NEWS & NOTES

What are you grateful for?
– My health, nature and to be able to share that with others.

Best/Funniest thing a guest has said to you?
– You helped save my life, and you helped change my life.

Most asked question from guests?
– How long have you done this and how old are you?

First thing you do when you wake up?
– I wake up with the intention of having a good day, to do my best and practice my back exercises.

Favorite Ranch Meal?
– Pesto pizza…I think! so many good meals!

Go-to workout?
– Lifting weights then a trail run or a tough bike ride.

Favorite indulgence?
– Crunchy stuff… probably chips and red organic vegan wine.

Your favorite hike/place to walk in Los Angeles?
– Ray Miller trail in Malibu

Do you have a personal mantra or favorite quote?
– Live Love, Love Life

Last book you read?
– I’m reading The Hidden Life of Trees

FROM THE GARDEN

As Spring finally warms the air, days spent outside and immersed in nature become top priority. An easy way to get your fresh air fix at home is to start gardening. Whether you have a full yard, small terrace or simply a windowsill, Master Gardener Geri Miller shares her passion for her job and the overwhelming therapeutic qualities of the actual work involved in harvesting your own garden.

Learn more about the mental, physical and nutritional benefits of this subtle wellness practice.

Gardeners have always believed in the restorative benefits of gardening; the way it makes us feel psychologically and physically as well as the obvious nutritional benefits of growing your own food. Just being in a garden is already therapeutic, but actively connecting with nature through gardening is an added value. It’s a meditative practice for sure – a calm, quiet moment to get centered and mindfully present. Although here at The Ranch it is part of your wellness experience, meditation time isn’t usually something many of us prioritize as part of our routine, but has become increasingly important as our lives and schedules become more demanding and stressful. Gardening is also a way to unlock the nurturing side of ourselves and focus on caring for another living thing. After all, we’ve been agrarians since the beginning of our existence on this planet so no wonder it makes us feel good. The physicality involved can range from gentle exercise to a full body, cardio workout and the best thing about that is we gardeners don’t really think of it as exercise. It’s just a whole lot of fun and we older gardeners stay flexible and stronger longer in our lives. You can even say that gardening keeps you young!

All that isn’t making you pull on your Wellies and dungarees? What if I told you getting your hands in the dirt could actually change your brain chemistry? Some recent research has shown us that soil is even more amazing than we thought. It’s all about the soil. Or to be a little more specific, a strain of bacterium in soil, Mycobacterium vaccae, has been found to trigger the release of serotonin. Serotonin is an important biochemical and neurotransmitter which elevates mood and decreases anxiety. Even more exciting, this “good guy” bacterium has been found to improve cognitive function and possibly even treat cancer and other diseases. So dirty hands = happy, healthy gardener.

Those of us who grew up in a household with a productive vegetable garden know how many more vegetables ended up on our plate, making our diets more plant-based long before it was touted by our medical professionals. We also know the extreme difference in taste of something picked out of the garden that morning versus something that was picked unripe and shipped hundreds, even thousands of miles.

Taste isn’t the only difference though. Studies have shown commercial agriculture’s need to harvest produce early interrupts the natural ripening process and limits the vegetable’s ability to develop its full nutrient density. For instance, tomatoes harvested green (to ensure stability during transport) have 31% less vitamin C than those allowed to ripen in the garden on the plant. In addition, vine ripened tomatoes contain more of the antioxidants beta carotene and lycopene than if picked early (Arias et al., 2000). Red peppers ripened on the plant have about 30% more vitamin C than their harvested-early counterparts (Howard et al.,1994). At The Ranch, our produce travels yards, not miles so we harvest at the peak of ripeness.

Storage also plays a part in impacting nutrient density too. Lettuce loses 46% of some key nutrients within seven days of cold storage. Spinach loses 22% of lutein and 18% of beta carotene content after just eight days of cold storage (Ramberg and McAnnelley, 2002). So if your food is traveling any distance it’s lost much of the health benefits of eating more vegetables. Here at The Ranch, the produce we grow is harvested that morning and served within just a few hours to a 72 hour time frame.

And there’s more! Using fresh herbs when cooking at home is another great source of significant antioxidants. Unfortunately, these antioxidants degrade quickly after harvest which means that the $3 tiny clamshell of “fresh” herbs you buy in the grocery store has retained only a fraction of the nutrients compared with herbs grown at home. Last season we gave you a “how-to” on creating a countertop herb garden. If you haven’t already, now’s the time to pull up the newsletter and give it a try! Whether it’s outside in your raised bed garden, on a terrace or balcony in pots or on your countertop, it’s time to get growing. It’s good for every body!