FINDING HER WAY OUT OF DEPRESSION IN THE DIRT For Janette Talbot three’s a charm. “It’s taken me three years to get this gardening thing down, but I’ve finally gotten a handle on it,” said Janette. “Each year the program taught me something new.” Janette, who is one of eight children and the only girl, gardened with her family until she was 11. “I was the weeder and the gopher.” She also did a bit of gardening when her children were young. “I was a truck driver, so I was on the road a lot. ere was not much time to garden.” But with the WISEWOMAN Entrepreneurial Gardening Program all that changed. is year Janette’s gardens included in-ground plots, growing in tires and a vertical potato garden. From a not-so-good outcome two years ago, her garden shone this year with plenty of corn, beans, beets, celery, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cucumbers, snap beans, kale, and herbs. Enough to supply her as a vendor at the Manistee Farmers Market, sell to a small convenience store and stock her new roadside stand. She also shares her stand, which sits in front of her house on Route 55 in Wellston, with other WISEWOMAN gardeners who bring their excess produce to sell. “Today, I definitely eat more fruits and vegetables and get a whole lot more exercise,” said Janette. “But the best part of the gardening program is how it has helped my depression. Being out in the garden, being with the other women gardeners, being able to talk – I don’t feel so isolated. I definitely have a better state of mind. But the program has done so much for all of us.” (WISEWOMAN participants) In addition to the hoophouse that is going up on her property, Janette plans to expand her roadside stand and fill it with more product. She’s also been talking with a small local brewery about growing hops. “I’d need to rent a couple of acres, but it might be worth it. e guy’s really wants to use locally-grown hops.” “I love watching my garden grow’” said Janette. “It still amazes me how seeds turn into plants and plants turn into food.”

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FIndInG Her way out oF dePressIon In tHe dIrt

For Janette Talbot three’s a charm. “It’s taken me three years to get this gardening thing down, but I’ve finally gotten a handle on it,” said Janette. “Each year the program taught me something new.”

Janette, who is one of eight children and the only girl, gardened with her family until she was 11. “I was the weeder and the gopher.” She also did a bit of gardening when her children were young. “I was a truck driver, so I was on the road a lot. There was not much time to garden.”

But with the WISEWOMAN Entrepreneurial Gardening Program all that changed. This year Janette’s gardens included in-ground plots, growing in tires and a vertical potato garden. From a not-so-good outcome two years ago, her garden shone this year with plenty of corn, beans, beets, celery, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cucumbers, snap beans, kale, and herbs. Enough to supply her as a vendor at the Manistee Farmers Market, sell to a small convenience store and stock her new roadside stand.

She also shares her stand, which sits in front of her house on Route 55 in Wellston, with other WISEWOMAN gardeners who bring their excess produce to sell.

“Today, I definitely eat more fruits and vegetables and get a whole lot more exercise,” said Janette. “But the best part of the gardening program is how it has helped my depression. Being out in the garden, being with the other women gardeners, being able to talk – I don’t feel so isolated. I definitely have a better state of mind. But the program has done so much for all of us.” (WISEWOMAN participants)

In addition to the hoophouse that is going up on her property, Janette plans to expand her roadside stand and fill it with more product. She’s also been talking with a small local brewery about growing hops. “I’d need to rent a couple of acres, but it might be worth it. The guy’s really wants to use locally-grown hops.”

“I love watching my garden grow’” said Janette. “It still amazes me how seeds turn into plants and plants turn into food.”