“You're absolutely filthy!” This admonishment of misspent youthful summer afternoons should be considered a compliment for young and old alike in these stressful times, if the filth comes from the garden. The physical exercise of gardening, the structure it can bring to our lives, the gardening and landscaping impulse we share with our socially-distant neighbors, friends and relatives, even the acquisition of health-promoting soil bacteria under dirty fingernails – these can all be therapeutic. Gardening is “green therapy,” with or without a crisis at hand.
The answer, of course, is yes. Both established and recent research about the mental, emotional, and physical benefits of gardening abounds. California's own universities and colleges produce and verify much of this research, and the UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are among the many local groups committed to sharing it.
“The most valuable of all arts, will be the art of deriving a comfortable subsistence from the smallest area of soil. No community whose every member possesses this art, can ever be the victim of oppression in any of its forms.” So said Abraham Lincoln in 1859, and that enduring sentiment drove the “Victory Gardens” movement of World Wars I and II. Historian and former Ventura County UC Cooperative Extension Director Rose Hayden-Smith traced the positive impacts of these gardens on food security, patriotism, and common purpose for Americans facing hard times. Right now we are seeing a resurgence of the Victory Garden idea in gardens variously called “Recovery Gardens,” “Resilience Gardens,” and even “Quarantine Gardens.”
Locally, this community-level version of green therapy is being championed by, among others, the Butte County Food Network and their current “Garden Blitz on the Burn Scar.”
If growing your own food does not draw you to the garden, you may discover that a green version of physical and emotional therapy is appealing. Wield a shovel, wheel a full garden cart, or wrestle a five-gallon plant at a nursery and you'll know you are exercising! Research has shown that this particular form of exercise can help lower body mass, improve bone density, and decrease heart disease and other cardiovascular risk. Garden exercise can also offset some of the ravages of cancer and dementia, modulate blood sugar levels in diabetics, and decrease joint and knee pain. The UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources lists dozens of scientific studies documenting these benefits on its “Live Well in the Garden” site.
Being in the garden and experiencing nature is green emotional therapy too. According to Clare Cooper Marcus, professor emerita from UC Berkeley and one of the founders of the field of environmental psychology, plant puttering reduces stress because it puts the mind in a meditative state. Cooper Marcus notes that "When you are looking intensely at something, or you bend down to smell something, you bypass the [analytical] function of the mind.” She points out that you naturally stop thinking, obsessing, and worrying; your senses are awakened, which brings you into the present moment, which has been shown to be very effective at reducing stress.
If you are stressed – and who isn't these days? Or, if you have crisis fatigue, it is worth remembering that quality of life is related to the relationships we have with plants. An entire profession, Horticultural Therapy, has adopted this outlook. Professor Lee Altier at CSU Chico, one its proponents and educators, introduced the first California-based Horticultural Therapy course at Chico State in 2016. The class regularly fills up and Altier's students have introduced green therapy to individuals at Chico's Jesus Center, Little Red Hen Nursery, and local senior living centers. In a 17-minute video featuring scenes from Butte County, Altier sums up many of the therapeutic benefits described above and urges us all to consider getting out into the garden. Your physical, emotional, and mental health is scientifically guaranteed to improve if you do!
Sources and links:
Rose Hayden-Smith, “Growing a Greener World” Episode 126 – Victory Gardens: Then and Now
“Garden Blitz on the Burn Scar” – Butte County Local Food Network
UC ANR, Live Well in the Garden
Rob Knight interview: Dirt is Good
Clare Cooper Marcus, quoted in“Gardening for Health,” published in 2000.
Seth J. Gillihan, 10 Mental Health Benefits of Gardening, Psychology Today, June 2019
“Is Dirt the New Prozac?” Discover Magazine, June 13, 2007
Lee Altier; “Horticulture Therapy - Growing vegetables for physical and mental well-being"
The UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.
- Author: Kim Schwind
Butte County has had its share of disaster and turmoil. Now we face a virus that may not go away completely. Shopping for food has become a challenge. The stores are not always stocked the way they used to be. Times are challenging.
This kind of garden can be as small as some microgreens growing on a windowsill, or, if you have a deck or patio, you can fill containers with nutrient-dense vegetables. Out in the yard, you can tuck some vegetable plants into spaces around your existing landscape plants. If you have room, you can build or buy raised beds; these can be made of used lumber or even a repurposed old galvanized stock tank.
We live in a moderate climate that is great for planning and planting a food garden. Many nutrient-dense cool season vegetables can be planted now. They have a quick turnaround time, so in about thirty days you can go from planted seed to food on your plate. Leafy greens like kale and chard grow quickly. Lettuces, onions, broccoli, and beets do well in our area until it gets too warm.
Find something to grow that will work in your yard. If you plant the right plant in the right place at the right time you should be successful. If your yard is partly shaded, lettuces, leafy greens and spinach should work for you. Perhaps you can plant your vegetables and herbs in containers that are small enough to move around to sunny spots. Think creatively: if your vegetable-growing neighbor has a sunny yard, perhaps you can trade your leafy greens for their tomatoes and squash. Work together and plan your gardens so you can share food. If you have lots of room, plant an extra row so you will have extras to give away to someone in need.
The main prerequisite for growing vegetables is to find a spot where there is sunlight and water. Watch your yard for a full day to map where the sunlight hits. The area that gets the most sun is perfect for growing summer (warm season) vegetables. If this happens to be on a patio or a deck, remember that you can use containers filled with a container soil mix to grow almost any vegetable.
Cool weather crops grow best in air temperatures of 50 to75 degrees and soil temperatures of 50 to 65 degrees.
For a specific seed starting chart for your area, consult either the UC Master Gardeners of Butte County vegetable planting guide for the Chico valley area, or for the foothills.
Choose nutrient-dense vegetables like potatoes, cow peas, okra, shelling beans, and peppers. Tomatoes are not considered nutrient dense, but they are delicious.
Consider growing dry beans like pinto or black beans. These can be eaten fresh or allowed to dry on the vine. Once dried, they're picked and shelled. They can be stored for a long time in your pantry.
There are a few vegetables like okra and cow peas that work well together and are also drought resistant. You might consider incorporating an old Native American tradition called the “three sisters.” To do this, start by planting corn. When the corn is about five inches tall, plant pole beans around the corn stalks. The beans will use the corn as a trellis. Then plant squash or pumpkins around the beans. This method uses less water because the squash or pumpkin leaves shade the ground and help the soil retain water.
Growing popping corn is another way to prolong your food harvest. Once the corn is ready to pick, dry it and then remove the kernels from the cob. Store in an airtight container to be popped later.
Diversity in your food garden is a way to help it be more resilient. Adding some culinary herbs and pollinator-friendly flowers will invite beneficial insects to pollinate your vegetables and may help minimize undesirable bugs.
The UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, call the Hotline at (530) 538-7201 or email mgbutte@ucanr.edu.
