Welcome to the Group

Welcome! We would love get to know you, so please tell us a little bit about yourself. You can choose any format you'd like, but most of us here share some or all of the following details:

1. History with weight loss:
2. History with Calorie Count:
3. Reason for joining this group:
4. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests:

And now just go ahead and make that first post!

Hi I'm Jenna,

Married to J. We live and farm in Nigeria near the Niger river.

I have a major weight problem.I love food.

I do much better at controlling my weight with calorie counting then I know what I'm putting in my mouth.I loose count while I'm cooking.

I love talking gardening getting new ideas.I grow most of my own fruit and vegetables. Found some new Nigerian spinach type leaves that are better tasting.

My interests are adventure ( like living in Darkest Africa ) gardening, horses animals, my kids,grand kids and enjoy fantasy books and films.The climate here is so fantastic for growing (Some ) things. We are 3 degree's above the equator so we are very hot  for 6 mts and hot and dry for the other 6 mths.We are a group of 12 farmers brought in by the Nigerian government to see if commercial farming in viable in Nigeria.They import about 98% of their food.

There are no mauls and supermarkets to go and buy things only the informal markets. The veggie market is a slum and we have named the better one Typhoid Corner.

Life is an adventure.

Hi, I'm learning to pay attention to what i eat... suffer from food amnesia most days and wonder why I'm gaining...

I love a good garden, I love a beautiful backyard but I'm not very knowledgeable on most of it.  For instance there is something eating my flowers ... i saw a snail a leaf, do snails eat flowers? I mean, the small bush was gone in a day...

I live in Hawaii and I must say that any success I've had is in no part due to my ability to garden.  I've grown tomatoes, papaya, avocado and flowers from seed and am very proud of myself.  The birds however ate my tomatoes and i think i gave my papaya root rot.  Lately, I've taken a snipped off of the trunk of a Ti tree and lay it down in water and now it's producing roots! Very exciting.  Let's see if I don't kill it.

Does anyone know anything about composting?  i'd like to give it a try... the dirt here is red volcano dirt....

 Snails will eat pretty much anything, but they're particularily fond of vegetables, flowers, and all the other stuff we want to keep - see if you can find some hedgehogs, geese, possums, or other snail-eating predators locally and persuade them to have lunch on the nasties in your garden ;)

 Alternately, you can make some beer snail traps - they're probably the most practical alternative if hedgehogs are unavailable :)

 Best practice for composting is to construct a hot-composting pile - fastest way to get some decent results; and an important ingredient if you're gonna go organic with your garden - get some compost going and you're halfway there already :)

 Nigeria sounds interesting - I'm pretty sure I couldn't handle what you're doing there, but it's definitely a fascinating-sounding project ;)

Seriously,  hedgehogs, geese and possums?  You're kidding right?  Is that a farmer joke?  ... well, in any case those would be out... we don't even have squirrels here.

I too couldn't handle the project that Jennadessla is participating in in Nigeria.  I mean really, a snail has me tappin' out.

My hat is off to you Jennadessla!

Nope, those are all useful little beasties that eat snail - my uncle used to keep geese in his strawberry fields as a pest control device - they'd eat the snails, bugs and assorted nasties that were trying to eat his berries and in return uncle would eat them on thanksgiving.

 Which worked fine until the geese grew to adult size and started squishing the berries on account of being full-grown 40lbs birds, so after that he stuck to raising hedgehogs - they weren't as edible, but they also didn't ruin the harvest by stepping on it.

 In any case, sounds like the beer traps are more what you're in the market for - they're very simple to make if you can beer with parting with some ;)

 

Like most people I have a long history of trying and failing about every diet there is.  I had some success on the HCG diet (injections and 500 calories a day).  I need to lose some more and want to do it the healthy way, so here I am!

I love gardening.  Mostly flowers so far, but I'm getting ready to build some raised beds so I can get into some veggies.  I live in Utah in an area that has practically solid clay soil.  I'm currently taking a Master Gardeing course and love it so far!

I have two children and currently stay at home with them.

Hello all! I am just looking for gardening tips and to meet a few folks.  I have been using CC since about May 07 and like the site alot, I didn't start trying to enter the groups until this week so I am new to the format of sending posts.  I live in Northern Maryland and in my particular area our soil is the worst I have ever dealt with.  Mostly rock, clay, and silica.  I should have thought a little more about the number of quarries around my house before I bought it last year!  Then again, the upside is that every time we plow I get to define my area with rock wall edging.

I unfortunately picked a bad spot for my garden last year, I underestimated the amount of growth around the area I cleared.  Without full sun my corn, carrots, and broccoli suffered.  On the other hand my tomatoes were a banner crop - anyone ever hear of partial sun having such a positive effect on tomatoes?  I am moving my garden this year but am considering leaving some tomatoes in the old spot to see if they do well again.

