I know everyone is writing about how gardening soothes right now, especially in these trying times. But it’s true. There is nothing that calms the inner monkey quite like getting outdoors, planting seeds, and then nurturing them into food production. The sun on your face, the scents of earth and plants, the sounds of birds, bees and other creatures have a healing effect unlike anything else.
I’ve always done it, but right now it seems more important and more effective than ever at being my Zen place. Not to mention making my family more resilient by growing our own food.
I started my gardening as a manic doer, and it’s taken years to slow down. I’m a huge fan of the slow gardening movement – of leaving things alone when you don’t need to mess with them. It’s all about the soil.
Happily, the move toward regenerative agriculture and permaculture is taking this idea to heart on a larger scale. If you get a chance, check out One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka. He is essentially the grandfather of permaculture with his philosophy that plants will thrive in their natural settings, without human intervention.
It makes us lend a more critical eye to how our food is produced. If we do our best to protect and nurture our soil by adapting his methods of using nature’s cycles, we’ll have healthier gardens that are less susceptible to the vagaries of pests and diseases. Slow gardening, non-intervention at its best.
And it’s all about the soil. Nurturing your soil will produce delicious results like these baby beets and turnips. With little care except planting the seeds.
Shredded spring salad
½ c. grated raw beets
½ c. grated or spiralized baby turnips
½ c. grated carrots
½ c. grated radishes
½ c. thinly sliced scallions
½ c. thinly sliced pak choi
2 c. mixed torn salad greens
Lemon dressing
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
3/4 c. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. dry mustard
1 T. chopped fresh herbs
1 t. salt or to taste
1/2 t. black pepper
Kate's Garden Kitchen 