Comments on: A Friendly Permaculture Critique of the Obamas’ Vegetable Garden

By: Stems and end pieces… « Notes from Dry Creek Farm

Stems and end pieces… « Notes from Dry Creek Farm — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:20:00 +0000

[...] Through it all, there’s been barely a weed to pull. Yep, I’m still preaching the gospel of permaculture. I found this article a while back and recommend it to those of you are ready to start your own gardens: A Friendly Permaculture Critique of the Obamas’ Vegetable Garden [...]

By: الملكة إليزابيث تزرع الخضار في محيط قصرها في لندن :على طريقة سيدة أميركا الأولى

الملكة إليزابيث تزرع الخضار في محيط قصرها في لندن :على طريقة سيدة أميركا الأولى — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:44:25 +0000

[...] One lady who has time on her hands with at least four years to grow lots of different varieties is Michelle Obama in the White House garden. [...]

By: Bill Harshaw

Bill Harshaw — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:25:38 +0000

I know nothing you can’t find by Googling–which as you say, means the Bush solar panels are at the White House, not on the West Wing. Give Bush credit for his geothermal heat pumps at his ranch and passive solar design (see Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Chapel_Ranch)

To nitpick–the Park Service installed Carters solar panels just as it did Bush’s, it owns the place.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:52:24 +0000

Bill Harshaw,

Sorry to be so tardy in following up on this, but I wonder if you have more information on solar panels on the White House? I am aware that the Park Service has installed both PV and solar hot water on several outbuildings on the grounds, but have not been able to confirm actual installation on the White House itself.

By: April 2008 Newsletter « Transition Town Westcliff

April 2008 Newsletter « Transition Town Westcliff — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:08:47 +0000

[...] A Friendly Permacultre Critique of the Obama Garden and I’m with Stupid From Transition Culture. [...]

By: Mary

Mary — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:16:17 +0000

Hello Caroline, another name for this in Oregon is sheet-mulching. You can put not-that-well-composted stuff on top of the cardboard and newspaper layers, wood chips, etc., depending on the crop you want to grow. If it is a heavy nitrogen-feeding crop, you may need to figure out a nitrogen source to add. I hesitate to say what they are using in Scandinavia right now, but suffice it to say, it is available here, easily, as well.

By: Caroline

Caroline — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:49:37 +0000

There is a no-till method called lasagna gardening. Put wet newspapers or cardboard down on sod and then build your bed up with peat moss and compost.

By: All About Gardening

All About Gardening — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:26:41 +0000

[...] A Friendly Permaculture Critique of the Obamas’ Vegetable Garden … [...]

By: Mary

Mary — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:03:50 +0000

OK, here is another pithy post. The Portland Permaculture Guild hosted a virtual talk by Dave Jacke, who can be googled by adding forest garden to his name. He is an excellent source. Dave said there are potatoes with edible leaves. I knew some ethnic groups boil leaves in this family many times, but an ethnobotanist, whose name I can’t remember, slept for 14 hours and felt pretty bad after trying them even after the multiple boilings, so I was pretty curious about this. Her article had appeared in Science News. Curious, I just googled potatoes edible leaves, and went to an article by M.J. Stephens of the Univ. of Florida (published by Texas A & M Univ. in 2002). It appears people have been eating sweet potato leaves for some time. There are so many kinds of potatoes, some with stunning flowers and foliage, and I have grown them sitting on the ground covered up by mulch. If Michelle were to plant many varieties, it serves up the notion of diversity, a notion much needed given the present state of agriculture. Signs with explanations of where the ideas for the plants came from might be good as well. I haven’t been to their citrus site lately, but I remember getting a lot of information from Texas A & M online about citrus when my trees were younger. Potatoes are a First Peoples plant which became world travelers once Late Peoples discovered them on their junkets. Thanks for the encouragement. I have been trying to do my taxes, and I am working hard not to be bummed.

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:51:55 +0000

Pygora goats! Alpacas! (these are very popular with upscale farmers out here in the west, I imagine they are popular in the VA ‘burbs also.) Composting blackwater is also a very good idea. The Potomac is messed up enough already.
Sorry, should have mentioned great post! Waiting for your next post!

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:36:35 +0000

By: John Mason

John Mason — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 06:06:32 +0000

Quote: “First Tip. Put the garden nearer the house. Bill Mollison, co-founder of permaculture, used to suggest growing your food “no further from the back door than you could throw the kitchen sink”.”

This is an “ideal world” tip that cannot, sadly, be applied in all cases i.e. yes, of course you can grow some veg in a window-box, if you happen to live in a flat, but you would obviously be hard-pressed to grow a lot of your annual requirements.

The garden I’m working on with some friends(see weblink) is 0.6 miles away from where I live, is sheltered, south-facing and some 20 x 10m in size. In contrast, at home there is a tiny, east-facing patio. Although, because it has been rescued from an impenetrable tangle of thorn, heavy tools and transport were required for the initial phase of the project, it remains within reasonable walking distance for day-to-day maintenance.

Perhaps Bill’s tip is most relevant to the Oil-Age, but in a post-Peak world, I would like to imagine there being a lot more time available to work on such things, and that the importance of growing stuff, relative to other current-day uses of time, may well rise a lot higher, so that the effort of walking to a veg garden a distance away from home will no longer be seen as an inconvenience, but as part of the pleasure of the whole thing. Hope so, anyway!

Cheers – John

By: Liana

Liana — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:03:22 +0000

It’s not too late to build a small kitchen garden with raised beds closer to the White House. Herbs, flowers, veggies, all insterspersed lovingly. A spiral garden is the best for get the most for your space, and it looks so beautiful. Mine was built as part of a permaculture workshop. I recommend that the Obamas get some permaculturists to hold a workshop for students of all ages, and that Michelle, Obama, and their girls attend. Make a day of it and have a celebration afterwards. We all learned so much, and with a garden like that you keep on learning.

By: Bill Harshaw

Bill Harshaw — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:33:25 +0000

Your info is out of date–GW put solar panels back on the roof.

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:40:56 +0000

Hello Linda. Yes, rocket flowers are arugula flowers. I love to munch on them, and they would be very pretty on a tapenade made with darker-colored olives, on a cracker or a carrot round. I put them in salads also. You can taste the flowers of kales and many of the greens.

You wouldn’t eat tomato or potato flowers, but many flowers are edible and beautiful. Natural food stores often have edible flowers for sale, but arugula flowers may be too fragile to sell that way. I have used citrus flowers to flavor water. Did you see the movie Monsoon Wedding? Many cultures eat more flowers than we have been accustomed to here in the U.S.