Trellis for Tomorrow is busy planting seedlings in the ground, looking forward to the days when we can pluck a bright red radish from the ground or harvest tomatoes and cucumbers to take home for a summer salad. We know that eating these fresh vegetables will not only be delicious, but good for our health. But did you know that eating whole foods can also have a positive effect on your mood? 

Living within our gut is a community of bacteria that has co-evolved with humans to have a relationship that is beneficial to both the person and the bacteria. This community is called our gut microbiome. What does this have to do with our mood? Well, turns out that 90% of serotonin receptors are located in our gut. Serotonin is the key hormone that stabilizes our mood and produces feelings of well-being and happiness. When we eat large amounts of processed foods which contain refined sugars, hydrogenated fats, and chemical flavorings and food colors—these can affect our gut health. It can cause inflammation or disease, which in turn reduces the effectiveness of the serotonin receptors in our gut.  

A balanced, whole-food focused diet may reduce rates of depression and help to stabilize our mood. Incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables straight from the garden or local farmers market as well as gut healthy fermented foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and kefir or probiotic rich foods such as unsweetened yogurt will help keep our microbiome healthy, which will in turn help us keep our mind and body happy and healthy. 

To learn more, check out this article from Harvard Health Publishing: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gut-feelings-how-food-affects-your-mood-2018120715548 

Over the last few weeks, we have gotten many questions about when to plant our gardens. People have been surprised to see Trellis staff in gardens throughout our area, planting thousands of plants this early in the year.

Trellis for Tomorrow times plantings to maximize the growing season by planting appropriate crops as early as possible. We have already planted peas, potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, and some cold hardy greens such as spinach, swiss chard, kale, collards, cabbage and other plants in the brassica family.

Some of these plants take a long time to mature, like potatoes and onions, while others will be harvested within a couple of months to make room for our summer crops. It’s important to carefully plan and select your early season crops to maximize your garden harvests over the year. When planning out your garden it is important to think in 3 dimensions: time until harvest, space a certain plant takes up in terms of width, and space a certain plant takes up in height. These last two components must be considered both above and below ground.

For example, we know that carrots have deep root systems and a fairly long growing period, while lettuce has a very shallow root system and a relatively short growing period, but they are both adapted to cooler weather and can be planted simultaneously. Trellis will frequently interplant these crops, lettuce down the middle and carrots on the sides. This means that lettuce will be harvested out and replaced with a summer crop, while the carrots remain and will not be harvested until the summer crop needs that space.

Through careful planning, we are looking forward to growing thousands of pounds of produce in 2021 to go out into the community. We would love to see what veggies you are planting in your home garden this spring! Tag us on Facebook or Instagram so that we can celebrate your gardens.