Up to Speed

Though we have not posted in a long time our adventures have not stopped, let me get you up to speed on what we have been up to. After trekking across the Grand Canyon in May, we headed up to Central California to run "Shadow of the Giants" located just out side of Yosemite National park. The race is listed as a 50K but it turned out to be 34 miles instead of the 31 miles the 50K denotes. The extra miles didn't matter, it was an incredible day running in an incredible place with the woman I loved incredibly. Does that make sense?
Look our garden has been doing incredibly well! Hey that works! Love those purple bell peppers. Who loves turnips? I sure do, root vegetable are so incredibly rich in nutrients. Incredibly there it is again.
Then in July we climbed Mt. Whitney 14,495 ft. This was our fourth trip, and my second time to the summit, but I did not get away without elevation sickness.


As you can see on my face I was not feeling that great, but it got really ugly a short time from this picture on the decent. Let's just say "Vomit" 3x's and one hell of an 11 mile decent, without being able to drink or eat for most of it. Tanya had no trouble as always, must be girl power or something.
August has been a fun month of training, I am signed up for the Las Vegas Olympic distance triathlon on September 26th. The swim discipline has been the most challenging, but by the 26th I feel I will be ready. Tanya is still debating on whether to participate, or allow me to do this alone. What do you think, should she join me?
That get's you up to speed on what we have been up to, until my next post ~One Love

Sowing Seeds

2010 will make the third year Tanya and I have grown most of our vegetables. Living in So Cal we have a long growing season. Depending on the vegetable the harvest can be year round. An example would be Kale and Collard Greens; they are rich leafy greens that do excellent in winter. We have had a lot success growing in the ground along our back wall, but the weeds at times become difficult to control; so this year we decided to add above ground planters. We had some yard space under a bedroom window that was perfect. I wasn't exactly sure how to build and how large to make the planters, so I searched the net for help. I came across dozens and dozens of backyard gardening sites, all full of helpful information and suggestions. Many were sophisticated and some simple, but all produced beautiful and healthy vegetables. I decided to go with three 4x4 foot planters, each constructed with 4x6 inch pieces of wood. The job was very easy and took me no time to finish. All I needed was wood, 3 1/2 inch wood screws and a drill.

First I cleared the space under the window of any weeds, and then leveled the dirt.
The first planter went together in a jiffy, the 3 1/2 inch wood screws pulled the wood together securely and tight.

I was done all thee in less than and hour, all exactly 4x4 with a little bit of walk space between each to tend to the crop and any weeds that may pop up.

I then put a layer of weed block and wood chips for added weed control, and also look.

I filled each with grow mulch and soil. The hard part is done! Now just "Sow the Seed" and allow the Sun and the seeds do their work.

Growing your own food is simple and fulfilling, not to mention the health benefits. If you want to improve your diet and save some money; backyard gardening is the way to grow, and the fruits and vegetables taste so much better than what you get at the grocery store.

There is no better way to fuel your body for those long miles than home grown food. I can't wait to share pictures of what our planters will produce this year.

Provoke, Encourage, Elevate.

One Love,

Marc and Tanya

Garden Update: Aug' 09

Even with daily temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, our garden continues to push out God's vegetable goodness.

MJ

Summer Garden Update

I haven't posted about our garden lately, but I thought for those who may be interested I would give an update. Though I don't have any pictures, our camera was on the blink for a few months. Incredibly it just started working last week after Tanya dropped it purposely. Anyway, our winter crop did great and tasted delicious! We grew collard greens and kale, carrots, beets (love the beets), and cabbage. We actually still have kale growing and about 3-4 heads of cabbage still growing.

Now to this years summer garden of which I do have a few pictures.

I thought this was a great shot of morning dew on a squash leaf.

Look at the Roma tomatoes, last year we had cherry tomato's this year Roma and Big Beefy.

Our Avocado tree, which are the branches on the left, is doing incredibly well. It's less than 2 yrs old.

Tending to the yellow zucchini squash, and Brussel sprouts that are growing in the distance. We are also growing cucumbers and butternut squash. I can't wait until they begin to harvest to share and to enjoy. Nothing tastes better then the natural fruits and vegetable's God has provided for us.

MJ

Our Garden has come to LIFE

Becoming self sufficient that is the ultimate goal, going green and growing your own food is easier than you think. Everything pictured, except for the coconut (smile); 3 months ago were seeds. Tanya and I are having such a incredible time seeing our food grow, it is so gratifying.
Veggies:
Collard greens
Tomatoes
Butternut Squash
Cucumbers
Yellow zucchini

You are what you eat! If it comes in a box. think 2x's before you eat it.
MJ