Re: WHITE HOUSE GARDEN

**j* e* m* s* <h*@sbcglobal.net>**

I must say this is a very negative, grumpy and borderline mean take 
on what's happening at the White House. As someone else said, the 
demonstration is priceless.

It's hard for me to imagine that an organic farmer will now starve 
because the White House has a vegetable garden.

You should note, too, that the correct spelling is Michelle Obama. 
How you know today, April 16, what she and her daughters will be 
doing in the garden is beyond me. Maybe you have a future in 
clairvoyant...certainly not as someone who promotes gardening.

jems

>You are missing the point.  What you said is very true for the home 
>veg gardener. ( and I was one for twenty years). The WH garden is 
>being cared for by public employees who are paid (not the homeowner 
>who is not).  We should support all the organic growers out there who 
>are trying to make a living and have to pay taxes on their land and 
>have a cost of the money invested in land and equipment, mortages and 
>loans to pay.  The WH garden paid for by taxpayers is a costly show 
>piece which may inspire more home gardeners to to one also but maybe 
>they will be inspired by the money they will save and the taste of 
>the veg produced rather than trying to copy someone else.   You can 
>be very sure Michele Obama and the girls will spend little or no time 
>out in the garden weeding, etc. in the heat and humidity of a
>Washington summer.  I did that and it was exhausting.
>On Apr 15, 2009, at 10:55 AM, Miranda Smith wrote:
>
>>  On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 10:40 AM, caroline dewilde 
>>  <cdewilde@frontiernet.net
>>>  wrote:
>>
>>
>>  I THINK IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA TO TOTAL UP WHat this organic garden
>>  is going to cost and find out what the cost to produce the vegetables
>>  is going to be,
>>  ----------------------------------------
>>
>>  Hi,
>>
>>  Were residents of the White House to continue to garden in that 
>>  spot, costs
>>  would decrease substantially over the years. A lot of the costs 
>>  associated
>>  with their garden are first-time costs. The longer you manage an 
>>  organic
>>  garden, the less expensive it gets. Once the soil develops a balanced
>>  system, pests and diseases decrease dramatically--along with pesticide
>>  costs. If they cover crop it and it's big enough for a rotational
>>  scheme--they might have to enlarge it for that to be true--costs of
>>  amendments go down. If they compost the wastes from that enormous 
>>  kitchen,
>>  that will also cut the cost of amendments. Given they are in DC, 
>>  they may
>>  need fairly steady inputs of lime for a number of years, and maybe 
>>  some mag
>>  and boron every few years. But even so, it would be great to keep 
>>  track of
>>  the costs for that garden on a year-by-year basis because it would 
>>  show the
>>  real economic advantages of organic gardening.
>>
>>  It's important to remember that the value of gardening goes far beyond
>>  economics. Although you can't quantify it, its educational and 
>>  emotional
>>  value is worth a great deal. The activity itself can take the place 
>>  of other
>>  kinds of recreation and the exercise has to be worth at least one gym
>>  membership.
>>
>>  Miranda
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>>
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>
>caroline dewilde
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
The Hoosier Gardener
Director Garden Writers Association
Writer * Editor * Speaker * Garden Consultant
Co-author,The Indiana Gardener's Guide
Editor, Indiana Living Green magazine
P.O. Box 20310, Indianapolis, IN 46220
E-mail: hoosiergardener@sbcglobal.net
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