What can your house and the White House have in common?....An organic garden

Last week the White House broke ground on its South Lawn to raise an organic garden. The idea was to motivate people to grown their own food and promote healthy eating habits.

It certainly motivated my family. As soon as my husband heard the NPR report about the White House organic garden, he texted: "Add create organic garden to our to do list". Actually last year, my husband's aunt Sulbha, who lives in NJ, had fantastically green foliage on her patio. She has always had a green thumb but last year she used it to grow vegetables in containers. It was such a hit that she plans on continuing this year and this year she is not alone. My friend Ritu has started her seedlings already. And I? I have started the planning process. My issue like many in NJ is deer grazing. So I will contain my vegetable garden to my deck. I have wood slats in my basement which will be nailed together. The wood will be treated for water proofing (I need to find a green way to do this...any ideas?). By the time, we get around to doing this, it will be mid-April. So why not wait a bit and have a "plant a garden" birthday party for my 51/2 year old.

So what make a garden organic: the soil and the fertilizer. For planters, I would recommend large bags of organic soil and a couple of bags of compost from the local nursery or Coop. If you are planting in the ground, an organic compost will help turn over your garden in three years to be qualified as organic. Go the extra mile by harvesting rain water in a rain barrel available from http://www.aquabarrel.com/ and use it to water your garden. Remember to place it at a higher elevation than the area intended to be watered. Here are few more ideas http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/kitchen-plants-container-gardens.html.

Choose a sunny spot, water regularly and enjoy!!