gardening

Some space required

Do you have a small patch of dirt you can cultivate? How about some empty pots? Are you done mowing grass? I suggest you grow a mini garden.

The better you grow

My lady is really into growing things. She is the one responsible for my nutrition becoming more mature. I've avoided growing things and doing things outdoors for much of my life. She showed me the importance of returning to nature and grounding myself. About three years ago, I decided to take up about 3/4 of my front yard and turn it into a garden. I removed this old falling-down deck from the backyard, cut up the wood, and repurposed it into a fence around this garden. We have been developing our garden right out of our front yard for the last few years.

One side of my house I have corn and one side of my house I have squash, pumpkins, and gourds. In another part of my garden, I have tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, peas, and green beans; in other areas, I have onions, mint, and garlic. Every year we grow and try new things; how much we produce amazes me. We put in a lot of TLC. We have to manage it. Now I know what you're saying to us. Why would you be talking to me about guarding what's so important about this? I can take fresh vegetables from the front yard to my table. I have the freshest and healthiest ingredients to put into my foods. I don't have to travel to the store to pick them up, so I won't waste time and gas. That's awesome. 

I can only eat some of the vegetables I grow, at least not right away. Some of them I can (jar), then some of them I dehydrate, and some of them I put into vacuum seal bags and save for later. I'm telling you all this because I am new to gardening. I'm still fascinated at how much joy it brings me to have food growing in my yard. I never thought I would connect to nature quite like I have; I was surprised to find out this garden was for me when I started to taste the first fruits of my labor. And then it dawned on me that I'm one of the very few trainers who grow their food, eat it, and talk about being healthy. I had a unique opportunity to show you how to be healthy by growing the food I'm telling you to eat. Now I know many of you only have a little space and time to do gardens, but what if you could grow just a few vegetables, a few things to put into your salads every night? It doesn't take much work; it's not that hard.

Lead by example

The fresher the vegetable, the healthier it is for you. I get a unique, energetic feeling when I eat these foods. It's not just the food but the combination of it and my daily training. I give myself the most energy and ability to do what I must every day. It is your fountain of youth, but you must work for it. I wanted to show you guys that I live how I preach and show you exactly what I do to stay healthy on my social media. I don't make fancy videos, take my shirt off, or show you how awesome I am at doing things because that's not how to show people how to be healthy. If you follow me on social media, you'll see how I live a healthy life. I'm not selling you anything; I'm simply showing you how I do these things. I can't teach you how to garden like a champ. That's not my profession. I can't make you eat healthy food or work out, but I can lead by example. I know that gardening is more complicated than it looks, and it takes time, practice, and failure before you get good at it. But the reward of eating your food and the feeling that you get inside is something that it's hard for me to explain to you until you do it. Those who are doing you can tell. You feel better when you're eating the freshest foods. I encourage you to find a way to have fresh foods in your life but grow them as close to your house as possible.