White House to get gardening: Will Americans follow?

Updated

Now that the Obama White House is planting a vegetable garden, you can bet that everyone else will start planting gardens.

And that's a good thing, if you have a big enough yard and sunlight to make your garden grow. But if you don't have enough land as the White House to plant a garden, here are some tips from the NBC affiliate in San Diego on what to plant to save you time, money and space in your yard.

Instead of growing head lettuce, which takes up a larger area to grow and needs a lot of attention, grow fancy Mezclun mixed greens. They can grow anywhere and you'll save a lot of money by growing them instead of buying them for $4 a pound.

If you don't have much room, grow Swiss chard and baby spinach. Stay away from winter cabbage, asparagus, celery, head lettuce and corn because they take up a large area.

If you want fruit all season long, plant three or four fruit trees in one hole. Remember to prune trees to control the size and height.

Don't grow peas if you want to save money. Store-bought frozen petit peas taste great, are fresh and are a lot cheaper than any snap peas you'd grow yourself.

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