Depressed?

Are you depressed? Mildly dissatisfied? If so, I'd like to ask you to participate in a non-scientific study in 2012 and grow a garden. Vegetables are preferable but flowers will do and for apartment dwellers even some window boxes would help.

I was recently reading through some back issues of Psychology Today magazine (seriously) and I came across an article about the magic of soil. But it wasn't very magical since it was all science stuff. The article was talking in mostly layman's terms (which is why its a good magazine) about some studies done on the effect of gardening on mood. Everyone already knows gardening makes people happy so they were asking the why/how?

In a nutshell, soil that is rich in organic matter is also rich in mycobacterium and these mycobacterium have the same effect on the human brain as prozac type drugs. So when you work in garden soil you end up inhaling these mycobacterium and it makes you feel better. And all along I thought it was just the moral satisfaction of honest work but no, it’s actually just chemistry.

So anyway, plant a garden or expand your current one and let me know if you feel any better at the end of the season. Pictures of your garden and harvest (if applicable) would also be appreciated.