White House Kitchen Garden

White House Kitchen Garden
June 7, 2009

There are several things that I wanted to do right away as soon as I arrived back to Washington DC. One is going to farmer's markets and another one is visiting the White House to see the "National" kitchen garden. Yesterday was such a gorgeous day so we decided to take a long walk from Capitol Hill to the White House to see the garden.

Fortunately, the garden is located on the South lawn, not far from the public fence, so it is easy to see, although obviously I was not able to see the individual plants. However I did find a diagram of the kitchen garden on the White House website. www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/garden_layout.pdf

According to the Washington Post, the garden is 1,100 square feet and has 55 kinds of vegetables, including peppers, spinach, arugula and also berries, herbs and two hives for honey. The chefs will use the produce to feed the first family, as well as for state dinners and other official events.

The Obamas' garden will not be the first at the White House. John Adams, the first tenant, planted a garden shortly after taking up residence in 1800. Woodrow Wilson brought in sheep to mow and fertilize the White House lawn in 1918, an effort to conserve resources for the war effort. In 1943, over the objection of the Agriculture Department, Eleanor Roosevelt planted a victory garden, inspiring millions of Americans to grow their own food during World War II.

Watch the video "Ryan Howard Talks Healthy Diet With the White House Chef"