Winners announced in the White House Farmer contest

The top three vote-getters have been named in an unofficial contest to find a "farmer" to plan and care for an organic garden and orchard at the White House.

We wrote about this last week. Voting ended Saturday and the winners have been announced. They are:

1. Claire Strader, Troy Community Farm, Madison, Wis.

2. Carrie Anne Little, Mother Earth Farm, Puyallup, Wash.

3. Margaret Lloyd, Home Farming, Davis, Calif.

The only candidate I know personally is Shep Ogden, who came in a respectable ninth -- although we recently wrote about Will Allen, who placed fourth.

This competition is really a well-meaning effort to get President Obama to set an example by planting vegetables on the grounds of the White House.

(NOTE: To go to the Monitor’s main gardening page — which contains articles and blog posts on many topics – click here.)