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4 Ways to Nurture Your Mental Health in the Garden’s Off-Season

in Garden Planning· In the Garden· The Beginner's Garden Podcast· Winter Garden

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While most of us start gardening to feed our families more organically or economically, I think any seasoned gardener, or those who have even just started, will tell you that the benefits that come from tending the garden far exceed those you bring to your family table.

In a recent conversation I had with licensed counselor Whitney Caves, we discussed the benefits that gardening can have on our mental health at all times of the year. But especially during the offseason, gardeners can use a bit of a mental boost. Take a listen to our entire conversation below or continue reading.

Woman in garden smiling
Whitney Caves, licensed counselor, has seen both in her personal life and in her professional life, just how powerful gardening can be for mental health.

Ways to Boost Mental Health

Is it possible to feel “normal” during a pandemic? Most people would tell you no, but if you have been gardening for more than a season or two, simply walking in your garden in the spring of 2020 brought you some kind of grounding in normalcy.

I have really clung to my garden this year and it’s brought me peace in a time of such uncertainty and sadness. While we know that what we produce in the garden is good for our bodies, a lot of us don’t realize it’s also good for our minds.

It’s so good to get outside, to breathe in the air, to look at the sky, and to see what good can grow in the garden. The chemicals released when we run our hands through the dirt, when we take in the sunshine, and when we dig and plant and sow all lead to positive mental health.

Basket with flowers and vegetables

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Identifying Seasonal Affective Disorder

But what about the off-season? The days are shorter, the garden is mostly bare. We may find ourselves just a bit more sluggish and even sad. A lot of people also struggle after the holidays and some are triggered by the holidays, themselves.

Even if we don’t meet the clinical criteria for Seasonal Affective Disorder, we may find ourselves struggling as the days grow shorter and the winter wears on. If you find yourself feeling this way, know you aren’t alone.

This year, too, is just harder with CoVid and the stress surrounding it. People have had to be isolated and they aren’t able to interact with others the way they normally would. I believe that regardless of where we find ourselves on the continuum of seasonal sadness, it very well may hit harder in the 2020-2021 winter.

When Should You Seek Medical Help?

It’s common for most people in the fall and winter to feel lower energy and a lack of motivation. Many of us have to learn to push through it and take care of ourselves as best we can. But when does the persistent sadness become something that needs professional attention?

It becomes a deeper issue if those feelings of sadness last all day and every day, the motivation to do things we once always loved is no longer there, our sleep pattern is interrupted (this can be we can’t sleep at all when we once could or we sleep all day long for no reason), we’ve lost interest in things, the feelings of hopelessness persist, or we begin thinking of self-harm. This is when we want to seek help from a mental health professional.

But what if our struggles don’t rise to those levels? Do we just grin and bear it until spring? No. There are steps we can take during the garden off-season to lift our spirits through the fall and winter.

What Can We Do To Stay Mentally Healthy In Winter?

Garden Planning. A key element in mental health is planning. If you know you are prone to get down in the winter, plan for it. If you love to garden, working on dreaming and planning for next season’s garden. At the very least, grab yourself a garden planner to work on during the winter when those blues start to creep in.

Working on a laptop outside
Take your laptop outside and connect with fellow garden friends from the outdoors!

Connect with other gardeners. While we may not be able to leave our homes during winter due to snow, Covid, sickness, or whatever other reason, there are still wonderful resources that allow us to connect with like-minded gardeners online. If you’ve not joined our Beginner’s Garden Facebook Group, this is a great resource!

Sunshine. Find some kind of sun! We know that Vitamin D is good for us. In the winter, it’s sometimes an instinct to sit in the dark because it’s dark outside. Open your curtains, turn on your lights, go outside! Even if the sun isn’t shining, being outside is SO good for you!

T-shirt that says "Requires water & sunlight"

Take a walk. Plan it into your day. If we plan for our walks, we are more likely to do it. Serotonin released into our brains during non-vigorous exercise outside looking at the beauty in our garden is so good for our mental health. Just a 20-minute walk outdoors can make a huge difference in how you feel.

