How gardening helps my mental health

By Keira

I have always enjoyed gardening, especially the growing of fruit and vegetables. I used to do it a lot when I was younger, when I was suffering from depression and anorexia. I found that gardening allowed me to focus on something other than what was going on in my head and seeing my fruit and veg grow gave me a sense of accomplishment and encouraged me to eat what I had grown.

Once again, during this difficult time of being in lockdown, where my mental health is being affected by it, I have turned to gardening and to trying to become more self-sufficient. I live in a first floor flat and don’t actually have a garden, but this doesn’t mean that I can’t grow things.

I have started to grow my own veg in my kitchen windowsill from using cut offs from veg, which would usually end up in the bin. So far I have spring onions, carrots, leeks, tomatoes, garlic and lettuce all growing well. I cut off the ends of the spring onions, leeks, lettuce and garlic and kept them in water until they started sprouting, after which I transferred them to compost in pots on my windowsill. I did the same with the carrot tops and cut the tomatoes into slices and placed them in compost too. Once these plants have become well established, I hope to be able to buy less fruit and veg by eating my home grown ones instead. This type of self-sufficiency is something everyone can do; it helps to reduce waste, reduces your carbon footprint and makes you less dependent on imported food.

 Watching my veg start to sprout and grow is actually very mindful, as by tending to them and watering them, it allows me to stay in the present and I feel a sense of achievement by watching them grow. It also adds a bit of routine to my day, which is lacking during these times, by knowing that twice a day I need to water all my plants, check how they are growing and ensure they are getting enough sunlight. This also gives me something to focus on other than what is happening in the world right now. It also reminds me that even though life is on hold for everyone due to the pandemic, nature still carries on and new things can still grow and thrive.