The one powerful gardening benefit no one ever talks about. 🌱🤲

Published: Sun, 03/06/22

Hello there, Rural Sprout Readers,

It’s been another sobering week. And yet, I can’t say that it was a bad week. Despite everything that's going on, I keep seeing the good in people all around me. While the mighty media machine keeps churning out its noise, it seems that the rest of us – family, friends, neighbors and coworkers have decided to write our own story.

People are reaching out a helping hand both here and overseas.

And yes, this week we will talk about gardening because it seems that everyone else is. We've got jade plants, direct-seeded flowers, fixing a salad (lettuce problems!), terrible internet plant advice, and houseplant scale.

Last week, you may have noticed that we highlighted Cheryl’s piece - How To Grow An Emergency Garden & Get Food on the Table Quickly. It certainly struck a chord, and it’s no wonder.

Whether it’s the scary headlines in the media or folks feeling the pinch at the grocery store, everyone seemed to be talking about gardening this week.

I remember seeing the influx of new gardeners at the beginning of the pandemic. It seems now more than ever people are looking to grow their own food. And all I can say to that is welcome; we’re glad to have you!

Once you start playing in the dirt, you’ll never want to stop.

Growing up on my dad’s homestead, he drilled the importance of food sovereignty - the idea that we, as individuals, have control over our food - into me. As a child I was always asked to think about where the food on our table came from, especially food from the grocery store.

As an adult, it was something that most of my peers never gave a second thought. Until now. With each passing day, it seems that tomorrow and what it will bring grow more uncertain. It can leave us feeling like we have lost control over our own lives.

And that’s where the simple act of putting a seed in the dirt comes in.

This is one benefit of growing your food that we rarely talk about, but it’s such a powerful one – growing your own food gives you something you can control; it gives you something reliable you can count on year after year.

Granted, we can’t control the weather or the pests, but there is something powerfully steadying about standing in your garden and seeing the work of your hands when it feels like the world is spinning out of control, be it personally or globally.

And we could all use that kind of peace and stability right now, even if it’s just in one small area.

Because let me tell you, folks, even on my worst days, I can enter my garden with the weight of the world on my shoulders and walk out lighter, with a spring in my step. It’s as if the green leaves and the brown dirt pull the cares out of me through my fingertips. (Yet another great reason to skip the gloves.)

So welcome, new gardeners; hello, old friends; welcome spring, a light in these dark days.

Seasoned gardeners, lend a hand to new gardeners, maybe even a packet of seeds and hand tool or two. New gardeners, don't be afraid to ask for help; if there’s one thing those of us with dirty hands love, it’s talking about gardening.

New and old gardeners alike will want to make sure they’re following Cheryl’s list of March Gardening Jobs to get ready for the growing season. And let’s all take a breath and step into the garden.