But I don't have to do without—I lower the heat on the stove, and pop upstairs; I'm back in a minute, fresh leaves in hand from the small herb and vegetable garden growing on the Snell-Hitchcock lawn.
These fresh ingredients and front-yard convenience are exactly what I and my friend Cameron envision for the Snell-Hitchcock Garden. Inspired by the locally-grown food movement and Michelle Obama's White House Garden, this communal garden would ideally keep the dorm's pantries stocked with basil, savory stalks, and maybe a pepper or two come Autumn.
It will be a lot of work, most of which I'm not entirely sure of (Cameron's the environmental sciences major), and I'm hoping the two houses will each contribute some money for soil and seeds so we can get started this season. If all goes well, next fall we can start making individual plots. My mouth is watering just reading about the possibilities: (from the New York Times article on the White House garden)
"The Obamas will feed their love of Mexican food with cilantro, tomatillos and hot peppers. Lettuces will include red romaine, green oak leaf, butterhead, red leaf and galactic. There will be spinach, chard, collards and black kale. For desserts, there will be a patch of berries. And herbs will include some more unusual varieties, like anise hyssop and Thai basil. A White House carpenter, Charlie Brandts, who is a beekeeper, will tend two hives for honey.
The total cost of seeds, mulch and so forth is $200, said Sam Kass, an assistant White House chef, who prepared healthful meals for the Obama family in Chicago and is an advocate of local food. Mr. Kass will oversee the garden.
The plots will be in raised beds fertilized with White House compost, crab meal from the Chesapeake Bay, lime and green sand. Ladybugs and praying mantises will help control harmful bugs."
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