the sod. So they brought the chefs out to help. They were wearing white, always a great color for gardening. Then, Michelle ordered the cameramen to put down the cameras and grab a shovel. The whole thing was hilarious and I hope Michelle got the message that gardening is hard work: It takes time and muscle. It is not something that is squeezed into the day between 2:00 and 2:15 like picking up the dry cleaning. I just love the picture I'm posting. Lots of gardening was done that day! BUT, they did have shovel-shaped cookies and cider for the kiddies. As I look at the picture, I can't help but wonder how much all those brand-new kid-sized mini-shovels added to the tax bill. I'd lay odds that some White House gardener broke out the tiller after dark, too.

My biggest beef to this whole thing is that they can call their garden the "White House Organic Kitchen Garden". Organic?? Since when is the White House Lawn organic? I don't believe it for a second. Are they claiming that the finest lawn in the country is pesticide and herbicide free? Why do the Obama's get to call their garden "Organic" if we can't? Just because the seedlings and transplants are organic doesn't mean that the food will be. Those lettuce roots go down pretty deep-some to 18", some to 60", either way, it will reach far deeper than the depth of their raised beds. Again, this is another educational opportunity lost. I suppose the thing that impresses me the most in this whole venture is the beehives. The White House Carpenter is also a beekeeper, and he will be tending two hives to bring the Obamas honey. That is a great move to help Malia's allergies. As a lifelong allergy sufferer myself, I sympathize with the kid.

I'm glad that the First Family is emphasizing healthy eats and gardening. I just wish that it would be given a more realistic presentation. I hope that in the future, either this summer or next year, while the media remains enamored of them, that they will use this platform to truly help city dwellers develop community gardens or container gardens or even aquaponic gardens. I also think it would be a good idea to bring in experts, someone like Martha Stewart or Mel
Bartholomew, every week or so to teach them how to garden in a small space, in a healthy way, and develop affordable practices like seed saving and starting your own seed vs. buying trendy organic transplants. There could be a different lesson each week. Week one might be about beneficial insects, week two might be how to make good compost, week three, companion planting. Since the Obamas have never had a garden of their own, they could be the star pupils in the gardening class, and even the President could get in on the learning; it would certainly make him more endearing to me. He *is* the one who touts education, and if he and Michelle could admit that they have a lot to learn, it would certainly help his elitist image. I want to see Barack turning the compost. I want to see Michelle take off her boots and play in the dirt for real. I want to see Sasha and Malia plant tomatoes. I want it to be real, not for show. I was hoping for real leadership, real change, real work. I don't see it yet. It is still smoke and mirrors for me, but I continue to have hope that 70 million people saw something genuine in Barack Obama that I haven't been able to see. For me, it seems that he talks a good game. He is certainly a good salesman, especially when it comes to selling himself. I just don't see the substance that others see. Time will tell.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/white-house-garden-is-not-exactly-shovel-ready/