You Aren’t Alone

I just wanted to say, again, that you aren’t alone in this journey if you find yourself faced with any kind of depression, seasonal affective disorder, or any other mental health issue. If you need to seek the help of a medical professional, don’t wait.

What do you do to nurture your mental health in the garden’s off-season? Comment with your ideas!

Stay well and inspired both in body and mind. And remember, spring is coming.


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Filed Under: Garden Planning, In the Garden, The Beginner's Garden Podcast, Winter Garden

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Notice a difference between the cabbage seedlings Notice a difference between the cabbage seedlings on the left and the ones on the right?
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I just love testing different things in my garden, and for these seedlings I tested two treatments I’ve never tried before: foliage feeding and a “root dip” using the plant growth product, Organic REV.
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The plants on the left were untreated; the ones on the right were treated.
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A few weeks ago I filled a spray bottle with a diluted Organic REV mixture (per their instructions) and I sprayed the young seedlings on the right. They responded well and began to outpace the untreated group slightly — it was small but definitely noticeable.
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Then last Friday I transferred the seedlings into these larger pots, but before I did it, for the plants on the right, I dipped the root ball in a 50/50 REV/water mixture, saturating the soil and roots before transplanting. Again, the plants on the right were the only ones that got this root dip.
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The soil all plants are growing in is the same: a potting mix plus some Plant Tone organic fertilizer.
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It was after this root dip and transplant that the seedlings on the right started pacing much more ahead of the ones in the untreated group.
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While all the seedlings (treated and untreated) are growing in this fertile soil medium, what Organic REV is supposed to do is appearing to prove true — at least in this test. It helps plants more efficiently take up and use the nutrients that are present in the soil.
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Organic REV is now a brand partner of the Beginner’s Garden. They sent me their product to try first, and I’m continuing to test it in different ways.
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But what I’m sharing with you is my own experience and results. If you’re interested in their product, look them up here: @buyorganicrev Use my affiliate code JILL10 to get 10% off if you want to try it for yourself.
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#organicrev #foliarfeed #foliarfeeding #indoorseedstarting #indoorseedlings #pottingup #cabbage #cabbageseedlings #organicgardening #organicfertilizers
I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to harvesti I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to harvesting from my garden in the winter. It snowed today, even! (Okay, just a dusting, and it already melted, but in central Arkansas, any snow is worth celebrating! 😂)
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Although I’ve grown cabbage in the spring before, this is my first time harvesting a fall crop. (My last two attempts were thwarted by hungry rabbits or rogue hens 😡.)
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I have several more plants that I’m hoping to harvest from now that the days are getting longer and maybe the heads will start growing again. And I also have a new crop started in my grow room.
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Four-season gardening may sound daunting but I assure you, fall and winter gardening is almost a hands-off endeavor. The only thing it really takes is a little planning (and some nurturing in the beginning).
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And the reward of picking from your garden in the winter (when your climate allows) can’t be overstated. It’s fabulous!!
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If you’re interested in learning how to incorporate more seasons in your garden growing, I have several exciting new resources coming up, starting with tomorrow’s first podcast of the new year on deciding if indoor seed starting is right for you!
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As much as I’m enjoying this winter harvest, I’ve already got one eye in spring! You, too? 😊
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#cabbage #growingcabbage #wintergarden #winterharvest #zone7b #arkansasgarden #zone7gardening #gardenplanning
This fall-planted parsley 🌱 has done really wel This fall-planted parsley 🌱 has done really well in my Greenstalk Vertical planter. I recently harvested the lower leaves and dried them for use in the kitchen. But the rest of the plant is still growing well, and I expect to harvest from it for months to come.
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I planted the parsley along with other plants in the Greenstalk planter in September. Although the lettuce is done and I harvested the celery, the herbs like parsley, cilantro, chives, and oregano are going strong!
