The end of another summer of gardening and mental health…I maintain that what you raise and eat have just as many physical health benefits. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
While August means football is here with another sports season to most, I wrapped up my summer on Labor Day by enjoying the most satisfying personal activity of my year. And it had nothing to do with sports.
Man, or at least Sonny, does not live by sports alone. Although I’ll add that for several years now there haven’t been many days off.
And the days, and time, that I have are usually dedicated to my gardening – my friend, and my sanctuary – a natural resource for far more reasons than the average person and the average garden.
Sanctuary? My garden is ten times bigger than the average…than yours, I imagine. Sweet corn, tomatoes, berries, peppers, okra, turnips, and a fifteen-tree apple and peach orchard, it’s where I prefer to spend my time when I have some time. I have a Ford tractor, the plows, and cultivators that it takes to prepare to plant in the spring and refurbish in the fall; and a trusty vintage Troy-Bilt tiller that means more to me than ESPN, or baseball, and a television in every room.
Friend, and chiropractor, Kreg Huffer maintains that natural foods are the lifeblood of a healthy immune system. You are…what you eat!
I raise far, far more than I can eat, or store, and I’ve never sold a dime’s worth of anything since closing down the U-Pick farm that my dad and I once operated before 2000. I give it away, probably a hundred dozen ears of sweet corn this year, tomatoes and peaches, and in a few cases come October…turnips. Yes, there are people who actually like turnips, and turnip greens.
So my garden has become a sanctuary, and the most appreciated of natural resources, because growing up I learned to live and eat naturally. So before I ran the disc over the garden to compost things for winter, I spent this past week harvesting two hundred pounds of tomatoes, which in a matter of hours became…tomato juice.
I LOVE tomato juice, and no other juice is as good for you. It has more natural qualities than orange, many of the same benefits as grape and cranberry, and it’s easier to produce. I plant thirty tomato plants every spring with the intent on canning at least 75 Mason jars of my own juice. I cook with it (soup and chili), I make a killer Bloody Mary with it…but mostly I just drink it. I drink a LOT of tomato juice. 75 Mason jars? By actual count I went over a hundred cans filled this year.
When Bruce Hooley and I used to do the Monday night podcast I would often take a sip from a mug that sat on the desk. Someone even once suggested that we have a promotion with a sponsor, called “What’s in Sonny’s mug?” Coffee, Coke, tea, Pabst Blue Ribbon, or some other kind of spirit…but often as not it was Sonny’s tomato juice. Just plain ol’ tomato juice.
Kale…the best of the garden ‘greens’ and one of nature’s highest sources of antioxidants.
It’s better than Campbell’s because I season it to my own taste with natural sea salt, and tomato juice doesn’t leave that feeling of something sticky in your throat like orange juice.
It doesn’t have the acid of grapefruit juice. And the one property that it does have over other juices is something that really helps your natural immune system – lycopene! There is probably no better natural source of antioxidants in nature than lycopene, something that helps protect the body against stress, environmental toxins, and some chronic diseases. Tomato juice is FULL of lycopene. I’ve never had a Covid shot in my life – nor will I – and friend and chiropractor, Dr. Kreg Huffer, allows that part of the reason is all that tomato juice, and lycopene.
In addition, tomato juice is very high in Vitamin C and Vitamin A, and I repeat that Vitamin C from tomato juice does not produce that mucus gunk that you get from orange juice. And the benefits? Well, I’ve made my own juice and drunk it for years and I’ve never had a flu shot – EVER. I don’t think I’ve had the flu for years, and I rarely get a cold, despite being in all of those hot gyms and arenas. I won’t guarantee it, but research shares that natural tomato juice is a boost to your immune system.
It’s easy to make…just cut fresh tomatoes, add a little tap water, and bring to a mild boil in a two quart sauce pan – enough to break down the tomatoes to a mushy state. Then run through a colander, measure to the capacity of the jar you’re using to can, bring the juice to a rolling boil on the stove, pour into the can and place a Ball lid on it with a screw-down band. In about thirty minutes you’ll hear the lid go ‘ping’, and that’s your signal that the can is sealed and safe to store for the winter. And I’ve kept juice like this for as long as three years. It never spoils!
I have a variety of cans, shapes and sizes…some of them a hundred years old that belonged to my grandmother, and probably her mother. My own mother, who lived to 96, handed them down to me, and largely she’s the one who taught me the benefits of your own natural food, and how to can.
But what Mom didn’t teach me (or anyone else) was the benefit of doing it for good mental health. That I’ve learned myself – no phones, or emails, or texts (ever) when you garden – just you, the soil, and the anticipation of reaping what you sow. Peace and quiet.
There’s one other thing, actually, left in the fall garden that doesn’t get plowed down and composted. I love the taste of ‘greens’ – turnip, spinach, comfrey, and my favorite of all…kale. And why kale?
Kale is among the most nutrient-dense foods on earth. It’s loaded with the antioxidants Quercetin and Kaempferol, it can dramatically help lower cholesterol, and it’s the world’s best source of Vitamin K…which keeps your bones strong as you age. But mostly I just like the taste of cooked kale with a pot of soup beans, a pan of cornbread, and a Jim Beam chaser – about an ounce and a half. You have enough of that over the winter and you’ll get through anything just fine.
Not surprising, I do this all myself. But truthfully…it’s the independence of doing it myself that I prefer.
Over just about anything…
I’ll see you again, old friend…next spring!
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