Spending more time in nature and interacting with the natural environment is an amazing way to relieve stress, ground yourself, and reset the brain. Nature therapy and forest bathing are two widely studied ways to decrease stress, anxiety, and depression. Gardening, in particular, can also help you get into a state of flow – when you’re completely immersed in an activity, you can turn-off (at least for a little while) the busy thoughts and worries that are getting in your way.

I’ve always wanted to be a good gardener…. In my mind, my yard is a beautiful oasis of edible, medicinal, and pollinator-attracting plants. However, in reality, almost everything I try to grow is a bit of a failed experiment. The herbal garden I planted, full of amazing botanicals to make teas and tinctures, ended up being dug up by squirrels and used as a litter box by the neighbour’s cat. The strawberries I planted were consumed by unknown critters, and the lighting in my front and back yard is too shady and not ideal for vegetable gardening. And here’s the biggie… I also have a tendency to forget to water things consistently.

I have a small strip of land on the side of my house with good sun exposure, but the litter box and critter digging/eating potential still exists (as does my forgetfulness)… so what to do? I needed something that’s raised off the ground, covered, and waters itself when I forget. Enter the Vegepod, a cool type of container garden or raised garden bed!

Vegepod was invented by a company in Australia, but is now distributed around the world. It is a self-watering wicking bed design, meaning that it has a reservoir of water that the plant’s roots can draw from. You can see the reservoir here on the left, before I added soil. Depending on the temperature and what you have planted, when the reservoir is filled, you can go without watering for a week or more. There’s also an overhead sprinkler attachment!

I found mine used on Kijiji (a Canadian classified buy/sell site) for a really good price. I prefer buying used items whenever I can as it keeps trash out of the landfill. There is a small part that I will need to replace, but otherwise it’s in perfect condition! This version of the Vegepod (size medium) has 1m² of growing space and took 225L of organic soil! I loved it so much that I decided to buy an extra one to double my growing space.

The pods have a sturdy mesh cover that allow air circulation and 90% of sunlight through, but keep pests out! This is my favorite part because cats and squirrels will have to find a new place to poop💩 and bury peanuts🐿! There is also a plastic greenhouse cover that can be used during the spring and fall months to extend the growing season.

I’m going to start off with some micro greens until the weather warms up enough to plant some of the organic seedlings I ordered from a local farm. I’ll add on the plastic greenhouse cover for some extra warmth and see what happens! If all else fails, I can always try offering some Reiki to my plants. Just as humans and animals are comprised of energy, Reiki (life force) energy flows through plants as well!

I’ll write a follow-up blog post later in the season to let you know how well things are growing in my Vegepod. Happy Gardening!