Dieting

[Guest guest]

I can’t tell you how many times he’s

planned dinner and all it is is some kind of meat.  No sides of any sort.  His

family serves these ridiculously large steaks at get togethers.  I just don’t

see how he would ever go vegan.  We had salad last night and he had to put

chicken on it.  It seems to me it’s not a meal without some kind of

meat.  I’m trying to get grass fed meats and doing more stir frys, kebob

and sauté type meals where there is less focus on meats.  The problem is I also

have picky kids who are only 5 and 4.  I really don’t like figuring out

meals that meet everyone’s tastes.  That’s a whole other issue I

won’t get into. 

 

I agree with you on the drinks and it’s

easy because I can’t stand the taste of them.  It seems to me that those

drinks and pancake syrup have a slimy, sugary taste to me that is down right

yucky.  I rarely use syrup and always used real maple syrup when I do use it.  DH’s

mom is diabetic but DH hasn’t had sugar issues yet.

 

I agree that diet in my discussion is more

a way of eating for life not something you do for 6 months and loose weight and

go back to the old ways.  It does have to be a better way of eating.

 

 

[Guest guest]

There's nothing wrong with meat. What works for one person doesn't necessarily work for everyone. I was a vegetarian for a while, and had nothing but problems. Some people need a lot more protein in their diet.

 

I eat a salad every day for lunch, and I make one for my husband every day too. At first he wasn't into it so much, but now he likes it as much as I do. I use a wide variety of veggies to keep it interesting. We use plain oil and vinegar for dressing. We grow veggies in the garden and he likes that we are eating what we grow. If he's eating a wide variety of veggies in his salad, a little chicken with it is fine.

 

At night, I cook a variety of veggies. These are lifestyle changes. We didn't always eat a lot of veggies unfortunately. But we do now. It's a priority for us, but it didn't happen over night either. It took a lot of time. Persistence is the key. :-)Cyndi

 

In a message dated 7/11/2008 7:42:26 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS writes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t tell you how many times he’s planned dinner and all it is is some kind of meat. No sides of any sort. His family serves these ridiculously large steaks at get togethers. I just don’t see how he would ever go vegan. We had salad last night and he had to put chicken on it. It seems to me it’s not a meal without some kind of meat. I’m trying to get grass fed meats and doing more stir frys, kebob and sauté type meals where there is less focus on meats. The problem is I also have picky kids who are only 5 and 4. I really don’t like figuring out meals that meet everyone’s tastes. That’s a whole other issue I won’t get into.

 

I agree with you on the drinks and it’s easy because I can’t stand the taste of them. It seems to me that those drinks and pancake syrup have a slimy, sugary taste to me that is down right yucky. I rarely use syrup and always used real maple syrup when I do use it. DH’s mom is diabetic but DH hasn’t had sugar issues yet.

 

I agree that diet in my discussion is more a way of eating for life not something you do for 6 months and loose weight and go back to the old ways. It does have to be a better way of eating.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

DH has started exercising and while he

hasn’t lost but a few pounds he says he feels better. He is really

working hard to make good decisions. I don’t understand him

sometimes but I’m categorizing him as a man and as such he doesn’t

want go to doctors. He has always worried obsessively about dying from a

heart attack but refuses to do anything about it. His cousin has really

high cholesterol and got one of those heart scans which says there was almost

no plaque or calcification. DH says “I don’t know if I want

to take that test because what if the results are bad?” I’m

thinking, wouldn’t you rather know that things are good or bad and then

figure out what to do from there. Imagine the stress of not knowing and

waking up every day thinking you are going to die. What do you think

about those heart scans? I’ve read there is a lot of

radiation. Which is worse radiation or stress from worrying?

 

Not only does DH have doctor programming

but he has old school Greek mom programming. She is obsessed that

everyone eat and cares more about quantity than quality. I could go on

and on especially since she watches my young kids and feeds them junk. MIL

runs to store when the kids cry for ice cream sandwiches or cookies or Cheetos.

