How does her garden grow?

I'm loving the White House organic garden. It appears to be taking shape nicely with a visit from the children who are participating as a school project having planted herbs this week. Some of my fondest childhood memories center around my Dad's little garden in our own backyard and the love of growing my own food stuck with me all my life.

It's not about saving money. I don't think, if you count the hours spent in tending the plants that you save any, but there's something uniquely satisfying about eating vegetables you raised yourself. And the miracle of so much food springing from tiny seeds planted in the earth never ceases to thrill. It builds an appreciation for the natural world and a connection to the land that you can't get in many other ways.

It's a wonderful White House project but of course, there's always someone ready to criticize. "The Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) — which represents agribusinesses like Monsanto, Dow AgroSciences, and DuPont Crop Protection — are unhappy that no chemicals are being used on the food." They would like the First Lady to remind us all that their monolithic agribusinesses, which poison the land and destroyed the family farms contribute to feeding the world too.

I suppose that's true enough on some level since they managed to monopolize food production and even now scheme up ways to develop sterile seeds so no one can garden without filling their own corporate coffers with profits. All the more reason to invest in our backyard gardens, and save our own seeds, to keep the food supply out of their complete control. [graphic]

[More posts daily at The Detroit News]