A Garden and So Much More

By Sara Kaplaniak

04/06/2010

One year ago, our nation's First Lady marked her first spring in the White House by breaking ground on an organic vegetable garden. Fertilized with crab meal from the Chesapeake Bay, this sizeable "kitchen garden" yielded more than 1,000 pounds of sweet potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, broccoli, fennel, lettuce and other vegetables and herbs, feeding the first family, visiting dignitaries and recipients of local food banks. Last week, she and Washington school children replanted the garden.

This simple action of putting shovel to dirt to nourish family, guests and neighbors symbolizes something positive in the midst of global economic, human and environmental crises. Mrs. Obama's garden also provides a glimpse into a proud time during our nation's history, when the United States government called upon Americans to plant gardens that would support soldiers and fellow citizens during World Wars I and II. Regarded as a national duty, millions of Americans and another First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, planted these "Victory Gardens," producing up to one-third of the nation's vegetables during that time.

In modern times, kitchen gardens exist more as a hobby for those with the patience and attention span to wait months, even years, to see the results of their labor. However, while these small patches of produce are no longer expected to alleviate stresses caused by today's complex wars, their importance should not be underestimated. In fact, planting a kitchen garden serves as a way that almost everyone might declare Victory on the biggest issues dominating today's headlines: financial hardship, rampant obesity and global warming.

Without a doubt, a kitchen garden can save money. For the cost of a shovel, gloves, seeds, a second-hand gardening book, a little determination and only a little space, a plot of vegetables, herbs and berries can feed a family for several months of the year - longer when its produce is frozen for the winter -. In the absence of a yard, many plants can thrive in containers on a patio or balcony or in a community garden. If a green thumb just isn't an option, supporting local farmers at a market or through a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) constitutes a Victory in my book.

Tending to a kitchen garden not only pads the bank account. It also nourishes the body and boosts the immune system throughout the year. Food produced at home for daily meals most likely isn't doused with toxic chemicals or fertilizers. It isn't chilled or polished or handled in any way. Planning meals around these fresh and colorful harvests ensures we eat more nutritiously and naturally. No one gains weight from food grown in a kitchen garden.

Food planted at home with our own hands (and maybe the hands of our children) also benefits the air we breathe and the water on which all living things depend for survival. Picking fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs to eat or freeze eliminates the amount of energy and pollutants expended on planting, fertilizing, packaging, refrigerating and transporting food from large operations located an average of 1,500 miles from our local grocery stores. Why spend the money and energy on all of that when many items can be grown in the yard, or secured from a farm nearby?

The idea of a kitchen garden is not new, but may be in need of a revival here in the United States. Since medieval times, kitchen gardens have been folded into landscapes throughout Europe. In France, where they are referred to as "potagers," kitchen gardens provide as much as one-quarter of the population with home-grown food.

It can happen here too, and not just outside of our homes. What about rethinking some of the landscaping outside of restaurants, corporate cafeterias, universities and elementary schools? While the nation's First Lady has inspired us with her bountiful harvest, we should remember that we don't need a staff or secret service detail to achieve this Presidential perk. Whether it's to save money, improve health or benefit the planet, some dirt and seeds will yield the same results whether planted on Pennsylvania Avenue, or in just plain 'ole Pennsylvania.