Sweet Signs of Spring

I recently saw a headline claiming that playing in the dirt makes you happy, not just because soil is tactile or that gardening is therapeutic, but because microbes with antidepressant properties live in the soil and are inhaled and absorbed through our skin. This idea is not breaking news. It is based on a study published in 2007 called “Identification of an Immune-Responsive Mesolimbocortical Serotonergic System: Potential Role in Regulation of Emotional Behavior,” by Christopher Lowry et al.

While the science sounds imposing, the idea struck me as emblematic of early spring in Western New York—aka mud season—and the transition between the dormancy of winter and the awakening of early buds and flowers. It’s a time when tiny living things stealthily awaken underground and prepare to feed new growth.

Those wonderful little microbes in the soil also share characteristics with discreet organizations affecting progress toward environmental, nutritional and spiritual health. In “The Greening of Buffalo,” Nicole Capozziello writes about Grassroots Gardens, an agent of community change in Buffalo and Niagara Falls. With a network of more than 100 gardens, the group has helped to transform neighborhoods with spaces of respite and beauty that provide fresh produce for the people in their communities.

As groundhog folklore annually reminds us, spring doesn’t just appear one day. It happens over many weeks of sunny days and snow storms, daffodils and downpours, followed by frosty mornings and bitingly windy afternoons. It takes patience, perseverance and hope to wait until the soil is ready for planting.

As we enter our fourth year of publishing, Edible Western NY will increase to five issues this year. I hope you enjoy this early spring, fifth season, issue. Thank you for your ongoing support of this venture that seeks to likewise release nurturing microbes hidden in mud.