WASHINGTON, June 17 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama has harvested vegetables grown in an organic garden on the White House soil, national media said on Wednesday.

The garden has produced lettuce, snap peas, beans, kale, collards and chard, with a total weight of 40 kilograms, the UPI news agency said, citing White House associate chef Sam Kass.

Obama invited children from Bancroft Elementary School, who helped her plant the vegetables in March, to harvest them and enjoy the meal, prepared together with White House chefs.

"It's harvest day," she told reporters. "Today is the fun part. We get to pick some stuff, clean it and cook it and eat it."

The vegetables have grown well thanks to heavy rain, Kass said, adding that no chemicals were used on the vegetables and the plants were not eaten by the Obama family dog, Bo.

Michelle Obama started the garden in an effort to promote healthy eating and organic farms. "The planting of this garden was one of the first things I wanted to do as first lady at the White House," she said.

The first lady has continued the tradition of Eleanor Roosevelt who planted a "victory garden" on the front lawn of the White House in 1943, showing an example to Americans how to provide themselves with food during the war.