Expressing Love After Grief

With our passion and love for humans we are able to help others and accomplish much more.  The inability to express our love to the people we care about can lead to feelings of depression and hopelessness.  When you loose a loved one like your parents, a spouse, or a child you may go through a grieving process where you are vulnerable to others that may help you express your affection and passion.  During this process it may help to remember how much you loved this person and how much they loved you.  This love may never go away and you may not want it to since the person was very important in your life and you want to remember them in a lovely way for ever.

Moving on from this grief and finding ways to express love to yourself, the people around you, and your community seem to be essential for your health.  Seeking out people deserving of your love can be a helpful way of starting to show affection.  Long term friends or loved ones who play a positive role in your life can help guide you in directions where you might be able to express your love but at times you may need to seek out these positive people if your family or friends are not available.

Finding It Hard To Express Your Love?

Some people seem to get “stuck in a rut” with the same social groups and people that promote negative behavior.  The people around you may continue to “bring you down,” ask you to pay for things, resist healthy communication, or keep you secluded from others which keeps you from meeting others.  Resist this manipulation and introduce yourself to new positive social groups and people that might provide an outlet for you to express your affection.  You can visit sites online like POF[dot]com and others where you can meet people with similar interests.  You can meet people doing your daily activities by talking to them, let them know something you enjoy about them, and find out if they have a similar passion as you.  People who are smiling or look you in the eyes are normally better candidates than others that frown and look away when you glance in their direction.  Introversion is a sign of unhealthiness so consider seeking positive people who are outgoing and also want to help others.

Express Affection With Risky Sex?

Having risky sex or sharing hard drugs with others is not a productive way of expressing your love.  This can lead to disease, hurt, and other unhealthy problems that may keep you from being able to express your love freely in the future.  Instead find ways of expressing your passion through communication, positive action, and mutual coordination for the benefit of the relationship.  This will help you to become better prepared and comfortable if passionate love making with the right person when it is available in the future.  If you already have a partner but your love has dissipated, you might consider taking action before the feelings come back.  That is right, sometimes making love, even if you do not feel like it, will lead to feeling of love with your life long mate.

Easy Ideas To Express Your Love

Love For Yourself:

Spend quality time alone, take excellent personal care of yourself, give yourself the nutrition you need to be healthy, and provide your mind with positive helpful thoughts as an expression of love for yourself.  Treat yourself to something you truly enjoy and become better at the things you believe are important in your life.

Love For People Close:

Reach out to the people you feel passionate about and let them know why you love them.  Take action and show them the ways that you can express you love.  This does not necessarily mean buying them things but it may include coordinating things that they enjoy or can help them show their passion for you as well.  Give others close to you a reason for them to show their passion to you by understanding them, paying attention to the things that are important to them, and taking action to help solve their problems if possible.  When others have gone out of their way to help solve my problems with out selfish motives or motives relating to other people it creates a feeling of thankfulness and openness that may lead to feelings of passion and love.  Help show your children your love for them by passionately involving yourself in their activities, spend long term quality time with them, and help them to show their passion for their biological parents.

Love For Your Community:

Your community may include a few people close by or many thousands all around the world but consider ways each day that you can life your life by expression your passion for the community around you.  You might feel passionate about the cleanliness or organization of your community’s location so you can pick up trash or do things to help that others do not need to witness.  Think of ways that you can create environments for your community to express their love for each other.  Start a local group and schedule a time where you can come together and express your love for one another, provide passionate aid, and help those in need.

Many in the Muslim empire believed that love sickness is a disease of the brain and must be solved for your overall health.  Christians are called to express their love and their love for their god.  Almost every religion pays special attention to helping their followers express their love because they know it is essential for a healthy life.

If you know of other ways to express your love, please leave your comments below so it can help others improve their health and live a happy life.  If you feel love, speak love, and actually love, you are much more likely to be happy.  If you feel love but can not express it your unhappiness may continue until the problem is solved.