I refuse to buy that junk but she brings it in and then tells me it’s for

FIL. DH and MIL tell me that I shouldn’t worry about them eating too

much junk because they are young and thin and therefore must have my genes.

My SIL brings animal crackers and goldfish for my kids and tells me they are

healthy. Aye-yi-yi.

 

I’m not sure what I think of

Mercola. I get his emails but have mixed feelings. He’s

always selling things too.

 

Erika

 

[Guest guest]

Every year I look into seeing if I can

find someone to split a CSA with me.  I’m not ready for a whole share and

would also love to get some help getting the food.  We do have a small garden

with zucchini, tomato, cucumber and watermelon. 

 

I love salad and put anything leftover in

the fridge on my lettuce.  I’ve really liked apples (DD eats about half

and doesn’t want any more) and feta.  I also like mango salsa with

avocado on a salad.  Garbanzo beans are good as well as toasted pine nuts.  I

used to use the Good Seasons dry packet with balsamic vinegar but now I just

use Rice Wine Vinegar and olive oil.  DH still wants the packets but I did find

a dry mix that might work in lieu of that.  I just have to find time to make it. 

DH eats salads but prefers more traditional variety.  Come summer we will eat Greek

“tomata salata” which is just tomatoes, onions, olive oil, oregano,

salt and vinegar and eat with bread.  Yummy!!

 

I just have to be careful with DH.  He

doesn’t like to be ‘mothered’ by me even though he needs to

be.  I somehow have to let him think he came up with the ideas J

 

 

 

 

 

On Behalf Of cyndikrall

Friday, July 11, 2008 6:22

PM

 

Re: [RFSL] Dieting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's

nothing wrong with meat. What works for one person doesn't necessarily work for

everyone. I was a vegetarian for a while, and had nothing but problems. Some

people need a lot more protein in their diet.

 

 

 

 

 

I eat a

salad every day for lunch, and I make one for my husband every day too. At

first he wasn't into it so much, but now he likes it as much as I do. I use a

wide variety of veggies to keep it interesting. We use plain oil and vinegar

for dressing. We grow veggies in the garden and he likes that we are eating

what we grow. If he's eating a wide variety of veggies in his salad, a little chicken

with it is fine.

 

 

 

 

 

At night, I

cook a variety of veggies. These are lifestyle changes. We didn't always eat a

lot of veggies unfortunately. But we do now. It's a priority for us, but it

didn't happen over night either. It took a lot of time. Persistence is the key.

:-)

 

Cyndi

 

 

 

 

 

In a message

dated 7/11/2008 7:42:26 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS (AT) saic (DOT) com

writes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t tell you how many times he’s planned dinner and

all it is is some kind of meat. No sides of any sort. His family serves

these ridiculously large steaks at get togethers. I just don’t see

how he would ever go vegan. We had salad last night and he had to put

chicken on it. It seems to me it’s not a meal without some kind of

meat. I’m trying to get grass fed meats and doing more stir frys,

kebob and sauté type meals where there is less focus on meats. The

problem is I also have picky kids who are only 5 and 4. I really

don’t like figuring out meals that meet everyone’s tastes.

That’s a whole other issue I won’t get into.

I agree with you on the drinks and it’s easy because I

can’t stand the taste of them. It seems to me that those drinks and

pancake syrup have a slimy, sugary taste to me that is down right yucky.

I rarely use syrup and always used real maple syrup when I do use it.

DH’s mom is diabetic but DH hasn’t had sugar issues yet.

I agree that diet in my discussion is more a way of eating

for life not something you do for 6 months and loose weight and go back to the

old ways. It does have to be a better way of eating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Those are all typical man-thoughts/actions lol. Not sure what type of heart scan you mean, but I'd probably pass if it involves radiation. He can probably do a lot to improve his health just with diet and exercise. A year from now he will be a different man, and may not even need to worry about having a heart scan. I can't fault him for wanting to stay away from doctors, even if the reason IS pure denial, lol. When he starts seeing results from good diet and exercise, the worry will go away. Exercise is proven to help reduce stress too, an added benefit.

