March 26th, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Want to dress just like Michelle Obama, but can’t afford to? You can replicate her garden instead!

Local Harvest (.org) has put together a list of seeds similar to those that will be used in the presidential veggie garden. If you’re considering your own home-ag project, it’s worth a look. The carefully plotted White House garden will feature a lot of green leafy stuff with at least five varieties of lettuce as well as spinach, snap peas and broccoli (apparently the Obamas are NOT broccoli-phobic), promising a bounty of antioxidants and a lot of fun times for the receiving chefs. All this seasonal cool Mid Atlantic produce we assume will be followed by tomatoes and squash later on.

The kitchen garden also will be a wonderfully aromatic venue with lots of herbs like sage, chamomile, thyme, marjoram and rosemary. And there will be flowers, in particular, marigolds and nasturtiums, which are known for attracting beneficial bugs and deterring pests, demonstrating the technique of “companion gardening” popular with organic growers in which flowers complement and assist the veggies. Think of it as bipartisan support.