What Is Personal Care?

Personal care is simply the things you can do to yourself on a regular basis that will improve your health and the way you look to others.   This also includes products, beautification, and personal hygiene.  Some examples of processes that many people would consider personal care include:

Bathroom Care

• Washing Hands Appropriately
• Tooth Brushing
• Flossing Teeth
• Mouth Washing
• Scrubbing Your Skin Or Bathing
• Eyebrow Maintenance
• Personal Grooming
• Healthy Nail Care
• Use Of Antiperspirants
• Corns And Calluses Removal

Personal Heath

• Various Exercises
• Regular Nutritional Intake
• Disinfection
• Safe disposal
• Proper bandaging
• Use of protective clothing and gear
• Sterilization of instruments
• Isolation or quarantine of infectious persons or materials

Personal Care Around Others

• Use of Antibacterials or Hand Sanitizers
• Correct respiratory and hand hygiene when coughing and sneezing

Care For Personal Foods

• Prevent contaminating food
• Separate raw and cooked foods
• Cook foods for the appropriate length of time
• Store food at the proper temperature
• Use safe water and raw materials

Personal Care Around The House

• Appropriate Laundry Hygiene
• Regular Disinfection
• Appropriate Air Purification
• Safe Garbage Removal
• Pleasant Noise And Sound Levels

Physical Mobility Care

• Regular Long Distance Running
• Balance Exercises and Biking
• Swimming And Aquatic Movement
• Frequent Skiing, Snowboarding, And Other Mobility Using Gravity
• Improve Walking On Natural Surfaces With Bare Feet
• Appropriate Hydration During Mobility
• Ability To Run And Move Quickly For A Short Time
• Frequent Climbing Using Both Hands And Feet

There are personal care assistants who may be able to help get you started but I believe it is optimal to complete your personal care yourself thus helping to put your own investment in improving your health.

How Personal Care Improves Health

When you improve your personal care you are less likely to become sick, you lower your risk of infection, and over time the preventative things you are doing will pay off over the rest of your life.  Even things like scrubbing your skin in the morning will help the look of your skin and you ability for your skin to work easily in the morning for overall body cooling and sweating.  When you are completing your personal care, try to remember to do things that are also “preventative care” as well.

Personal Care During Stress

It may be hard to keep up your personal care during a stressful event but do it for yourself.  If you have been through the loss of a loved one, grief, divorce, or a parental child abduction it is important to continue with your personal care and help show your children or other people around you ways they can improve their care during this stressful time as well.

Have fun with it, and let me know how it is working by leaving your comments here or by SMS and Voice at (802)445-5626

Myla Hillman With Father Gregory Hillman After Completing Some Personal Care

In almost all of the cases we have seen, a judge will award a mother with more custody than a father and blame the judgement on parental fitness.   If you are a father and you want to make sure your child’s health improves because they are able to spend time with their biological father then improving your understanding of parental fitness may help.

Parental Fitness Definition

Other Legal Parental Fitness Definitions

(i) The willingness of the parent or parents to receive or care for the child; (ii) That the child has been removed from the custody of the parent by temporary order of the court for a period of six months and further finds that: (A) The conditions which led to the removal still exist; (B) There is little likelihood that those conditions will be remedied at an early date so that the child can be returned to the parent in the near future; and (C) The continuation of the parent-child relationship greatly diminishes the child’s prospects for early integration into a stable and permanent home

Being A Fit Parent

So you are doing everything you can for your child’s health but remember that you must also keep yourself in perfect fitness to be an optimal parent.  This will help you defend your child, think clearly in stressful situations, and develop a better relationship with the other biological parent.  These are some of my ideas on ways to improve your health and manage stress:  http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2011/08/03/how-to-manage-stress-grief-and-ways-to-optimize-health

CDC and Parental Fitness

The CDC offers ways to be a positive parent which may also improve your parental fitness.  Here are some examples that may help from the CDC for ages 2-3:

Positive Parenting

• Set up a special time to read books with your toddler.
• Encourage your child to engage in pretend play.
• Play parade or follow the leader with your toddler.
• Help your child to explore her surroundings by taking her on a walk or wagon ride.
• Encourage your child to tell you his name and age.
• Teach your child simple songs like Itsy Bitsy Spider, or other cultural childhood rhymes.