Melkor - for what it's worth my grandmother "borrowed" her neighbors geese every few weeks in the spring and summer to clear the slugs and snails from her vegetable patch.  She claimed that the hefty amount of compostable poo and the excellent job of clearing critters far outweighed the few things they stomped!

Look forwardd to chatting and getting some tips!

Hello,

I am confronting the fact that I have gradually gained about 40 lbs. over the last several years... it was gradual, so I didn't really pay too much attention.. but now spring is almost here, and my gardening capris don't fit anymore...!  I feel slower and more sluggish, and want to be strong and spritely in my garden this summer. 

I spent a few  hours pulling out dead leaves and flower stalks this afternoon, our first nice day in months....  felt so good to be in the sun, uncovering new tulip leaves and seeing the first signs of the wild hyacinth....

I have a small salad garden, and tons of perennials and annuals every summer... my garden brings me joy, and the joy will be doubled if I can shed this extra weight... glad to be here!

 

Greetings Everyone,

 I found and joined CC yesterday. I am a yo-yo dieter and I want to jump off the yo-yo. A friend and I call each other on weekdays to start our day off right and be accountable for the previous day. We started this a few weeks ago and it is a great help. I would also like to connect with some fellow gardeners.

I took my master gardener course nine years ago because I was tired of buying plants and watching them die.   I have a veggie garden and flower beds, I started and maintain a learning garden at my local elementary school, and I grow petunias for my church and help with the grounds work.

So you can see that I get my exercise in the summer. I live in central Indiana, by the way, so our growing season is May through October.

The temperature is forecasted to reach 51 degrees today. I will plant some sugar snap peas this afternoon. Last year they just didn't grow much so I am hoping for better success this year. I may start some lettuce both indoors and outdoors today. My husband rigged up some fluorescent lights to a shelf that I use to start plants early.

I've probably worn out my welcome. I am anxious to meet new gardener, weight-losing friends.

Hello everyone.  I have been on CC for about a year and a half.  I am still struggling with my weight, but won't give up the fight.  I will get there.

I live in NC and it has been pretty warm here for the last few weeks.  I am afraid that a lot of the trees and bushes may get frost bit before too long.

With that said, I have already planted some cabbage and onions.  I think they will be ok.  I am planning on planting potatoes next week during dark nights.  Something about warm weather, just makes me want to start planting!

 

Hello everyone. I joined CC about a week ago and this group yesterday.  I'm trying to lose about 50 pounds I've packed on, mostly by eating too much junk food.  I moved to northern Alabama after living in Alaska for ten years, and am re-discovering the joys of gardening in a place that has a nice summer.  I had containers inside in Anchorage, and grew tomatoes, lettuces, peppers, and herbs with some success, but every time I planted anything outside, the moose ate the plants before they could do anything worthwhile. 

I have about a two acre yard and put in raised beds last year. Due to all the trees, I don't have as much full sun as I would like. I did pretty well with tomatoes, and herbs again.  I don't like to use pesticides and there are critters here I hadn't counted on.  Last year the chipmonks and possom ate all the blossoms off my squash.  I ended up growing eggplant in hanging baskets to keep the chipmonks out.  I think I got about a dozen eggplants from four plants.  Actually, that was plenty since there are only two people living at my house now.   

The other person is my husband of nearly 28 years.  We spend  lot of time poking around in the dirt together.  We hauled 400 pounds of mulch home from Lowe's this weekend and spent Sunday remulching around the azaleas and trees.  Oh yeah, there are a ton of trees, pecans, magnolia, and oaks, as well as native azaleas, roses, and hydrangeas on my lot.  Everything is budding nicely.  The azaleas are really starting to pop.  I put in sixteen new ones when I first moved here.  The new ones are supposed to bloom several times a year.  I can hardly wait to see if they do what the nursery promised. 

If anyone has any hints to get rid of possom and chipmonks, I'd love to hear about it.  It wouldn't be so bad if the chipmonks weren't so darned cute.     

Hey! A gardening group on cc! what could be better! 

I love gardening. it keeps me sane and active. my space is small, i dug up parts of the land lords lawn to start my beds last year, but he doesn't seem to mind. This is my second year in this apartment. I do a mix of veggies, flowers, shrubs. the native lupin made tons of babies this year! which is so exciting. once they're a little bigger, i'll move a few to new spots. 

I live in seattle. I joined cc in january 09, after about two months calorie counting on my own. this site has been really helpful in keeping me motivated, working through the tough spots of weight loss, and has provided some great education. Its a blessing.  

