The Growing Challenge

It's a dangerous thing having back problems. Mine happen to be minimal most of the time, mostly restricted to having a few bad days where I'm moving a little slower than normal. But when it isn't at that level, its debilitating enough to bring tears to the eyes of a woman that had two natural child births without sheding a single tear. It's also enough to eject a string of colorful language strong enough to make any sailor blush through gritted teeth. It was bad enough today to have me sent home from work. Yes, that's right, in a day and age where that sort of thing doesn't happen in large companies because of the legal reprecussions, I managed to get myself sent home. The sad thing is that it started because I coughed. Yea, that pissed me off, too. A perfectly good day in an airconditioned building with a fan blowing my hair as if I were on a sunny beach, ruined because I coughed. God. Is. Not. Funny.

The dangerous thing about my particular back problem is that my husband, who is a strong man only when I don't cry (because I rarely do), waits on me hand and foot, fetching laptops, having kids refresh iced drinks... the only thing missing here are leaf fans and bon bons and that is corrected by him having my children brush my hair (which sooths me, I know stupid, but I am what I am) and making them available to me whenever I need or want. This spoils me. I rarely allow such things. I'm not an idle person by nature so this is difficult for me to accept.

The other dangerous thing is that it gives me time to surf!

I know that I'm a little (ok a lot) late getting this posted here, but I felt that I needed to add it. The Growing Challenge is a challenge that this lady started when she threw down the glove to get people to grow a little more than they did last year. I support this way of thinking because it means less strain on dwendling resources and overworked land.

By overworked land I mean: In the 80's Spinach was found to have 75 mg of iron. Now it has 5.

The more you grow, the less you have to depend on the system.

And, of course, it's stickin it to da man.

I discovered this by accident and wanted to share it no matter how late in the challenge it may be. It doesn't matter if you live in an apartment or on 40 acres, have never grown anything in your life, or you think that your thumb is so black that you'd kill the seed by touching it. This challenge is something from which we can all learn.


You'll see the pic posted on the right.

Get off your duff and plant something!


I've also added a link to Square Foot Garden. I love Judy's site and her forums are starting to get filled back out after a nasty crash that left her with nearly nothing.

I discovered Garden Desk, too. The Soil Blocks are interesting and I'm still reading through it all. I'm looking forward to new ideas!

Patti Moreno, the Garden Girl, has new video's out!