Child Safety First

• Encourage your toddler to sit when eating and to chew her food thoroughly.
• Check toys often for loose or broken parts.
• Encourage your toddler not to put pencils or crayons in his mouth when coloring or drawing.
• Never leave your toddler near or around water (that is, bathtubs, pools, ponds, lakes, whirlpools, or the ocean) without someone watching her.
• Never drink hot objects while your child is sitting on your lap. Sudden movements can cause a spill.

Please let us know what you think about parental fitness and how you have helped improve it!

• work

• love

• friendship

• leisure

• coping

• problem solving

• creativity

• sense of humor

• nutrition *Consider supplemental multivitamins and multi minerals as well as additional magnesium.

• exercise

• self care

Healthy Gregory Hillman 2011

Almost all of us have been working at managing stress and a number of of other problems throughout our entire life.  We know the only human that does not have stress is a dead human and we can use our stress to help us learn and improve our health instead of allowing it to harm us.  I am not a Doctor or medical professional but I have included some opinions that have worked very well for me to manage even the most difficult stress.

Various Levels Of Stress Management

There are many different levels and stages of stress, grief, loss of child, parent, or spouse, post traumatic stress maybe from an abduction / veteran, and other types of stress that we might need to deal with at some point in our life.  After my experiences with various levels of stress and studying ways to manage and direct stress better I have found that there are some things that will work very well and others that will only create more stress and may harm your ability to deal with every day concerns in your life.  It is also important to note that stress is not always in the form of anger and many times can come from sadness, over stimulation, and other health concerns.

Improve Health To Manage Stress

I believe there are ways we can all improve our mental and physical health.  Every person is different but I might consider taking a general look at the overall categories of health and find out if there are ways you could improve or become more healthy.  Here are some categories to consider:

• work
• love
• friendship
• leisure
• coping
• problem solving
• creativity
• sense of humor
• nutrition *Consider supplemental multivitamins and multi minerals as well as additional magnesium.
• exercise
• self care
• gender identity
• cultural identity

I believe if you can improve your ability to achieve optimal performance in each of these areas you will be able to manage your stress easier.   Also you should be able to trust people but not be easily manipulated.  If you are easily manipulated you may get yourself into situations that will cause additional stress for no reasons besides other peoples’ means.

Exercise and Physical Skills To Reduce Stress

Sometimes in addition to stress, if the environmental conditions exist, you may have uncontrollable bursts of Epinephrine and this can cause all types of health concerns including palpitations, tremor, hypertension, and acute pulmonary edema, tachycardia, arrhythmia, anxiety, headache and many other things.  Even though you may not be able to stop your body from releasing this hormone I believe you may be able to manage the effects better through exercise.  Look through the general categories of exercise and see if there are ways you could improve:

• Endurance

• Stamina

• Strength

• Flexibility
• Power
• Speed
• Coordination
• Accuracy

• Metabolic
• Morphological
• Bone integrity
• Body composition
• Cardiovascular fitness
• Muscular endurance
• Muscle strength
• Agility
• Balance
• Coordination
• Power
• Speed
• Reaction time
• Team sport
• Individual sport

I believe if you find ways to improve your physical health though these different physical skills you will be able to manage your stress much easier even through the most difficult situations.

Flexibility And Positive Thinking

When you are going through a stressful time it is important to remain calm.  You can cry as much as you want but you might consider trying to regulate your emotions though an increased focus on flexibility, positive thinking, and guided meditation.  I have found all of these things seem to work very well in managing stress.  You might also consider practicing Pranayama. These certain breathing exercises may have helped me with even the most stressful situations.