 

The kids and the junk food from the inlaws, that's much harder. They refuse to respect your wishes, and it's hard to pick and choose your battles with family. Unless you want an out and out confrontation (=bad feelings) you can't control what goes on behind your back. If it were me, I would probably pack up snack bags for them to take along, and ask your MIL to only feed them those snacks. Probably won't work, I know. Good luck with that! If someone comes to your house with junk food, you can always just smile and thnk them politely, and then throw them in the trash or freecycle them off when the SIL leaves. ;-)

 

Mercola, I always take him with a grain of salt, since he is always pushing his products. But I like knowing what is going on in the health world, so I enjoy his articles.

 

Cyndi

 

In a message dated 7/14/2008 6:51:53 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS writes:

 

 

 

DH has started exercising and while he hasn’t lost but a few pounds he says he feels better. He is really working hard to make good decisions. I don’t understand him sometimes but I’m categorizing him as a man and as such he doesn’t want go to doctors. He has always worried obsessively about dying from a heart attack but refuses to do anything about it. His cousin has really high cholesterol and got one of those heart scans which says there was almost no plaque or calcification. DH says “I don’t know if I want to take that test because what if the results are bad?†I’m thinking, wouldn’t you rather know that things are good or bad and then figure out what to do from there. Imagine the stress of not knowing and waking up every day thinking you are going to die. What do you think about those heart scans? I’ve read there is a lot of radiation. Which is worse radiation or stress from worrying?

 

Not only does DH have doctor programming but he has old school Greek mom programming. She is obsessed that everyone eat and cares more about quantity than quality. I could go on and on especially since she watches my young kids and feeds them junk. MIL runs to store when the kids cry for ice cream sandwiches or cookies or Cheetos. I refuse to buy that junk but she brings it in and then tells me it’s for FIL. DH and MIL tell me that I shouldn’t worry about them eating too much junk because they are young and thin and therefore must have my genes. My SIL brings animal crackers and goldfish for my kids and tells me they are healthy. Aye-yi-yi.

 

I’m not sure what I think of Mercola. I get his emails but have mixed feelings. He’s always selling things too.

 

Erika

 

 

Messages in this topic (6) Reply

 

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[Guest guest]

Does your CSA offer smaller portions? Ask, they might be willing to start doing that if there is enough interest.

 

I have tomatoes coming out of my ears! We eat them with every meal, lol. And I just drank a glass of tomato juice, lol. I know, I know, I should get to that canning I keep promising myself I'll try, but I can't seem to force myself to try it, lol.

 

Good Seasons is still full of chemicals. You can probably find a DIY recipe that would come close. Here's a couple of copy cat recipes:

 

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf66104152.tip.html

 

Cyndi

 

In a message dated 7/14/2008 6:59:57 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS writes:

 

Every year I look into seeing if I can find someone to split a CSA with me. I’m not ready for a whole share and would also love to get some help getting the food. We do have a small garden with zucchini, tomato, cucumber and watermelon.

 

I love salad and put anything leftover in the fridge on my lettuce. I’ve really liked apples (DD eats about half and doesn’t want any more) and feta. I also like mango salsa with avocado on a salad. Garbanzo beans are good as well as toasted pine nuts. I used to use the Good Seasons dry packet with balsamic vinegar but now I just use Rice Wine Vinegar and olive oil. DH still wants the packets but I did find a dry mix that might work in lieu of that. I just have to find time to make it. DH eats salads but prefers more traditional variety. Come summer we will eat Greek “tomata salata†which is just tomatoes, onions, olive oil, oregano, salt and vinegar and eat with bread. Yummy!!

