Grow

Starting this week at Princeton Public High School, students can take gym class in the garden.

“I think it’s strangely enjoyable,” said Tim Vasseur, a Princeton sophomore, shovel in hand. “It’s definitely not easy to do or anything like that.”

Advocates for greener schools believe this is the first time public school students will receive physical education credit for garden work. The idea was conceived by Matt Wilkinson, a physical education teacher and a former wrestling coach who also has a background in horticulture.

Every garden is riddled with pest and insects problems; killing flowers and eating greenery. Today’s gardener should know the importance of not using harsh chemicals in the garden. Instead, the conscientious gardener opts for organic, all natural solutions to control garden invaders. For every garden pest issue, there is a natural pest control option.

The Daily Green's senior editor Dan Shapley asked Roger Doiron, a 2009 Heart of Green Award  winner, and founder of Kitchen Gardeners International (newly redesigned -- check it out!) 13 questions about gardening for beginners and gardening for politicians.

For the Treasure Valley's sugar beet growers, spring is a race to get their crop in the ground before it gets too dry - and dry came early this year.

So Steve Martineau has already started planting his 25 fields south of Nampa.

All of Martineau's seed - and most of the seed grown in the United States - has been genetically engineered to tolerate the application of Monsanto's popular weed killer, Roundup. The "Roundup Ready" seed he's planting this spring was planted itself in November 2008.

Allison Sosna is a young chef who fell in love with local produce. She remembers where: it was in a Washington, D.C. restaurant called "Hook," working with celebrated sustainable seafood chef Barton Seaver.

Last year the First Lady planted an organic garden on the grounds of the White House. It was so exciting; a beacon of change: a new government, a new organic garden--the first since war-time's Victory Garden.

Researchers from the Department of Geophysical Science working in the area of Food and Environment at The University of Chicago are currently evaluating the application of the National Organic Standards to Urban Agriculture. The U of C team of Geoponicuns are working in collaboration with several national and international organizations, to determine and address the inherent challenges of preserving organic integrity on urban farms.

Over the next few weeks, the White House will be preparing its organic garden for the upcoming spring planting, which will add an extra 500 square feet of space, as per the request of First Lady Michelle Obama.

Despite the “snowmageddon” of 2010, the White House’s garden continues to flourish and was harvested in early March.

“We have been enjoying the lettuce, spinach, turnips, carrots, and greens ever since. From the beginning, we wanted to demonstrate that a four-season garden was indeed possible even in Washington D.C.,” says White House chef Sam Kass.

Everyone loves a green lawn, but that beauty can come at a steep environmental price. If you are concerned about the chemicals used in modern lawn care, consider going green. Organic lawns are easy to maintain, healthier for your family, and much kinder to Mother Nature.

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Would you believe that the White House garden continued to produce throughout this year’s harsh D.C. winter?

Even with several feet of snow blanketing the area, a winter planting of lettuces, spinach, turnips, arugula and carrots managed to yield almost 50lbs of food! The White House achieved this by planting under hoop houses covered in plastic. During the day, they capture the sun’s energy, which in turn keep the plants from freezing at night.