Here is a video example which may help give you some general ideas about Pranayama:

Float Therapy And Endurance Through Lap Swimming

Many people have enjoyed the relaxation of float therapy but I also suggest focusing on lap swimming.  Even if it is only one or two days a week, try building endurance through the swim and do a variety of different strokes.  I have seen research that would show optimistic people are more likely to do a variety of different activities so switch it up.  You can also do the “dead man’s float” in an unused area of the pool where you can allow all of your muscles to completely relax and rest.  Try doing this for 30-40 seconds at a time if your breath will allow for 20 or more times and see if you feel more relaxed and less stress.  Some people are able to swim for 12 hours or longer but be sure to work up to this and have plenty of rest.  I have found that swimming 4-6 hours is normally plenty to create the desired need of reducing the stress and physical nervousness.



Solve The Stress

Drugs, alcohol, poor health, and even especially bad nutrition are traps that most people seem to fall into when they are under a excess amount of stress.  These things may help you deal with the stress temporarily but will not solve it.  It is important to find out what is causing your stress and if it is something you can solve I suggest considering a continued focus to work on it towards your goal.  Use this to propel you to improve your health so you can deal with the stress and solve your problem easier.  I strongly believe when you are in better health you will be able to solve problems much easier.

Remove Clutter And Signals That May Cause Stress

You may be the only one that can say which photo may cause you stress because of an old memory or which way you feel most comfortable with your desk organization but you may also consider removing clutter from any part of your life that could be causing stress.  You can even do this around your home and work environment.  Look for signals like, “would I have less stress if this pile of stuff or group of items was sorted and taken care of?  Are there people in my life that I need to work with to solve a problem or may be causing additional unneeded stress?

Please let us know if you have found any other things that may help manage stress or may work for others.  Enjoy and do not forget to have some fun while you are managing your stress!

 

]]> http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2011/08/03/how-to-manage-stress-grief-and-ways-to-optimize-health/feed/ 0 http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2011/03/11/soap-com-code-2011-promo-coupon-usduovg-15-off-first-order/ http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2011/03/11/soap-com-code-2011-promo-coupon-usduovg-15-off-first-order/#comments Sat, 12 Mar 2011 05:41:42 +0000 Greg http://www.gregoryhillman.org/?p=333 If you are in need of soap products or just basic products to keep care of your hygiene soap.com may be one of the best.  They are also affiliated with Diapers.com and this code will work for both sites.  They also offer 30% cash back on diapers and free two day shipping after you spend $49.  It works every time for new clients and I use them frequently to make all types of orders online.  Their returns and most products have also worked well.

For a complete list of Soap.com codes visit B2Review at:

http://www.b2review.com/soap-com-code-20-25-30-off-coupon-promos-new-clients-free-shipping/

You can combine this code with the links from the page above for additional discounts.

Use Soap.com Code:

usduovg

Be sure you are a first time customer so create a new account when you check out or this code may not work.  You are also welcome to leave your comments about Soap.com and their products so we can make sure to get the word out to others.  This company has improved the quality of life for many known friends in the United States and we hear the same almost once a week from a friend or someone that uses this code.  There are even food products and materials that you need every day so you could ship them to any location needed for a low cost.  Once more that code is “usduovg”

Enjoy!

]]> http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2011/03/11/soap-com-code-2011-promo-coupon-usduovg-15-off-first-order/feed/ 0 http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2011/01/08/curing-sinus-infections-and-sinus-pressure-with-hydrotherapy/ http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2011/01/08/curing-sinus-infections-and-sinus-pressure-with-hydrotherapy/#comments Sat, 08 Jan 2011 22:28:52 +0000 Greg http://www.gregoryhillman.org/?p=29 I have had sinus infections for around 30 years.  Each year growing up I would have at least one sinus infection if not more and every year my parents would take me to the medical center where a nurse or doctor would prescribe antibiotics.  Sometimes this would make me even more sick or they would include something in the antibiotics that I would be allergic to.  It would then take weeks before I was completely cured.  I am not a medical professional but I do not have a problem with long hurtful sinus infections any more.