 

I just have to be careful with DH. He doesn’t like to be ‘mothered’ by me even though he needs to be. I somehow have to let him think he came up with the ideas J

 

 

 

 

 

On Behalf Of cyndikrall (AT) aol (DOT) comSent: Friday, July 11, 2008 6:22 PM Subject: Re: [RFSL] Dieting

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's nothing wrong with meat. What works for one person doesn't necessarily work for everyone. I was a vegetarian for a while, and had nothing but problems. Some people need a lot more protein in their diet.

 

 

 

I eat a salad every day for lunch, and I make one for my husband every day too. At first he wasn't into it so much, but now he likes it as much as I do. I use a wide variety of veggies to keep it interesting. We use plain oil and vinegar for dressing. We grow veggies in the garden and he likes that we are eating what we grow. If he's eating a wide variety of veggies in his salad, a little chicken with it is fine.

 

 

 

At night, I cook a variety of veggies. These are lifestyle changes. We didn't always eat a lot of veggies unfortunately. But we do now. It's a priority for us, but it didn't happen over night either. It took a lot of time. Persistence is the key. :-)Cyndi

 

 

 

In a message dated 7/11/2008 7:42:26 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS (AT) saic (DOT) com writes:

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t tell you how many times he’s planned dinner and all it is is some kind of meat. No sides of any sort. His family serves these ridiculously large steaks at get togethers. I just don’t see how he would ever go vegan. We had salad last night and he had to put chicken on it. It seems to me it’s not a meal without some kind of meat

 

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[Guest guest]

I'm just plain chicken on the canning. And ok, maybe lazy too, lol.

 

We have no rain here in CA for 6 months of the year. That's the beauty of my husbands raised beds/DIY Earth Box design. There is always water channeled thru the bottom of the boxes. All we have to do is make sure we keep pumping water thru them, and the beds never dry out. I really have to thank the Earth Box company for giving us such a good concept to work with, lol. ;-)

 

The bad side is, the boxes are too small for crops like corn, onions and beans. Maybe next year we can add some mother-sized boxes to grow some bigger veggies.

 

We use the fish emulsion on the veggies too. Smelly but spectacular. ;-)Cyndi

 

In a message dated 7/14/2008 3:45:28 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, stringweaver writes:

 

 

 

jealous. My plants are just starting to set fruit. My spring garden was held up by the cold and rain and I was late planting the summer stuff due to work and travel and rain. Now we haven't had rain in a month. My corn and beans are finally up and growing well, but I don't know if they'll have time to ripen. I'm hoping for a mild autumn.

 

My potatoes and onions are looking spectacular.

 

I finally found some fish emulsion/kelp juice organic fertilizer in a local store and after the friday evening application everything is jumping out of the soil, so I'm optimistic, even for the late pole beans.

 

Canning may be a no go this year. I'm working so much and we'll be losing two student workers the first of august so I'll be even busier around harvest time. Freezing and drying take less time and organization.

 

Ellen

 

Messages in this topic (10) Reply

 

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[Guest guest]

I have tomatoes coming out of my ears! We eat them with every meal, lol. And I just drank a glass of tomato juice, lol. I know, I know, I should get to that canning I keep promising myself I'll try, but I can't seem to force myself to try it, lol.

 

 

 

jealous. My plants are just starting to set fruit. My spring garden was held up by the cold and rain and I was late planting the summer stuff due to work and travel and rain. Now we haven't had rain in a month. My corn and beans are finally up and growing well, but I don't know if they'll have time to ripen. I'm hoping for a mild autumn.

 

My potatoes and onions are looking spectacular.

 

I finally found some fish emulsion/kelp juice organic fertilizer in a local store and after the friday evening application everything is jumping out of the soil, so I'm optimistic, even for the late pole beans.

 

Canning may be a no go this year. I'm working so much and we'll be losing two student workers the first of august so I'll be even busier around harvest time. Freezing and drying take less time and organization.

