ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — An APG Soldier decided to speak about mental health and share his love of lawn and gardening by creating his own YouTube channel, Turf Therapy.
Sgt. 1st Class Robert Palmer, operations noncommissioned officer with the 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives Command, said he turned to lawn and gardening as a way to relax and calls it therapeutic and rewarding.
“Before lawn and gardening was introduced into my life, I was always dealing with an overwhelming amount of stress,” he said in a recent video. “The more time that I spent in my lawn and in my beautiful garden, I kind of just realized it dulls out all the noise.”
Mood changer
The idea for starting the channel began last year, by accident. Palmer noticed a hole in his yard, so he researched how to fix it on YouTube. During the process of getting his lawn back into shape, he said, he noticed a change in his mood almost immediately.
“I had one of the best weeks I ever had in my entire life,” he said. “I was like, wow, I really enjoy doing that.”
Palmer said his wife, Laquita, encouraged him to continue gardening and start a channel, which he launched in October. His channel has helped him connect with other like-minded people across the country, he said. The channel has more than 1,600 subscribers.
“It’s insane, I have a whole new garden family now,” he said. “They liked why I did it and why I started the channel.”
Positive outlet
Palmer said he is open about his mental health and shares that he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder syndrome. “I realized that I can use this lawn care thing as a way to cope, outside of using counseling and behavior health, this was a positive hobby outlet for me,” he said.
One of his earliest videos was titled “It’s Ok to Not Be Ok!” to raise awareness for men’s health issues and mental health.
“The whole point of me starting the channel was to raise awareness [about mental health issues] for people that could be struggling,” he said. “Not just the military, civilians also suffer from catastrophic events or dangerous situations and struggle with PTSD. Some people have an unhealthy way of dealing with that. I figure I can be one voice out there that says, ‘try lawn care, it worked for me.’"
Palmer said he has been in counseling on and off for six years, which helped him open up about his mental health.
“The more you talk about it, the easier it is,” he said
Farming background
Although he grew up in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, Palmer learned gardening through farming from a young age when he would visit family in South Carolina. Both of his grandparents had “full-fledged” arms, and he would help out when he visited.
“[Back then] I was just doing my chores, who would have known that it would have such a positive impact on my mental health down the road,” he said. Since last year he has grown a variety of vegetables, including carrots, tomatoes, onions, garlic, beets, potatoes, lettuce, kale, collard greens, kohlrabi, habanero peppers, cucumbers, royal burgundy pole beans, okra, corn and herbs.
He also developed a mobile application called “TurfTherapy,” which is a fertilizer calculator.
Future plans
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Palmer said he has had more time to dedicate to his garden. “Some people thought I started gardening as a result of COVID-19, which wasn’t the case, but it just so happens with COVID happening, it allows me to take my ambitions a few steps further.” He credits his wife for being supportive of his new hobby and helping him out in the garden.
It’s brought us closer as a couple because it made us realize what we value,” he said. Palmer said he releases about one video a week, usually on Sunday mornings. His goal is to make informative, yet relaxing videos for viewers. “I want you to leave feeling a little better than when you arrive,” he said. “I want to provide positive energy, soothing vibes, I just want it all to be the feel of TurfTherapy.” To view Palmer’s TurfTherapy YouTube channel, visit https://www.youtube.com/user/robpalme357.
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