SEROTONIN FROM THE SOIL?

A few years back, Discover magazine in an article called "Is Dirt the New Prozac?" reported studies indicating that treatment with an "inoffensive" soil bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, may be able to alleviate depression. Christopher Lowry, a neuroscientist at the University of Bristol in England, had a hunch about how this process might work. "What we think happens is that the bacteria activate immune cells, which release chemicals called cytokines that then act on receptors on the sensory nerves to increase their activity." This terrific news has made me anxious to get out and dig holes for herbs and tie up my tomatoes (again).  I read somewhere that tomatoes like to be touched -- that handling them stimulates faster growth.

Real comfort food is food you grow yourself. The man behind the fish counter at Whole Foods talked about the rising cost of food. He said his family has planted a large garden this summer. That's certainly a great benefit -- from a 10 cent seed you can get a whole basket full of tomatoes. And it's fresh and right there "in the walk-in pantry." I've loved the cut-and-come again fresh greens from Johnny's Seeds, and am enjoying the taste explosions that come from tossing fresh herbs into salads or onto vegetables and sauces. Why buy basil for $3.49 a bunch when you can buy a pot for the same price, snip a sprig or two and then let it grow on, rather than wilting in the frig? We will have bounteous cucumbers, and one of my Imperial Star artichokes has a bud forming. Bliss.

I've been reading Eliot Coleman, and planning a fall crop of salad greens which I'll protect with row covers and/or cold frames.