Lower Sinus Infection Cure

The way to know if you have a sinus infection is if the stuff coming from your nose has color.  Could be yellow, orange, even green but there will be color instead of clear and then you will start to feel sinus pressure in your face along with a lower energy level.  I use this irrigation technique even when I do not have a sinus infection just to keep my sinuses in top condition but only every few weeks or months.  It also works to remove allergies and any congestion.

I visited a doctor in Seattle that helped me understand the benefits of sinus irrigation.  This technique is very simple, inexpensive, and it has worked for me 100% of the time to completely cure a sinus infection.  No need for doctors, antibiotics, insurance companies, or driving to the pharmacy.

Sinus Irrigation Procedure

1) Fill a microwave safe container with about 2 cups of water.  Spoon one or two teaspoons of baking soda and salt and make a solution to microwave for about 40 seconds.  The heater water will help drain the sinuses.  You could also heat the filtered water in a kettle and then pour it over the salt and NaHCO_3.

2) Blow your nose and clear your throat of anything that you can.  This will help allow the water to reach your sinuses.

3) Use an ear squirting device (normally blue with a bulb on one end) to squirt the water into each nostril and allow to drain.  You may sneeze and there should be mucus that will come from the nose.  Repeat this about 3-5 times in each nostril until you can breath through your nose at least a little.



Sinus Tools

4)  Now the slightly strange part.  Spray the water into each nostril but this time breath the water through your sinuses and out through your mouth.  I suggest doing this in a shower or at least over a sink because it may get messy.

5)  Use any solution left to gargle for about 30 seconds with your head lifted back.  This will also help clear excess mucus and other gunk.

Repeat this process when ever you want your sinuses to be clear and your infection should go away in a few days.  You will find relief right away but you may want to repeat this process a few times a day for 3 days until the problem is completely behind you.

If you try it and it does not work for you please leave your comments here and we will continue to improve the procedure so it will work for everyone.  So far everyone that has tried has cured their infection.  I have been using this process for many years and I have had almost no major problem with my sinuses since starting.

Caution – Spreading New Problems

Ocean, Sea Mist Brand

Nasil spray like Ocean Sea Mist suggest that you do not touch the tip to the nose.  This could be due to the spread of new problems:

“Try not to touch the container tip to the inside of your nose. If this happens, rinse the tip with hot water and dry with a clean tissue before recapping the container.”

Sinus Steaming

Sometimes you may have some inner ear pressure at the same time your sinuses are infected.  This can cause pain and sometimes an ear infection.  This steaming procedure works great and again it is totally free.

If you hear clicking in your ear or if you have pressure:

1) Fill a pan or bowl with 6 or more cups of boiling water on a table in front of you.

2) Drop a few drops of essential oil or rosemary into the water to make it more comfortable.

3) Place a large beach towel or small blanket over your head and breath through you nose and out through your mouth for about 15 minutes.

If the water or steam is too hot just move your head a little away until you can bring it closer.  Repeat a few times a day and try to clear you sinuses when they start to drain.  Did it work?

Other Sinus Options

Some people are certain that they need to take antihistamines, pain killers, decongestants, and other drugs to help with a sinus problem.  My opinion is that it really depends on the severity of the sinus congestion.  When I was younger, every medical professional I saw would immediately prescribe antibiotics if there was any color to the mucus.  We now know that misuse, resistance, and many other side effects make antibiotics a less than perfect choice to treat the usual sinus infection.  Also, many of the other over-the-counter drugs that say they can help with sinus problems have a variety of negative long-term side effects.  Normally if the irrigation has not completely worked in a few days or if I just can’t stop the pain I will use an over-the-counter drug to help me sleep or to reduce pain and swelling but this happens in only about 10% of my infections.

