White House winter hoop garden produces 50 lbs of luscious produce despite record cold

Woohoo! The White House organic winter hoop garden was a huge success. Their goal was to show that we can grow a garden year round, even in sub-freezing temperatures. When this winter turned out to be a record cold one in Washington, D.C., the White House gardeners were sure the vegetables could not survive. Boy, were they surprised. Take a look.



The project was funded by the US Department of Agriculture under its Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food program as a sample of the much larger season-extending, high tunnel systems (pdf) they are testing in plots and small farms around the country over the next three years. Learn more on the WH blog, and watch the December 1 launch of the WH winter garden right here.



We can grow our own food year round. Granted, while the hoop garden was under snow, there was no way to check on it, let alone harvest; and the fact the gardens are dependent on huge sheets of non-biodegradable plastic is a concern. Still, with care and using the simplest technology, we may be able to eat healthy, home-grown, organic produce year round, no matter where we live.

This is exactly the kind of time-tested technology, married with innovative thinking, that we need to build Ordinary.

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We make peace in a million small ways every day.

All text and images, unless otherwise noted, copyright L. Kathryn Grace. All rights reserved.