Food-lovers everywhere have applauded Michelle Obama's initiative to plant a garden on White House property, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt planted a Victory Garden there more than half a century ago. But while the praise for the initiative seems unanimous, the opinion on the future of food growth still is not. The official name of Michelle's garden is the White House Organic Farm Project and both proponents of organic farming and conventional farming are expressing their views.

Alice Waters, an outspoken supporter of sustainable agriculture, doesn't see any reason why organic farming shouldn't be accessible to anyone and everyone.

"I feel that good food should be a right and not a privilege and it needs to be without pesticides and herbicides," Waters recently told CBS' Lesley Stahl on "60 Minutes." "And everybody deserves this food. And that's not elitist."

However, the author of "Real Foods for Healthy Kids," Tracey Seaman realizes that growing vegetables and buying organic produce may not be feasible for all families. In other words, not everyone has access to a full gardening crew the way the First Lady does.

"It's a real challenge because organic stuff is still pricier than the conventional," said Seaman, a single, working mother of two teenagers. "I think parents have to choose what's really important."

Others echo Seaman's sentiments.

"We're all in the middle of a recession, like we're all going to start buying expensive organic food and running to the 'green' market," renowned chef Anthony Bourdain said in a January interview with DCist.com.

Bourdain is host of the Travel Channel show No Reservations, author of "Kitchen Confidential" and no fan of Waters by the way.

And then there are still others like "Omnivores Dilemma" author Michael Pollan, who don't necessarily vocalize an opinion on the organic farming debate, but are in favor of the eco-friendly benefits that planting a garden can provide.

At a time of economic crisis, a garden can provide a surprisingly large amount of fresh, healthy produce," Pollan said. "But just as important, it teaches important habits of mind -- helping people to reconnect with their food, eat more healthily on a budget and recognize that we're less dependent on the industrial food chain, and cheap fossil fuel, than we assume."  

» ABC News

During both World Wars, regular citizens were encouraged to be part of a solution to remove pressure from the food supply by supplementing it with produce they grew in their own yards. These fruit, vegetable and herb gardens were more commonly known as Victory Gardens and besides providing families with food, thus freeing up supplies for troops, they were also known to boost morale during difficult as families experienced a sense of pride and accomplishment at growing their own food. Over 20 million of these gardens were planted in 1943 and accounted for nearly one-third of all vegetables consumed by Americans that year.

Fast-forward more than sixty years, and while we're not fighting a World War, there's no arguing that current times seem bleak amidst a recession and global food shortages (to name just a few issues). So if money and food are both in short supply, would resurrecting the Victory Garden possibly help? Times have certainly changed since the original Victory Gardens were planted and clearly families have less time to devote to the hard work having a garden requires. However planting a garden doesn't mean you necessarily have to grow all your own produce. Growing most of your own herbs for example would reduce the amount you need to buy from the supermarket, and since you aren't buying cilantro that has been shipped across the country, you're doing the earth a favor too.

Initiatives such as the Revive the Victory Garden website (which you can see after the jump), encourage potential growers to do as they did in the 1940s and use the resources you have available to plant your own garden. And while Eleanor Roosevelt encouraged the initiative during war times by planting a Victory Garden, current First Lady Michelle Obama launched her own at the White House this past week, to encourage local food growth. And this isn't just some kind of garden planted for show - Michelle has planted over 55 varieties of produce including blueberries, strawberries, kale and hot peppers.

So how can you follow the First Lady's example, as well as that of millions of people over the years and plant your own Victory Garden? The Revive the Victory Garden initiative has a few tips and ideas.

☆ Learn which plants can be successfully grown in your climate. Not every region will be ideal for growing potatoes for example, while others may be more well-suited to growing fresh berries. Learn which plants will thrive in your area to avoid the disappointment of failed crops.

☆ Research the weather patterns in your area, specifically the time of year you'll likely experience the last and first frosts. Since frost can wreak havoc on a garden, you'll want to plant and harvest your garden between those dates (last frost occurs in the spring and first occurs in the fall).

☆ Don't plant foods that you don't like to eat, or chances are, you won't eat them (duh). It may seem like common sense to avoid doing so, but if you find out parsley grows well in your area, you may find yourself reaching for a package of the seeds even though you can't ever recall actually buying or using the stuff. Not only should you only plant seeds that will grow well in your area, you should also only plant the ones you'll want to eat later.

☆ Don't let space be a deterrent. Even in the 1940s, rooftop and backyard gardens were common. If you don't have a backyard, plant some vegetables or herbs with the flowers in your front yard. You can also use flower pots, both ones that hang and ones that rest on the ground, to grow produce. And check to see if your neighborhood has space available to rent as part of a community garden.

☆ Make it a family project. Get your kids interested in how their food is grown and where it comes from by encouraging them to help out. As they begin to see plants grow and finally get to eat some of the home-grown radishes they helped produce, they'll also feel a sense of pride, not to mention awareness, of the hard work that goes into food production. It may even inspire them to have their own gardens in the future and will make the whole Victory Garden experience more enjoyable for all involved.

» Revive the Victory Garden