Humidification

One non-intrusive way to help with sinus pressure is with a humidifier.  You can use code “usduovg” on diapers.com for 20% a humidifier that will use filtered water (RO water, distilled water) and a little electricity.  The humidification seems to help keep the sinuses from becoming too dry and works very well after an irrigation session or while you sleep.

Other Concerns

One person has mentioned that they experienced some fluid in their ear after spraying water in their nose however this has not been experienced by most people but if you have any problems or concerns with this technique please leave your comments here!

]]> http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2011/01/08/curing-sinus-infections-and-sinus-pressure-with-hydrotherapy/feed/ 0 http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2010/11/26/how-to-loose-10-pounds-in-a-week/ http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2010/11/26/how-to-loose-10-pounds-in-a-week/#comments Fri, 26 Nov 2010 08:17:24 +0000 Greg http://www.gregoryhillman.org/?p=257 Loosing 10 pounds in one week could be an obtainable safe goal for someone who is somewhat overweight and wants to commit to a healthier lifestyle.  Normally I would not suggest focusing on how many pounds you can loose in one week and instead consider ways to improve your overall health that you can live with for the rest of your life.

I Lost The Weight, So Can You!

I have been overweight a few times in my life including my freshman year of college, after working long hours at a desk, and after long vacations but each time I have been able to do a few simple things to lower my weight and become more healthy.  I am not a medical professional and these are just my opinions on things that I believe have worked for me and may help you drop the lbs.

How To Loose 10 Pounds In A Week

1) Eat low glycemic indexed foods.  This just means to eat foods that break down into sugars / carbohydrates slowly in your body.  It is said that these foods will help regulate your insulin so that it does not overcompensate for the amount of sugar in your body and therefore does not turn the sugars into fats.  Some great examples of low glycemic carbohydrates include

• Artichoke
• Asparagus
• Avocado
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Eggplant
• Green beans
• Lettuce
• Peanuts
• Peppers
• Spinach
• Young summer squash
• Zucchini
• Tomatoes
• Cherries
• Peas
• Plum
• Grapefruit
• Pearled barley
• Peach


How To Loose 10 Pounds In A Week

If you can stick to these carbohydrates in combination with proteins, healthy fats, and fiber in each meal your 10 pounds will drop off in a week if your diet needs improvement.  This is a healthy way to do it and a few medical processionals that I have come in contact with have said that your body will actually start burning fats more efficiently once the sugars are released into your system slowly.  This means that your body may continue to burn fats that are not needed after you stop this type of diet.

]]> http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2010/11/26/how-to-loose-10-pounds-in-a-week/feed/ 0 http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2010/10/13/save-food-by-picking-imported-cabbageworm-larva/ http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2010/10/13/save-food-by-picking-imported-cabbageworm-larva/#comments Thu, 14 Oct 2010 00:38:19 +0000 Greg http://www.gregoryhillman.org/?p=296 Imported cabbageworm larva has been eating a few specific foods in my kitchen garden for days.  These popular foods for the larva include cabbage of  course, broccoli, and tomatoes.  They do not seem to be as interested in the plant as they are with the leaves of the plants.  They seem to eat holes in the leaves and keep at the plant until they are removed or the plant dies.

Organic Controls For Cabbageworm Larva

I have been able to slow their process by picking them off the plants each evening and morning but they are very hard to see on the plants because they are small and normally rest on the bottom side of the leafs.  I have also tried shaking the plant to help and putting other pest repelling plants nearby to help get them off which does not seem to work well.  Again today I have seen many white butterflies which leads me to believe this will not be the last I see of them.

Your Suggestions Help!