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I LOVE that I don’t have to buy almost all herbs from the store, even in the winter.
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#herbs #parsley #herbgardening #greenstalkplanter #greenstalkverticalplanter #containergarden #containergardening #containerherbgardening #wintergarden #winterharvest #winterherbs #zone7b #zone7gardening
I’ve spent the better part of two days selecting I’ve spent the better part of two days selecting and ordering seeds for this year. My husband thinks my intensive research is a bit over the top. Maybe.... 🤔
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But here’s what I do:
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1️⃣ Select the seed companies I’ll purchase from. Most of my orders were from @southernexposureseed because I’m in the SE US and the varieties there fit my climate well. Next, I placed a large order from @territorialseedcompany (great selection, informative catalog, and some of the best prices). From there, I supplemented with seeds from @bakercreekseeds (high quality heirloom seeds, highly dependable, free shipping), @johnnys_seeds (unique varieties for different needs than I can get elsewhere), and @seed_savers_exchange (heirloom seeds with a great mission).
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2️⃣ I went through my top 3 catalogs, circling varieties I was interested in.
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3️⃣ I entered each variety in my Seed & Plant Research sheet from my Complete Garden Planner, noting unique characteristics, days to maturity, and price. (Not all seed packets are equal in quantity so it pays to be a savvy shopper.)
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4️⃣ I chose which seeds to purchase.
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I usually plan my entire garden before ordering seeds, but I was a bit nervous about the seed supply (thankfully only a few varieties were sold out), so I did my best in choosing what I’d need.
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The process was LONG but a great way to spend the last two days of 2020 — with HOPE for the 2021 garden season! 💕
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Have you ordered seeds yet? Where do you like to order from?
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(My printable Complete Garden Planner is available in my shop, link in profile.)
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#seedshopping #orderingseeds #gardenseeds #garden2021
#gardenplanning #gardenplans #seedcatalog #seedcatalogs #wheretobuyseeds #gardening #gardeningtips #gardentips
My greenhouse lettuce is coming along! 🥬 I expe My greenhouse lettuce is coming along! 🥬 I expect now that the day length ☀️ will be increasing, the growth will accelerate in the next couple of months.
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I think I planted these in early October, so you can see how slow they grow this time of year, even in the warmth of the greenhouse. But it’s so nice to see signs of growth and hope for future lettuce harvests! 🥬
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I’m almost to the end of my main fall lettuce, so I’ll be glad when these are ready to eat!
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#lettuce #greenhouse #greenhousegardening #wintergarden #wintergardening #greenhouselettuce #falllettuce #growbag #growbags #greenhousegardener #containergardening #containergarden #containerlettuce
Would love to hear your personal experience using Would love to hear your personal experience using shredded leaves as mulch! 🍂
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🌲 The trees on my property are mainly pine trees, so I’ve never had fallen leaves to collect and use as mulch. (That’s mainly why I use wood chips.) But when my dad offered to collect and bag up his leaves and give them to me, of course I said yes!
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Twenty-five bags later I realized I needed to figure out how to best use them. I knew they’d blow away if I just dumped them on the garden and they’d take forever to break down if I threw them in the compost pile. So I watched a few YouTube videos and settled on a leaf shredder.
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(A lot of people use lawn mowers to mulch their leaves but we don’t have a mower like that. I also tried the weed-eater as an immersion blender in a trash can idea once and it was a disaster.)
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I LOVED this leaf shredder! It was really easy to use and I shredded 25 bags in just a couple of hours. Most people shred the leaves into bags but I created a simple wired bin to collect mine, and I shredded the leaves directly into it. I applied the leaves to several beds already but I have half of them still in the bin to use later.
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How do you use fall leaves in your garden? I’m excited to try this method that I have enviously watched so many gardeners use over the years!
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#leafshredder #leafmulch #leafmulching #leafmulcher #fallenleaves #autumnleaves #mulch #gardentips #fallgardening #gardenchores #compost #leavesasmulch #fallgardencleanup @worxtools
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