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Like many American schoolkids, Michelle Obama came home one day with a seed that had sprouted in a paper cup. It wasn't exactly the beginning of a grand horticultural career, but it was something she never forgot. Obama's mother cooked supermarket (and not home-grown) produce when Obama was a child--and there was always at least one vegetable at every dinner. In the new audiobook for American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America, Obama says, "We had to eat all of them, no exceptions."

With the First Lady's vegetable garden practically a subject of national envy, more and more of us are rolling up our sleeves and following suit. If you're put off by the idea of actually rolling up your sleeves, though, this helpful article explains that raising your own sun-ripened fruits and vegetables isn't the backbreaking, budget-busting hassle you'd think. The piece lays out four easy rules-- such as "pick a spot, any sunny spot. It doesn't have to be large"--and reminds us that a few rows of tomatoes and lettuce don't have to be managed with the same precision as a graded college chemistry lab, despite what all those gardening books say. The White House's garden may be 1,100 square feet, but you can get just as much pleasure from one a fraction of the size.

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