I say, “Good job!” to the Obamas for their breaking ground for a kitchen garden on the White House lawn.  And this won’t be just a symbolic garden, but one that will grow vegetables, fruit and herbs for use in the White House kitchen, and potentially provide the excess to a local food pantry. 

Proponents of the local food movement have been urging presidents to do this for many years, but the Obamas are the first to actually do it since Eleanor Roosevelt.  I think this will be a boost to the “eat local” movement, as well as to sellers of seeds and vegetable plants.  It may have a positive effect as well on Farmers Markets, as folks fill in the blanks in their diet with veggies they haven’t managed to grow for themselves. 

I’m sure there will be lots of critics of the plan out there (Rush Limbaugh will probably hope all the vegetables die) but I say, “Congratulations, and thank you!”

Our Mulch Madness sale begins next week.  Get a jump start on your spring clean up and save some money, too.  Order a load of mulch (3 yard minimum for this offer) and take delivery by April 10th, and we’ll deliver withing 25 miles of the Garden Center for FREE!  Hurry! Offer ends April 5th.  Call for details (740-546-4467.)

We have seed potatoes and onion sets in stock now, for those of you who have raised beds or soil that is well-drained enough to be workable this early.  (Years ago the tradition was to plant seed potatoes on St Patrick’s Day, March 17th.  I have a raised bed that is ready, so I’m going to start them that day and see if the old farmers are right.)

The cabbage-family plants are being hardened off outdoors, too and will be ready for you this week.

Are you planning to grow vegetables, herbs, or flowers from seed this year?  It’s a way to save even more money on your food or flower garden, and not really very hard to do.  Stop in Ferda’s Garden Center next week and check out our selection of seeds and seed-starting supplies.  We expanded the varieties of seeds we carry in the Livingston Seed       racks by about 25%, and we added a rack from Botanical Interests Seeds.  The great thing about Botanical Interests Seeds is the information inside the envelopes. 

 Check out their website for lots of information about starting seeds.