Garden Update April 2021 – Plus Mental Health Benefits of Gardening
We’ve had an unusually warm spring but we’re headed for a few days of below freezing nights and very chilly days. Send warm thoughts to my little plant babies! Ready for a garden update?
We’re in the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic right now in Ontario. It’s been tough. One of the foolproof ways of improving my mood is getting outside and getting my hands dirty. I can see the growth of my seedlings, day after day. I can get a bit of exercise and release endorphins.
Garden Update:
Rhubarb! Here’s my sales pitch for rhubarb: EVERYONE should grow rhubarb because once you stick it in the soil, you don’t have to do anything at all. It’s the first plant up in the spring. It makes delicious pies and cakes. (Let me know in the comments if you want my mom’s recipe for Rhubarb Cake!) It’s big and green and leafy. (It’s leaves are poisonous. But it’s fine, really.) Sold yet? Plant it!
Look at these cuties.
Carrots, kale, and broccoli coming up nicely under the cold frame.
Buttercrunch lettuce, garlic and onions have also been planted outside while the rest of my seedlings are still indoors under the grow light.
Fun Facts about Gardening and Mental Health:
- Getting your hands dirty, literally, releases happy hormone, serotonin.
- Gardening reduces cortisol (stress hormone).
- Even looking out a window into nature or having a houseplant within view reduces stress, anxiety, and depression.
- When the weather isn’t perfect and you don’t feel like going outside, you still get the same benefits.
