The Latest from the White House Garden

If you are a regular reader of this blog you know I have a great interest in the White House Garden that Michelle Obama initiated in early 2009. It has been a great success for the first season in terms of the harvest but of far more importance has been the educational and public opinion influence it has triggered. First lady Michelle has masterfully used it to let it speak loudly about food policy and personal eating habits. It has also done wonders for the locavore gardening and farming concept. Her emphasis on the value of involving children in gardening and food education has been especially valuable.

If you are a viewer of the Food Network on Cable TV then you have probably seen the recent Iron Chef battle that featured vegetables from the Obama Garden and even had a brief appearance of Mrs. Obama. It is clear to me that the impact of this White House garden goes far beyond the periodic photo event and occasional media coverage of a "pet cause" of a first lady!




The White House blog periodically has postings about the garden and here is the latest link to that story about the iron chef http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/05/iron-chefs-and-healthy-eating

There is another posting as well as a nice video about the effort just taken to both make the vegetable garden become a productive winter garden and also the latest policy effort of the Department of Agriculture to encourage farmers to do the same: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/12/16/planting-winter-garden

I am doing my planning and research as to how I can make more use of my garden in early spring and late fall as well. Of course this year it was a struggle to get it to produce well during the SUMMER given our dismal weather in June and July of 2009. I do see some cold frames and hoop gardening as essential in my own garden in the future.

The Snowy New Year Begins

My "Let it Snow" sign by the front door is working well as 2010 begins. The slow moving snow storm lasted three days and left a solid 12 inches of snow on the ground here in Saco. I used my trusty snow thrower three times on my long driveway. This snow will not melt away before future snow storms so the wood gathering efforts are now over for some time. Hopefully I have an amply wood supply in or behind the garage for the steady demand of my wood stove. My new canvass log carriers are working well as I transport loads of it on a daily basis to the living room. The living room has a major new addition thanks to the generosity of Ben, Julian and Roxi. I was totally surprised with a new living room set that is both beautiful and very comfortable. My parents 1950's couch is still in use in another room but no longer the living room seating option.

So now I can sit comfortable and read my 2010 seed catalogs and ponder and plan for the next gardening season. January is a good time for reading, soup making and crock pot cooking. Maine in the winter is a quiet but beautiful time with the white snowfall so untarnished by urban grim and grit. If it is not snowing, there is almost always a sunny sky to help show off the beauty of the snow and ice and animal tracks on and surrounding my homestead. New Year's Eve had its first Blue Moon in 19 years to add a special beauty to the first major snowfall. So LET IT SNOW...I am not anxious for spring to come....yet!