This episode is going to be a little bit 'Woo'. I am all about the Woo and anyone who knows me understands that I make decisions and take actions based on my intuition. If you are thinking what the hell is Woo and what the F does it have to do with growing your own food and being self-sufficient let me share. I know for many gardeners that their garden is their sanctuary, their happy place. It is the space they go to when they feel out of kilter or when they need to not people any more. Woo, as I see it is just energy. The energy we have in our bodies, the energy we feel when we see someone we love or the opposite, that feeling when you know there is tension between people. It’s also the energy of your garden, the feeling you feel when you step into your garden and all the stress and tension just takes a backseat. This energy comes from the vibration that everything on this earth has. The tree in your yard, the device you are reading or listening to this on, the chair under your bum or the floor under your feet. Now to go one step deeper, these vibrations have different frequencies. Like the song good vibrations, we can pick up on good vibrations. That means we can also feel those heavy dark vibrations and lots of variations in between. Take a moment to feel what vibe you might be in right now? Are you feeling loved and warm all over and are giving off vibes that say to those around you ‘hey, I am an open person who loves life’ or are you currently feeling annoyed or meh and giving off vibes that say to the world ‘stay away’? Think about how you feel in these situations and what energetic message you are sending out into the world… When you receive an acknowledgement from someoneWhen things aren’t going rightWhen your dog comes over to you for a patWhen watching the newsWhen your friend or partner gives you a hugWhen you're tiredAnd when you are in your garden. Being in your garden or any place in nature can help to increase your happiness and help you feel more at peace than you may think. There have been various studies done that show being in nature for even a short amount of time can improve your mood and overall feeling of well-being. It’s a positive vibe, something that gardeners have known for forever. Why do you think we all get out there as much as we can? Good vibes. Even this week in the crazy rain I got out there in my gumboots and raincoat and planted seeds, harvested veggies and talked to my plants. Yes, I talk to my plants, more on that in a minute. You see, for me being outside in my garden, with my animals and connecting with nature on any level is a must. My body and soul feel like they wither away like that bit of ginger in the back of your fridge crisper draw that has been there for months. I feel drained of all goodness. Being in my garden, even the overgrown totally overtaken by weeds section fills my energy levels back up again. I observe the bugs, I talk to the frogs, listen to the birds, I even ask the red-bellied black snake we named Cecil if he is feeling good today, even if I can’t see him or her. This morning in the rain I just watched the droplets running down along the branches of the big gum tree in my garden. I noticed how they all formed perfect individual droplets but how they are all part of all the water on the planet. This made me smile. It helped me feel connected to something bigger than me and it allowed me to focus on all the possibilities, opportunities and positive things that exist in my world and the world as a whole. So why is this relevant to actually growing food? Well, when we feel connected and inspired we take action. We don the boots and get started on things that would otherwise seem impossible or at least overwhelming because we can see how we are part of the bigger picture. Taking time to connect ourselves to what we are growing, to water our garden, to touch a plant or to just be with our thoughts in nature helps perspective enter our consciousness, and when we have perspective the things that seem like big scary things don't seem so big or scary anymore. It's then that we can see the possibilities available to us. I mentioned earlier that I talk to my plants, and I totally do. It makes me feel good and I am sure it makes them happier too. There have been studies done where people have spoken to plants in different ways and have seen marked differences in how they grew. I am generalising here but the studies had 3 groups of the same plants. Group A, B and C. All plants had the same soil, same amount of light and same watering regime. Group A was exposed to positive words throughout the day. They were told they are loved, beautiful, appreciated, wanted, valued etc Group B was exposed to negative words at the same rate throughout the day. They were told they were stupid, useless, ugly, waste of space, hated, disgusting etc.Group C was the control so had all the same growing conditions but were left ...