 

Ellen

[Guest guest]

On 7/14/08, cyndikrall <cyndikrall wrote:

 

 

 

I'm just plain chicken on the canning. And ok, maybe lazy too, lol.

 

We have no rain here in CA for 6 months of the year. That's the beauty of my husbands raised beds/DIY Earth Box design. There is always water channeled thru the bottom of the boxes. All we have to do is make sure we keep pumping water thru them, and the beds never dry out. I really have to thank the Earth Box company for giving us such a good concept to work with, lol. ;-)

 

 

 

I have sort of the same thing. I use the Irrigro irrigation system. Very low pressure water supplies tape made of tyvec paper tubing. I turn the water on in the spring and off in the fall. The tape sweats water into the beds. Over the summer I never even reach the minimum billing unit for water, so I have no idea how much I actually use for my 1000 ft square garden plus fruit trees. But this year I haven't mulched and with the cats permanently grounded I am having trouble with birds pecking holes in the tape and creating leaks. I'll have to find the time to mulch-a good thing anyway.

 

 

Ellen

 

 

 

 

The bad side is, the boxes are too small for crops like corn, onions and beans. Maybe next year we can add some mother-sized boxes to grow some bigger veggies.

 

I gave up on building boxes and just piled mounds of landfill compost on my rocky soil. The beds are about 3 by 25 feet with a path between of mown green stuff (mostly weeds). I have corn planted in three beds and it gets pollinated okay. This year I planted winter squash among the corn and beans, but my bean germination was patchy and none has come up in the corn beds.

 

 

 

 

 

We use the fish emulsion on the veggies too. Smelly but spectacular. ;-)

 

amen! And I have more fish emulsion in unconcentrated form from my goldfish. Every week I change out 9 gallons of water and pour the fishy water on the apple trees. Soon I'll move my goldfish to a 75 gallon tank and get him a few buddies. More fishy water for the garden.

Ellen

[Guest guest]

I will google this, I'm not familiar with it! Sounds interesting!

 

Cyndi

 

In a message dated 7/14/2008 4:53:28 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, stringweaver writes:

 

I have sort of the same thing. I use the Irrigro irrigation system. Very low pressure water supplies tape made of tyvec paper tubing. I turn the water on in the spring and off in the fall. The tape sweats water into the beds. Over the summer I never even reach the minimum billing unit for water, so I have no idea how much I actually use for my 1000 ft square garden plus fruit trees. But this year I haven't mulched and with the cats permanently grounded I am having trouble with birds pecking holes in the tape and creating leaks. I'll have to find the time to mulch-a good thing anyway.

 

 

Ellen

 

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[Guest guest]

What’s funny though is that some of the

traditional Greek foods are so very healthy. There are so many jokes in my

husband’s family about how embarrassed the teenage boys were while watching

their moms pick dandelion leaves from the road sides. She does make many sorts

of greens but not so much dandelion anymore. In organic, healthy culture

dandelions seem to be the new spinach. My MIL also makes stuffed grape leaves

(dolmades) that my daughter loves. MIL makes the best dolmades I’ve ever had.

This is the first year we grew zucchini and I told my MIL to help me eat it.

Today I went home and she had the Greek version of ratatouille which is called

something like touralou touralou. Anyway, she included the tender, baby

zucchini leaves as part of it because they were available. I’ve never heard of

eating zucchini leaves but I guess they are no different than grape leaves or

dandelion leaves. I guess these are reasons why the ‘Mediterrean diet’ is so

healthy. Last night I made 2 loaves of zucchini bread hoping to get my kids to

eat some veggie (any would be great at this point). Well my MIL who has sugar

issues won’t eat the bread because I didn’t use Splenda. I used 1 cup of sugar

between the whole loaf. I understand she has to watch her sugar but Splenda

has its own issues. I guess sometimes you literally have to pick your poison.

