Nourishment During the Summer Solstice

Growing Dome during sunset Summer Solstice

Ways to nourish your body and your Growing Dome during the Summer Solstice 

The Summer Solstice of 2019 is upon us, bringing with it a time of intensity physically, emotionally, and environmentally. As we all know, the Solstice marks the day of the year with the most hours of sunlight. On this day, that number reaches a total of 14.5 hours of sunlight!

Ideas are streaming through us right now at a lightening-fast speed. Projects are in full swing, deadlines are looming, plants are fruiting faster than we can harvest them, and our bodies are likely experiencing fatigue from an intensity I can only describe as humid, thick, and full of the depth of life in full bloom.

With everything blooming in our inner and outer worlds, it’s no surprise that levels of anxiety and stress are also at their peak right now. This intensity begs us to ask the question: How do we choose to nourish our bodies and the ‘body’ of our Growing Domes during this time? Click here to see last year’s reflections on this topic.

Nourishment Nutrition with Alyssa Neill

I recently sat down with a colleague of mine, Alyssa Neill of Nourishment Nutrition, when this very topic arose again. I’ve been working with Alyssa for the past few months developing a Nourishment Nutrition protocol for myself that values nutrition through an all-encompassing lens. She defines nourishment as “the foods or the substances that are required for our growth, health, and best conditions. Nourishment is not limited to the food we eat, but how we think about what we eat, how we prepare what we eat, the thoughts we ‘feed’ our body, the movement we practice, how we sleep, (how we feed) our relationships, what we do for pleasure, etc.”

As we shared about our lives and all the current changes that are taking place, I was immediately reminded of how similar my inner landscape feels to the intensity of the Summer Solstice, and the high yield of our Growing Domes right now. It all felt like too much. However, I knew that if I were to give my all to the wellbeing of the gardens, I must first nourish my body in a similar way. I realized that I can use my outer world as a guidepost to nourish my inner landscape. 

Nourishing Your Body During the Summer Solstice

Dome-grown figs

1- Eat light, cooling foods:

With this much exposure to sunlight during the Summer Solstice, our bodies can go into a fight-or-flight response, sending blood to our extremities and away from our guts. Because of this, digestion can often become impaired leaving you feeling heavy and bloated. Eating light, cooling, and easily digestible foods such as fruit and vegetables will help keep the fatigue at bay.

dome grown borage flowers

2- Drink herbal-infused beverages:

Creating herbal-infused beverages from your Growing Dome will also keep your body nourished during the Summer Solstice. As you know, many cooling herbs will be in full bloom at this time. Some of our favorite flowers for infusions are Borage (featured at right), Wisteria, Lavender, and Rose. As far as herbs go, you will more than likely find an abundance of chickweed, mint, rosemary, and thyme in your area. More importantly though, we recommend you observe what’s locally blooming and research if it’s edible!

Nourishing Your Growing Dome During the Summer Solstice

1- Plant with the moon calendar:

There are many debates within the gardening community regarding whether or not the gravity and brightness of a full moon affects plant growth. Within the Biodynamic Farming community, land cultivators follow the belief that optimal time to plant is during the 2nd quarter and the full moon. More information on moon planting can be found here.

2- Plant in the evenings:

Along the same lines as planting with the moon for optimal moisture, working in your garden or Growing Dome in the evening allows the plants a full 9.5 hours of darkness to adjust to the soil before the heat of the following day kicks in. Working in the evenings will also give your body a break from the heat of the day, and allows an interesting experience to view life in a Growing Dome amplified by the light of the moon!

We’d love to hear how you’re choosing to nourish yourself during this beautiful Summer Solstice. Tell us in the comments below!

Desiree Rose

Written by: Desiree Rose. Desiree is a biodynamic gardener, content developer, artist, and embodiment coach. With a degree in Resiliency Leadership and Environmental Education, she’s had the opportunity to study intensively under many thought-leaders in the fields of Environmental Agroforestry, Women’s Embodiment, Ayurveda, Astrology, Life-Coaching, Curriculum Design, and Biodynamic Beekeeping. When she’s not tending the gardens at Growing Spaces, she can be found rock climbing, highlining, and soaking in the hot springs in southwest Colorado. 

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