About 14 years ago, I wanted a garden to make our own salsa with tomatoes and jalapenos. We'd just moved into our house. The place we selected must have been the place where all the rocks dumped when the lot was cleared for our house built in 1969. Also on the place was clay and bedrock.
Well, it took more work than we had figured. Not one shovel of dirt did we dig that did not scrap rocks. Huge rocks. Little rocks. And the clay was of such a stiff quality that it could have been shaped into pottery.
Once we had the bed ready, we brought in lumber and made a partially raised bed. Into the space, we added composted hay, manure and sand. Not having a tiller, we mix it with a shove and garden fork. That took days and days of sore backs.
My husband said we could buy some night crawlers from the bait store and add them to the garden. I said, yeah, that's a great idea. Worms need to be in a garden. I bought a container of a dozen and took it to the garden. I dug a hole and dumped in the worms. With the care of a mother putting a child to bed, I covered the brood with a blacket of dirt.
At last, the bed was ready. With high expectation and eagerness, we went to the nursery and bought tomato plants, jalapeno plants and black-eyed pea seeds. A day or two later, I noticed that the lower stems on the tomatoes had been chewed off. Grub worms. In the next few days, the deep rich green of the leaves were fading and nearly went yellow.
The plants grew but not long after they had grown large, another worm was eating the leaves off. My tomatoes were stripped. That year, there were no tomatoes and very few jalapenos.
Our conclusion was that the mixture was too hot, that is, the manure was too rich. The plants were weakened and bugs ate them.
We have learned and are doing a better job.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
How I'm loosing weight and getting fit.
Two years ago, I was way too heavy for my 5-foot6-inch height, in my mind anyway, 154 pounds. My size 14 jeans were way too tight.
At the same time, my husband went into rehab for his lower back which went painfully out on a regular basis. While he was in his rehab session, I took a water aerobics class in deep water. I liked it but it didn't burn enough calories for me.
My husband finished his rehab session and started visiting the gym, using the weights, elliptical, tread mill and stair machines. We bought memberships. I was embarrassed at my assessment. I was given a three-day workout routine using the weight stations.
Over the course of a year, I gained fitness but my weight changed little. I tried not to feel discouraged. The supervisors told me muscle weighs more than fat, that what was happening was my muscles were developing as my fat was reducing, sort of an even trade. My weight came down about ten pounds. I fit a size 12 jeans but I wanted more.
A surprising side development for me was that my appetite was also reducing. I guess my stomach was shrinking. I started dropping weight, about a pound every month and a half. The gym supervisors told me that was the best pace: If you drop weight too fast (whether through drugs or a specialized food plan), once you stop, you'll gain it back real fast.
We renewed our membership and I kept working out. Burning more calories than I took in was my goal and I was doing pretty well, but boredom was beginning to set in. The supervisors said my muscles were getting used to the gym workouts. They suggested trying one of the aerobic classes.
Then fitness center initiated a water boot camp in the pool. I attended the first class and was hooked. It was the vigorous exercise I wanted. I tried land boot camp, then beginning yoga, pilates, and a step exercise class.
Over the next three months, my weight dropped into the high 130s. Now, my weight hovers around 136-137. Certrain styles if size 12 jeans are starting to fall off me. My goals is 130 pounds and I believe I'll do it.
Another positive result is I found relief for my irritable bowel syndrome. I eat about three-quarters of a cup of rice before every meal. This also has contributed to my weight reduction making me feel stuffed after small portions of protein, vegetable and starch.
So, if it can work for me, it can work for anyone, but it has to be at a slow and steady pace. To get into a hurry may show results in the short term. In the long term, the weight will come back.
At the same time, my husband went into rehab for his lower back which went painfully out on a regular basis. While he was in his rehab session, I took a water aerobics class in deep water. I liked it but it didn't burn enough calories for me.
My husband finished his rehab session and started visiting the gym, using the weights, elliptical, tread mill and stair machines. We bought memberships. I was embarrassed at my assessment. I was given a three-day workout routine using the weight stations.
Over the course of a year, I gained fitness but my weight changed little. I tried not to feel discouraged. The supervisors told me muscle weighs more than fat, that what was happening was my muscles were developing as my fat was reducing, sort of an even trade. My weight came down about ten pounds. I fit a size 12 jeans but I wanted more.
A surprising side development for me was that my appetite was also reducing. I guess my stomach was shrinking. I started dropping weight, about a pound every month and a half. The gym supervisors told me that was the best pace: If you drop weight too fast (whether through drugs or a specialized food plan), once you stop, you'll gain it back real fast.
We renewed our membership and I kept working out. Burning more calories than I took in was my goal and I was doing pretty well, but boredom was beginning to set in. The supervisors said my muscles were getting used to the gym workouts. They suggested trying one of the aerobic classes.
Then fitness center initiated a water boot camp in the pool. I attended the first class and was hooked. It was the vigorous exercise I wanted. I tried land boot camp, then beginning yoga, pilates, and a step exercise class.
Over the next three months, my weight dropped into the high 130s. Now, my weight hovers around 136-137. Certrain styles if size 12 jeans are starting to fall off me. My goals is 130 pounds and I believe I'll do it.
Another positive result is I found relief for my irritable bowel syndrome. I eat about three-quarters of a cup of rice before every meal. This also has contributed to my weight reduction making me feel stuffed after small portions of protein, vegetable and starch.
So, if it can work for me, it can work for anyone, but it has to be at a slow and steady pace. To get into a hurry may show results in the short term. In the long term, the weight will come back.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