I know I can use other things like stevia but never really needed to try them.

 

Erika

 

 

 

 

 

On Behalf Of cyndikrall

Monday, July 14, 2008 6:29

PM

 

Re: [RFSL] Dieting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those are all

typical man-thoughts/actions lol. Not sure what type of heart scan you

mean, but I'd probably pass if it involves radiation. He can probably do a lot

to improve his health just with diet and exercise. A year from now he will be a

different man, and may not even need to worry about having a heart scan. I

can't fault him for wanting to stay away from doctors, even if the reason IS

pure denial, lol. When he starts seeing results from good diet and exercise,

the worry will go away. Exercise is proven to help reduce stress too, an added

benefit.

 

 

 

 

 

The kids and

the junk food from the inlaws, that's much harder. They refuse to respect your

wishes, and it's hard to pick and choose your battles with family. Unless you

want an out and out confrontation (=bad feelings) you can't control what goes

on behind your back. If it were me, I would probably pack up snack bags for

them to take along, and ask your MIL to only feed them those snacks. Probably

won't work, I know. Good luck with that! If someone comes to your house with

junk food, you can always just smile and thnk them politely, and then throw

them in the trash or freecycle them off when the SIL leaves. ;-)

 

 

 

 

 

Mercola, I

always take him with a grain of salt, since he is always pushing his products.

But I like knowing what is going on in the health world, so I enjoy his

articles.

 

 

 

 

 

Cyndi

 

 

 

 

 

In a message

dated 7/14/2008 6:51:53 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, ERIKA.T.SOTIRAKOS (AT) saic (DOT) com

writes:

 

 

 

 

DH has started exercising and while he hasn’t lost but a few pounds

he says he feels better. He is really working hard to make good

decisions. I don’t understand him sometimes but I’m categorizing him as a

man and as such he doesn’t want go to doctors. He has always worried

obsessively about dying from a heart attack but refuses to do anything about

it. His cousin has really high cholesterol and got one of those heart

scans which says there was almost no plaque or calcification. DH says “I

don’t know if I want to take that test because what if the results are

bad?” I’m thinking, wouldn’t you rather know that things are good or bad

and then figure out what to do from there. Imagine the stress of not

knowing and waking up every day thinking you are going to die. What do

you think about those heart scans? I’ve read there is a lot of

radiation. Which is worse radiation or stress from worrying?

Not only does DH have doctor programming but he has old

school Greek mom programming. She is obsessed that everyone eat and cares

more about quantity than quality. I could go on and on especially since

she watches my young kids and feeds them junk. MIL runs to store when the

kids cry for ice cream sandwiches or cookies or Cheetos. I refuse to buy

that junk but she brings it in and then tells me it’s for FIL. DH and MIL

tell me that I shouldn’t worry about them eating too much junk because they are

young and thin and therefore must have my genes. My SIL brings animal

crackers and goldfish for my kids and tells me they are healthy.

Aye-yi-yi.

I’m not sure what I think of Mercola. I get his emails

but have mixed feelings. He’s always selling things too.

Erika

 

 

 

 

Messages

in this topic (6) Reply

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

What a great idea Ellen - I had never heard of this!!

 

Barb

amen! And I have more fish emulsion in unconcentrated form from

my goldfish. Every week I change out 9 gallons of water and pour

the fishy water on the apple trees. Soon I'll move my goldfish to

a 75 gallon tank and get him a few buddies. More fishy water for

the garden.

 

Ellen

[Guest guest]

I learned it from an aquarium fish forum. People use changed water on

their houseplants too. Seems a waste to pour it down the drain,

although I do in the winter. Pity I don't have a cistern I could

store it in.

 

Ellen

 

On 7/15/08, Barb <FirstYrs08 wrote:

> What a great idea Ellen - I had never heard of this!!

