Secretary Vilsack proclaims National Community Gardening Week

This week is National Community Gardening Week and USDA encourages you to do you part and connect with your community through gardening.

On Aug. 6, 2009, Secretary Tom Vilsack announced this proclamation and challenged every American to connect with the land, the food it provides, and their local communities. A community garden can be a great opportunity to educate everyone about community food supplies, whether food is a Farmers Market or a garden. A garden can be anywhere – in the country, a city or the suburbs – and can come in many forms, from one community plot to many individual plots.

As the Nation’s community garden, the People’s Garden showcases some of the ways that USDA engages Americans across the country every day. Every American should look for opportunities at home, at work, or at school to work in community gardening and to participate in the People’s Garden movement.

Today, Secretary Vilsack established a first-ever department-wide USDA volunteer program to encourage individuals to volunteer with the People’s Garden initiative. The People’s Garden, a USDA domestic and international initiative, helps illustrate the many ways that USDA works to provide a sustainable, safe and nutritious food supply while protecting and preserving the landscape where that food is produced.

Since May 21, USDA has harvested and donated more than 300 pounds of produce from the People’s Garden to the DC Central Kitchen, a non-profit which offers job training in culinary and food service skills to DC’s homeless.

The People’s Garden initiative incorporates sustainable practices to educate the public about practical ways to enhance and conserve land and water resources in the United States. It is designed to provide a sampling of USDA's efforts throughout the world as well as teach others how to nurture, maintain and protect a healthy landscape. The garden concepts that USDA is practicing serve as a living example of how to provide healthy food, air and water for people and communities as well as food and shelter for wildlife, while improving soil health and water quality.

With this in mind, the USDA volunteer program is yet another way for USDA to help further the People’s Garden and other initiatives. And with everyone’s help, USDA can make the Peoples' Garden a national demonstration plot, which will illustrate the many ways USDA works to conserve our resources and promote local food production.

So get involved; head over to our Facebook page and join the discussion about gardening, share your comment here or stop by the People's Garden next time you're in DC. Be sure to check out the People's Garden web site or the People's Garden Twitter feedfor the latest updates, harvests and events.

Permalink  |  Posted: 02:13PM Aug 26, 2009 by USDAblogger in USDA Web Site  |  Add Your Comment Here [1]

Healthy Garden Workshop focuses on pollinators

This summer, we've had the privilege to hear from all sorts of experts in the Peoples' Garden at USDA, as part of the Healthy Garden Workshops series. We've learned about gardening various delicious vegetables, controlling pests, and preparing garden-grown foods. This afternoon, visitors to the USDA tents on the National Mall were treated to a really interesting presentation on pollination.

The workshop focused on the role of pollinators -- bees, flies, moths, butterflies and others -- in enabling plant reproduction and keeping our gardens healthy. After outlining the science behind plants and need for pollination, visitors were able to get a close-up look at a hive of bees and discuss the different kinds of bees we encounter in our gardens; there was also discussion on the many ways to attract pollinators.

Chef's Garden, another summer initiative here at USDA, was also back again this week. After checking out the USDA Farmers Market, visitors were able to meet with chefs from the USDA Cafeteria and taste their recipe for Summer Corn Salad -- a great use of corn, tomatoes and onions easily grown in any home garden.



Healthy Garden Workshops and Chef's Garden programs will continue throughout the summer; if you can't make it to the garden here, be sure to check out the Peoples' Garden on Twitter, or visit the Peoples' Garden web site for some of the great garden tips from the workshops.

Permalink  |  Posted: 04:33PM Aug 14, 2009 by USDAblogger in USDA Web Site  |  Add Your Comment Here [6]

Peoples' Garden Workshop focuses on healthy eating

What a beautiful, sunny, not-too-hot day in D.C.!

It was perfect for today's Peoples' Garden workshop, which focused broadly on the many ways you can make your garden work for you -- by planting different vegetables, and knowing how they're bets prepared. Volunteer staff presented tips on utilizing garden vegetables such as squash, greens, and peppers, and gave basic advice on preparation.

But to really help everyone visualize the great things that can come out of a well-stocked garden, guests visited the Chef's Kitchen in the Peoples' Garden, where staff from Share Our Strength showed everyone the preparation of their Ratatouille recipe, a baked vegetable dish with a variety of uses.

The Healthy Garden Workshops will continue through the summer at the Jamie L. Whitten Federal Building here in Washington. You can always check out the Peoples' Garden on Twitter, too!

Permalink  |  Posted: 04:34PM Aug 07, 2009 by USDAblogger in USDA Web Site  |  Add Your Comment Here [2]

Learning about rain barrels at the Healthy Garden Workshop

You may not know it, but the rain falling on your roof during storms can take a major toll on the environment.

When the rain runs off your home or apartment, it collects pollutants and debris -- and carries them directly into the nearest storm drain, beginning their journey to local bodies of water. In the mid-Atlantic, for example, storm runoff is a leading cause of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.

One great way to protect the environment and conserve water is to collect the runoff in a rain barrel; this was the focus of today's Healthy Garden Workshop at the Peoples' Garden in Washington.



Volunteer experts from the Audubon Naturalist Society presented the purpose behind home rain barrels, and explained to two dozen visitors at the Peoples' Garden the usefulness for a homeowner of installing a rain barrel, including savings on water usage (and on the water bill!). They went over the many options available to people considering a rain barrel on their property, including the size of the barrel, necessary equipment, and the choice between home construction of a barrel and commercial purchase.





This is just one more way people can be involved in conservation from their homes. Every Friday at the Peoples' Garden outside the Jamie L. Whitten Building in Washington, USDA staff and volunteer experts are holding similar Healthy Garden Workshops, showing visitors many other tips to get involved in gardening and conservation.

If you're in town, stop by Fridays at noon to learn more about gardening, conservation, and how you and your community can help contribute to sustainable American agriculture.

Permalink  |  Posted: 03:54PM Jul 31, 2009 by USDAblogger in USDA Web Site  |  Add Your Comment Here [1]