Barbara, Where have you been? I was thinking about you just last week and wondering if you had left the state.

There is a discussion on that topic over on the "Market" forum, which you might want to read. I think the current bill has been modified from the original.

Thanks for the memories Carol...I was thinking about you as well and that story about the food lines where you were stationed overseas. And whoever controls the seed, controls the food, and whoever controls the food, controls us, or so they hope. We DON'T want that to happen here!

No, I have't left the state but have been having some health issues.

In spite of that, the large scale lasagna garden I started and struggled with last year trying to raise the soil level has paid off big time. Looks like this is going to be the best gardening year ever the way things are going. I contibute that mostly to you guys here on the forum and the difference it made in my gardening skills. And so yea, now that my garden is producing they're going to have to lock me up to stop me from growing in my own garden, on my own land. I hope you all feel the same way about your own gardens. To the barricades!

I'll check out that market forum discussion. Thanks!

Barbara

Hi Barbara,

It's good to know you're still here. I was wondering if you'd left us to head for greener pastures.

This Food Safety Modernization Act has grown into an urban legend of massive proportions since last year.

Much of what is out there about this bill is nonsense. There is no provision in the bill that affects home gardens if you're raising food for yourself and your own family's consumption.

Snopes.com debunks a lot of the misinformation. I've linked it below.

On a scale of 1-10 of things I am concerned about, this isn't even a 0, and you know that if I thought there was a chance this bill would adversely affect us, I'd say so.

Happy Gardening,

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Food Safety Modernization Act at Snopes

Dawn, That's good to know. It did seem strange, since half the country seems to be putting in urban gardens since last year, and I for one am excited about folk's renewed interest in gardening. To have those rights stripped away would be the ultimate betrayal of our country. I do not however trust Monsanto, and am always wondering what they're going to pull next.

Anyway, at least for the time being I can calm down now that shock is over.

Barbara

Barbara,

Even if there were any truth to the outrageous claims about this bill, I still wouldn't be concerned about it. The White House has its own highly-publicized veggie garden....started and promoted by Michele Obama and the White House staff last year. There's no way this bill would pass and be signed into law if it had the provisions in it that are being talked about in the misinformation and propaganda campaign. Pres. Obama surely knows better than to mess with the First Lady's garden!

Dawn

but when have the rules applied to the elite.

Good PR has always trumped rules or common sense.

Out of curiosity, what's in the first family's garden? Is it organic? Do they grow any heirlooms? A Three sisters garden would be fitting for the American White House. What color gardening gloves does Mrs.Obama use? :)

Sleepytime,
Dale

Dale, It is organic and I believe they do grow heirlooms. They use low tunnels to keep greens and other cold-hardy crops going through the winter. I suspect much of what we see from the garden is staged for the media, but still think that Michelle Obama is doing the nation a great service by focusing on the idea of planting a 'home garden' with your kids so the family can have healthy, fresh produce. Some elementary school kids from a school near the White House help plant and maintain the garden so they get lots of fun photo ops and stuff.

Last year, they made a big 'to do' of harvesting fresh produce from the White House for some cooking show, but later the truth came out that they didn't really use the White House produce you saw them pick for the cooking segment of the show....instead they used purchased, local produce because they were filming at a NY studio. The scandal of it all! Gardengate!

I'll find and link a story about the White House garden. It seemed heavy on greens to me last year, and I don't know how they kept them producing so deeply into the summer, but am sure there's probably a whole staff of White House gardeners who did most of the actual work!

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Layout Included In this story

If you watch the entire Youtube video in the link, near the end there is a cool time-lapse video showing the garden's growth over time.

I understand they expanded the veggie garden in Spring 2010 because they wanted space to grow more.

Here is a link that might be useful: White House Garden Recap

Hahaha...I love it!! GARDEN GATE...get it? LOL

Not at all to take away from the serious subject - I, too, distrust Monsanto :(
They should've stuck with CARPET and left the agricultural stuff alone!

Sharon