>

> Barb

> amen! And I have more fish emulsion in unconcentrated form from

> my goldfish. Every week I change out 9 gallons of water and pour

> the fishy water on the apple trees. Soon I'll move my goldfish to

> a 75 gallon tank and get him a few buddies. More fishy water for

> the garden.

>

> Ellen

>

>

>

>

> ---

>

> " Let food be your medicine " Hippocrates

[Guest guest]

I drain mine out into my flower bed in the front of the house. :-D

 

Cyndi

 

 

 

Ellen <stringweaver

 

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:29 am

Re: [RFSL] Dieting

 

I learned it from an aquarium fish forum. People use changed water on

their houseplants too. Seems a waste to pour it down the drain,

although I do in the winter. Pity I don't have a cistern I could

store it in.

Ellen

On 7/15/08, Barb <FirstYrs08 wrote:

> What a great idea Ellen - I had never heard of this!!

>

> Barb

> amen! And I have more fish emulsion in unconcentrated form from

> my goldfish. Every week I change out 9 gallons of water and pour

> the fishy water on the apple trees. Soon I'll move my goldfish to

> a 75 gallon tank and get him a few buddies. More fishy water for

> the garden.

>

> Ellen

>

>

>

>

> ---

>

> "Let food be your medicine" Hippocrates

[Guest guest]

It's easy to find the plans online. I was originally considering the rubbermaid tubs, but then my husband said he'd build some boxes for me. they are working great.

 

cyndi

 

In a message dated 7/31/2008 8:23:41 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, healthyhomemaker writes:

 

 

 

 

I have seen diy earthbox designs on the net using large rubbermaid totes. These may be big enough for beans, etc. I think I searched the term self watering container plans or something similiar. I wish I had the link still. I grow plants in 5 gallon buckets. Not corn, but peppers and tomatoes.

 

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I have seen diy earthbox designs on the net using large rubbermaid totes. These may be big enough for beans, etc. I think I searched the term self watering container plans or something similiar. I wish I had the link still. I grow plants in 5 gallon buckets. Not corn, but peppers and tomatoes.Ellen <stringweaver wrote: On 7/14/08, cyndikrall (AT) aol (DOT) com <cyndikrall (AT) aol (DOT) com> wrote: I'm just plain chicken on the canning. And ok, maybe lazy too, lol. We have no rain here in CA for 6 months of the year. That's the beauty of my husbands raised beds/DIY Earth Box design. There is always water channeled thru the bottom of the boxes. All we have to do is make sure we keep pumping water thru them, and the beds never dry out. I really have to thank the Earth Box company for giving us such a good concept to work with, lol. ;-) I have sort of the same thing. I use the Irrigro irrigation system. Very low

pressure water supplies tape made of tyvec paper tubing. I turn the water on in the spring and off in the fall. The tape sweats water into the beds. Over the summer I never even reach the minimum billing unit for water, so I have no idea how much I actually use for my 1000 ft square garden plus fruit trees. But this year I haven't mulched and with the cats permanently grounded I am having trouble with birds pecking holes in the tape and creating leaks. I'll have to find the time to mulch-a good thing anyway. Ellen The bad side is, the boxes are too small for crops like corn, onions and beans. Maybe next year we can add some mother-sized boxes to

grow some bigger veggies. I gave up on building boxes and just piled mounds of landfill compost on my rocky soil. The beds are about 3 by 25 feet with a path between of mown green stuff (mostly weeds). I have corn planted in three beds and it gets pollinated okay. This year I planted winter squash among the corn and beans, but my bean germination was patchy and none has come up in the corn beds. We use the fish emulsion on the veggies too. Smelly but spectacular. ;-) amen! And I have more fish emulsion in unconcentrated form from my goldfish. Every week I

change out 9 gallons of water and pour the fishy water on the apple trees. Soon I'll move my goldfish to a 75 gallon tank and get him a few buddies. More fishy water for the garden.Ellen