I am gathering ways to help control the Cabbageworm problem.  Picking them off is working a little and they only seem to destroy about 10% of the food but if you have any suggestions on ways that I can control these cabbageworms with out purchasing a chemical or using a toxin please leave me a message.



Imported Cabbageworm Larva

The University of California mentions that, “The cabbageworm is active throughout the year in California.”  They mention some chemicals you can purchase:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r108301111.html

You can see how this Larva managed to eat and kill an entire tomato plant because I did not pick it off in time.



Imported Cabbageworm Larva Kills Food

1/10/11

I still have the larva problem and they have completely wiped out about 10% of the broccoli crop.  I still pick them off daily but I have heard of a new spray called BT which is said to help remove them entirely.  The complete name is Bacillus thuringiensis.

BT seems like an organic solution however there may be problems including liver damage and reduced fertility as seen by an Australian study:

“A 2008 Austrian study investigating the usefulness of a long-term reproduction mouse model for GM crop safety reported that Bt-treated corn consumption in mice appeared to be correlated with reduced fertility via an unknown biochemical mechanism.”

Companion planting may have reduced some of the larva.  Rosemary has been suggested to use near the problem however it did not completely remove the larva.  I used one rosemary plant per every 50 broccoli in the test.

]]> http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2010/10/13/save-food-by-picking-imported-cabbageworm-larva/feed/ 0 http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2010/09/30/growing-tomatoes-solanum-lycopersicum-for-food-in-zone-9-kitchen-gardens/ http://www.gregoryhillman.org/2010/09/30/growing-tomatoes-solanum-lycopersicum-for-food-in-zone-9-kitchen-gardens/#comments Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:21:48 +0000 Greg http://www.gregoryhillman.org/?p=277 Growing, propagating, and harvesting tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) from a kitchen garden is possible in Zone 9 and it is one of the easiest fast growing eatable plants to sustain.  I am not a master gardener, nor do I have any formal training in horticulture but I have been able to grow tomato plants in a variety of mediums, irrigation techniques, and containers with various of types of tomato genetics.  Many people say to start their tomatoes in the spring to avoid frost and benefit from full sun but I keep them going all year.  It is almost October and I have just started a few more in a protected place.

I have tried growing tomatoes in all types of mediums but I found found organic home made soil in 18+ gallon containers works the best.

Tomato Aeroponics:

• Advantages – Disease free, moist media which needs less water, looks interesting, very few or no weeds.
• Disadvantages – Uses electricity for fogging, normally smaller growing area equates to smaller plants, water soluble fertilizer needed.

NOTE* I do not suggest aeroponics for tomatoes but if you need aeroponic equipment http://www.futuregarden.com works well.

Tomato Hydroponics:

• Advantages – no disease in media, normally inaccessible to animals, control the fertilizer easily, low evaporation, no weeds
• Disadvantages – Uses electricity for pumping water, normally smaller growing area equates to smaller plants, fertilizer needed.

Tomato Aquaponics:

• Advantages -Low cost for fertilizer, all organic, can use fish as a secondary food source,
• Disadvantages – Must also regularly feed fish, takes time to create fertilizer, uses electricity to pump water

Tomato Container Gardening:

• Advantages – Very few weeds, easily move containers, keeps plant separated from other plants, use less water than ground, no electricity
• Disadvantages – Slower to accept fertilizer (may be good), filling containers and transplanting takes time, may not keep all animals out.

Tomatoes In Raised Bed:

• Advantages -Larger space for growing, keeps water in the bed, no electricity, easier to weed than in ground, control the soil quality easier.
• Disadvantages – Regular weeding needed, plants can grow together or take over other plants, more water needed than containers, animals!

Tomato In ground:

• Advantages – Huge space available for plants to grow, use local irrigation systems and gray water to irrigate ground, no electricity.
• Disadvantages – Soil disease, hard to control quality and hydration, more water needed, animals have easy access to plants.

