March 26th: First Lady Michelle Obama Will Replant White House Kitchen Garden For Spring

Children from four states invited to the White House... 
UPDATE: CLICK HERE for the post about the event
Inspired by First Lady Michelle Obama's Kitchen Garden, so many children have written to the Gardener in Chief about their own projects that last year the White House created a special memento to send out, a portrait of the First Lady seated in the lush crops rows with First Dog Bo (above). This Monday, March 26th, some of those junior gardeners will visit the White House. The East Wing has announced that children from Iowa, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New York, as well as students from the District of Columbia have been invited to join the First Lady as she replants the garden for Spring.

"All wrote to her about their own gardening experiences," the East Wing said about Mrs. Obama's out-of-state guests, noting that the kids included descriptions about their healthy eating and food access projects.

Mrs. Obama has been assisted by young helpers for each of her harvest and planting events, but never by so many different groups at one time. About 34 kids will join the First Lady for the digging party, which comes ahead of the publication in late May of American Grown, Mrs. Obama's book about her signature project.

Mrs. Obama has invited second graders from Mitchell Elementary School in Ames, Iowa; the school offers each grade "their own raised bed plot" in a vegetable garden, which is also open to community members, according to the East Wing. The students invited from Stetser Elementary School in Chester, Pennsylvania include two former students who wrote to the First Lady about their experiences with their school garden and three current fourth graders. Students invited from Sumner Elementary School in Greensboro, North Carolina are hoping to start a garden. Third graders wrote to Mrs. Obama for advice, the East Wing said. (Above: Mrs. Obama and a helper at last summer's Three Sisters planting, which spotlighted Native Americans)

All three of these states happen to be battlegrounds for President Obama's re-election effort, and have gotten plenty of the First Lady's attention recently. Last week she was in New York to fundraise, and she visited North Carolina, home to the upcoming 2012 Democratic National Convention, earlier this month. She traveled to Iowa in February for a stadium-sized event to kickoff her national tour for the second anniversary of the Let's Move! campaign. With its focus on community revitalization and job creation through food access projects, Mrs. Obama's childhood obesity initiative is a swell calling card for the President's re-election effort.

Members of Girl Scouts of Western New York Troop 60325 from Fairport, New York have also been invited to Monday's planting; they told Mrs. Obama about the 100 tomato plants they'd grown to give to members of their community. Mrs. Obama is National Honorary President of the Girl Scouts. Kids from DC's Harriet Tubman and Bancroft Elementary Schools, longtime partners in the project, will also be on hand.

Bancroft students--who have their own school garden that Mrs. Obama has visited--have worked in the Kitchen Garden since it was first planted in 2009. The Tubman kids have also been at a number of garden events; White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford, Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives Sam Kass and Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses have adopted the school through the Chefs Move to Schools program, which marries professional chefs to public schools.

The planting...and Thomas Jefferson...and no, the garden is not organic
On Monday, Mrs. Obama and her junior helpers will plant a wide variety of crops, including seeds and seedlings sourced from President Thomas Jefferson's historic restored kitchen garden at his plantation home Monticello, in Albemarle County, VA. It is overseen by master horticulturalist Peter Hatch, who has served as an advisor for the White House project, and donated seeds and starts each year. The Kitchen Garden is now 1,500 square feet, expanded in 2010 from its original size of 1,100 square feet at the First Lady's behest. With boxed beds, it grows through all four seasons with the use of protective hoop houses. The plastic covering were removed last weekend thanks to very warm weather. (Above: The Kitchen Garden earlier this week, with the uncovered hoops still in place)

Though not certified organic, no chemical pesticides or fertilizers are used in the Kitchen Garden. Fresh vegetables, including Brussels sprouts, micro cabbage sprouts, kale and winter lettuces were used last week when the President and Mrs. Obama hosted the State Dinner honoring British Prime Minister David Cameron, for more than 320 guests. (Above: Chefs harvesting greens for the State Dinner, with the hoop houses visible in the background)

The Kitchen Garden is visible daily to the thousands of tourists who gather outside the South Lawn fence line to view the White House, and is meticulously cared for by the White House chefs, employees of the National Park Service who maintain the historic grounds, and volunteers. During the annual Garden and Grounds tours at the White House, visitors wait in long lines to get a first-hand look at the project.

As exclusively reported here today, on May 29, Crown Publishing Group will release Mrs. Obama's book about the Kitchen Garden, American Grown. The date is the second delay for the book, Mrs. Obama's first effort as an author. Subtitled "The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America," the book is a combination memoir and how-to guide, richly photographed. It includes details for how to plant all kinds of gardens, as well as recipes. The 256-page hardcover edition will sell for $30 in the US market. (Above, the book jacket)

*Check the sidebar of the blog for a complete listing of White House recipes inspired by the Kitchen Garden.

Related: The White House Beehive is ready for Spring, too.

*Top photo by Lawrence Jackson/White House; hoop house photo by Chuck Kennedy/White House; book cover photo by Crown Publishing Group; other photos by Eddie Gehman Kohan/Obama Foodorama