In recent days something very interesting has happened: many people began to grow an orchard at home during the pandemic.
Now, the terraces, balconies and windows have small arriates where shy seedlings grow, plants that with care, dedication and patience will become ready-to-eat vegetables.
- For many.
- It’s just a passing fad.
- Social networks are full of images of people.
- Both unknown and famous.
- Who have started to show their small domestic crops.
- These photos reach thousands of likes.
- And make us understand that it is possible to create an ecological garden with arriates.
- Compensating for the lack.
- Of space with creativity and care.
For experts, this is not a trend. Nor is it an attempt by people to engage in something creative during the obligatory containment imposed by the health crisis caused by the new coronavirus, actually this exercise, or leisure, is also a reaction to return to the basics. , to contact with the earth, to something traditionally inherent to the human being.
It’s not like people are afraid to run out of food. Nor is it a desperate attempt to be self-sufficient, growing garlic and tomatoes on the front porch of the house, when there is a shortage in the markets. It is a return to nature in times of crisis to regain calm and connect with something as primordial as reassuring.
The poet Rabindranath Tagore said that we are used to mistreating the land and that in response she offers us flowers, that is certainly what is happening.
But one impressive thing that many people live today is the interest of returning, of having contact with this creative soil that feeds us, protects us and ultimately gives us life.
As a result, having time and being forced to lead a slower, more intimate and often introspection-oriented pace of life has returned people to curiosity about the land and growth of seedlings, seeds, flowers and fruits.
Growing an orchard at home during the pandemic is not just a whim for these days of confinement, many get unusual benefits from it.
During the guard, we’re all looking for spaces. Spaces to feel good, think and regain calm in a world that suffers and changes quickly.
We survive as much as we can, but we also discover things, many believe it, others just rest to heal, calm anxiety, others choose to spend time growing at home.
It is interesting to know that growing an orchard at home during the pandemic is an exercise that benefits mental health.
Jennifer Atkinson, a professor at the University of Washington, explains in her research Nature, Fantasy, and Everyday Practice that growing an orchard helps manage stress, allows us to think about alternatives to problems and also promotes connection with ourselves.
As we noted at the beginning of the article, growing an orchard at home during the pandemic is not a behavior that occurs in response to fear, we are not afraid of scarcity.
However, it should be noted that in times of crisis and hardship, it was a common practice, and we may have encountered this small instinctive remnant.
Whether someone does it out of necessity or not, there is something undeniable, sowing, watching the seeds grow and harvesting fruits or vegetables over time is one of the most rewarding exercises for man, it has always been that way.
Contact with the earth brings us back to the most primary aspect, and this gives us not only pleasure, but also hope when we see the plants grow, how the fruits appear and finally cling to the plant waiting to be harvested.
Growing an orchard at home during the pandemic is a break for the brain, during this containment technology is our ally, that is a fact, thanks to it we are in contact with friends, family and colleagues.
The screens of our mobile phones and computers occupy our hours and create bridges with which they are far away, however, there is something that often happens to most of us: when we hang up the phone or finish the video call, we fill ourselves with emptiness.
This inexplicable void can be filled with gardening and these small orchards on the terrace or veranda. To cultivate is to create, to be in contact with the earth, to learn to care for and to be patient.
The days pass faster as plants grow, flower and bear fruit, we only benefit from the experience of this ancestral practice, which often goes far beyond food.