I use beer to kill slugs and snails, which currently have an appetite for the fox gloves in my shade garden. beer works great. get em drunk and kill em! :D

If your in the area and need help turning over soil, give me a holler. digging in the dirt is definitely my favorite type of exercise! 

this year, i've got my first round of lettuces in, planted beets but they aren't up yet, the peas are in and most are doing well, and put in some brussel sprouts, which i've never grown before, so we'll see how they do. i'm going to grow zucchini and tomatoes for sure, and see what else i have room for. my space is pretty hot, south facing, so i wanted to get the lettuce in early. not too sure how they'll do, but their up, so i'm hopeful. last year, i had tomatoes through january! amazing! 

Hello, I love gardening.  We don't have a big veggie garden, but grow lots of flowers.  We do grow tomatoes but I am known for my zinnias.  They are my favorite because they come in so many different colors and they make great cut flowers.  I also grow sunflowers, tulips in the spring, hostas, pansies, and other annuals. 

We have a wonderful wooden porch swing but no porch to hang it from so we hang it from a mulberry tree in our backyard.  It is great, we have a hummingbird feeder nearby, a huge zinnia bed nearby, and the perfect location for the summer breezes. 

I am so glad winter has come to an end! 

Hi!  I am just getting started with Calorie Count.  I thought I would try it out since I work for About :)  I'm their guide to Trees and Shrubs.

I have about 120 pounds to lose - whew!  I've tried here and there, but haven't made it stick yet. I have been logging my foods on MyFitnessPal for a couple of weeks, and that seems to help.  Have lost about 6 pounds so far.

Gardening is a great way to get some exercise in.  I am also signed up for a half marathon (first one! Have done 5ks) in September. 

I also like doing Dance Dance Revolution - since it's a video game, I get into that mode where I "have to beat the next level" or such, and it keeps me going.

Hi everyone!

I started CC in January of this year at 282. Since then I've lost 58lbs and 8 inches off of my waist. Losing 82 lbs is my goal. I've hit a plateau for the last month and have lost a total of 1 pound in that time. I'm still losing inches in my waist so maybe I'm building muscle to replace the fat?

I've always been interested in gardening, mostly out of necessity because when I was young, my family had a huge garden and weeding it was my job everyday in the summer. They don't make kids do that sort of thing anymore, do they?  I find it to be good excercise! It also teaches responsibility.

I grow a vegetable garden and do my own landscaping, growing shrubs and flowers. I have a creek running through my property that I've turned into a wildflower garden. Some of my wifes friends have actually taken some of those flowers home for their flower gardens. I look for them along the roads and will bring them home to transplant.

 

Sign me up.  Gardens are me.  I'd love to have a long chat with the lady who lives in Nigeria.  I have lived in my present location about 9 yrs now and the crazy hot summer temps drive me and my green beans nuts.  Finally got some bean blossoms then typical for here- temps went up to the high 90s/low 100s and the blossoms went poof.  No beans again.   I started counting my weight at 219.  I am at 188 now.  I have hovered near that for months.  So I am starting over on this health bit.  I have serious knee and other joint issues. Plus a wonkers back.  I do not work outside of my house.  I volunteer with a guy who has serious literacy issues and probably always will.  He needs a buddy and since I am addicted to all things literature, I am the buddy.  I share a large double town lot with my hubby.  We consider this lot our in town farm.  We do a lot of container/raised box gardening.  We have about 5 compost piles/boxes.  We now have an electric garden shredder and hubby really is grinding up the weeds and even cardboard egg cartons- makes for much faster composting.  Before the shredder, the stuff in the piles mostly sat and did not break down.  This shredder also takes care of chicken bones.  A total blessing tool.  We mostly use hand tools to manage the place.  Due to the dry stinky soil, we have lots of thorny weeds.  Sometimes a pain in the behind to deal with.  We also have a little greenhouse that we do not heat so it is pretty useless in the cold winter.  The front- what would be yard to our neighbors- is filled with goodies like fruit trees and shrubs and lavender and butterfly bush and mints- we have several kinds of mint- and oregano.  Yes, the Weed Monster folks have threatened us a couple of times- not funny when they mention things like 'lien on your property.'   I need gardens and once in a while we have wild visitors cause of our green paradise- a porcupine for instance.  We pay a nice water bill but it is worth it.  Hubby is probably sick of zucchini by now.  I know he is tired of cherry tomatoes.  I also have put in three Zen gardens where I got sick of pulling weeds- well placed rocks so that there would be shadows in interesting places etc.   A photo would probably make more sense, I guess.   I also have fun when it is cooler having tea in the garden.   Of course, got to have some not low calorie treats with the English china.  Ha ha.