Get Your Mind Off It… Garden

Gardening is not just for those with the proverbial “green thumb.” Growing things, especially things you can eat, is a great pastime that can be a great new habit to replace old destructive habits like smoking. In this edition of “Take Your Mind Off It…” we’ll discuss how gardening helps us new non-smokers and some fun ways to get started.

Gardening has been an essential part of life since the beginning of time. In our industrialized society we are often brought our produce from factory farms, which is not only hard on the environment, it also limits the variety of fruits and vegetables available. Gardening gets you out in the sunshine and gives you something to watch grow. The act of daily watering and weeding is actually a great stress reliever, which can help with those withdrawal jitters.

Even if you don’t have a square foot of earth to till, you can still use containers to grow tomatoes, peppers and even beans and cucumbers. If you have a vine plant, such as cucumber, be sure it has a trellis to climb. You can use something as simple as a garden post with twist ties. If you’d like to start small, grow your own herbs. Oregano, mint and other herbs are very hardy and tend to reseed themselves easily. Fresh mint leaves also make a great relaxing hot or iced tea. Try gardening and you’ll be growing in more ways than one.