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The poll position
Here's what industry folks have been telling us in recent online polls. Be sure to check www.gardencentermagazine.com each week to cast your vote on various pertinent topics.
 Here’s one happy bacterium
I was reading a garden magazine when a small article caught my attention. It said, “The bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, can help elevate your mood.” The lead author on the research was Dr. Chris Lowry, who decided to do some testing after learning of prior cancer research that showed patients exposed to M. vaccae had better emotional health, vitality and cognitive functions. It didn’t improve their cancer, just their mood.
As I chatted with Dr. Lowry about his project, I could tell he was on the up and up because he used words like “ubiquitously,” “cytokines” and “serotonin neurons.” I almost needed an interpreter. One thing I understood was what he told me about the tests he conducted—they were performed on mice and showed the bacterium had an antidepressant-like effect on their behavior. Of course, my first question was, “How can you tell if a mouse is depressed?”
All right, you are probably wondering what does this have to do with gardening? Actually, the answer is, a lot. M. vaccae is found in dirt. When you work in your flower bed or garden, and breathe in the dust, you are putting yourself in a better mood. Once you breathe in the bacteria, it is thought that it works through the immune system to cause an activation of the serotonin neurons that helps with moods.
The other way you can get this bacterium is through ingestion. Remember when Mom used to say, “Wash your hands before you eat!” Boy, was she wrong. If you want to improve your mood, make your sandwich with dirty hands. Better yet, when you dig up that carrot, lick the dirt off and throw the carrot away.
Confession: Eating dirt was part of my childhood. And I can say I have never had a depressed moment in my life, except when the local basketball team blew a 17-point lead and lost a trip to the state championship.
Maybe Dr. Lowry could research what happened there.
– Gary Church is a grower and garden writer
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