My "Monsanto Sucks, Michelle Obama Rocks Organic Garden"

I've been a little deprived of news lately but I caught a brief bit of the Daily Show the other night and was appalled to learn that the big three agro-business corporations are criticizing Michelle Obama for planting an organic garden. Apparently, Monsanto, Dow AgroSciences and Dupont believe it is irresponsible of the First Lady to not use pesticides and chemical fertilizers in her 1100 square foot plot.


A few months before I heard the news that Michelle Obama was planning an organic garden on the White House grounds I decided to turn an unused 6 by 14 foot patio into a raised organic vegetable bed. The plan is to plant the veggies that we never get enough from in our Community Supported Agriculture farm share from the organic Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton, Massachusetts. You can see my bed half-finished above. I still have to move about a yard of loam I had delivered from Wolf Hill, my husband and I are giving our backs a break for a day. My little 84 square feet of awaiting dirt is nothing to Michelle's, but it's all I can fit in our 3200 square foot plot (and half of that is a house).

Now after hearing that Mrs. Obama is taking heat for not using chemicals, and unknowingly NOT teaching America that we need these chemicals in our life, I've decided to provocatively name my little patch of land the "Monsanto sucks, Michelle Obama Rocks Organic Garden". I'm already envisioning a nice sign with Michelle posing oh-so sophisticated in her gardening gloves with her foot crushing a bottle of pesticides and a bag of genetically altered seeds.

I know that not everyone in America has even the mere 84 square feet that I have to grow organic vegetables. Nor can everyone afford them in the grocery store. But, if you do have a patch of land, and like to garden, what's the big deal if you want to make it organic and therefore not expose your family and pets to chemicals? Realistically, without some kind of pest management it would be hard to grow enough food for the world's growing population. But major agro-business and a family's home plot is worlds apart.

So I say to DuPont, Monsanto, Dow AgroSciences and the other members of the Mid America Croplife Association: "Keep your grubby chemically hands out of my backyard" and even more so "keep your genetically modified and genetically dead seeds out of my backyard". It's all heirloom veggies in my plot, and Neptune's Harvest organic fish emulsion fertilizer if I need it. My compost from last year's growing season will do most of the work.

Here's my plan courtesy of Gardener's Supply's Kitchen Garden Planner. I can already taste the organic tomatoes, green beans, basil, lettuce, carrots, spinach and cucumbers...

I applaud you Michelle Obama....so take THAT Monsanto!