Tomato Growing Location

The variety of tomatoes that I have been growing have been doing very well in full sun after they have hardened off.  This means they do well with unobstructed sun from when the sun comes up until it goes down after the plants have a developed root structure.  When I have placed small tomato plants in full afternoon sun on hot days the tomatoes may become dry and wilt sometimes leading to death.

Animals have not been a huge problem with my tomato plants.  Sometimes the chick peas or another kitchen garden plant may attract raccoons which can dig up the media that the tomatoes are planted in.  Of course if you decide to plant your tomatoes inside this may not be a problem but most likely you will end up paying more in electricity to keep the plants growing the way you want.  In general I have only seen a few flies hovering around the tops of the tomatoes and the rest of the animals leave them alone.  I have seen some gardeners put up electric fences and motion lights to keep the animals (and at times humans) out of their tomato kitchen garden but in general I do not believe this is necessary unless you have an abundance of wildlife.

Their should also be plenty of air circulation around the tomato plants but they do not seem to grow well in gusty winds because the tomato stem is easily broken or damaged in the developmental stages.  Some varieties of tomatoes also benefit from a cage or wire mesh that helps keep the plant growing vertically.

Be sure your kitchen garden area with the tomatoes has easy access to water.  In general, even on hot days that have reached up to 114 F I have used a light watering for about 5-15 minutes early in the morning so the media has time to dry out over the day and possibly helping with root rot and other problems associated with damp growing media.

Tomato Propagation

For tomato gardening to be “worth it” for me, I need to propagate, multiply, and reproduce the tomato plants so their is an abundance of tomatoes when harvesting.  Just one tomato plant may only give you a few tomatoes which may only last one meal for me and buying many plants from a nursery can become expensive.

The best way I have found to propagate the tomatoes is to get a ripe tomato from a friend that has been growing organic tomatoes in a similar area for years.  This way you can be more certain that the genetics of the tomato will work in your local environment.  I have also started tomatoes from seed purchased online from companies like “Burpee” but their tomato plants have not grown as fast or as stable as the plants grown from local seeds.

1) After you have your “starter” tomatoes cut them up and keep the seeds.  Eat the pulp and skin but place all of the seeds in a medium sized glass container.  You can smash up the whole tomato but I find this to be a waste of a good tomato!  I have not needed to wash the seeds but I have placed about 1/4 of Reverse Osmosis treated water (around 50 TDS or lower and 6.8 pH) in the container with the seeds and mixed it up with a wood chopstick.  Keep the seeds inside near a window with light or outside in a protected area (so animals do not take them) for 10 days or so.  You will see a furry layer of mold which is normal and some say useful to ferment the tomatoes.  After about 7-10 days I rinse the grayish redish seed paste with RO filtered water and put the seeds directly into their medium.

2) When you put the seeds in the medium be sure your container is small (2-3 inches across at most) for each seed so it keeps the media evenly hydrated and you do not need to weed out tomatoes around your tomato which could damage the roots or stem.  I have used Ultracoir (ground coconut husk), aerolite, sand, compost, potting soil, and many other combinations of germination media to see what works best.  In general I find that it really does not matter but organic compost with kitchen scraps and yard waste that is completely “done” with a small amount of natural sand mixed in works the best.  I have also found it may be best to moisten your soil before you put it in containers.  Make 20 or more small containers so you have better odds of survival for as many tomato plants as possible.  Be sure you have sun on your small plants right after they sprout of the lack of light will lead to long week stems.  You can keep these small containers in a green house or similar structure if you wish but once the seed has sprouted and you see green, I have found it best to put the plant outside in a protected area that receives direct morning light but protected afternoon light.  I also water the small containers early each morning so that the soil is moist but not soggy.  I do not let the containers sit for days in water but putting the containers on a tray of water for a day every few days seems to help keep them evenly hydrated.  If there is too much afternoon light I find the plants tend to try up or not grow as well.  It may take a couple weeks to germinate and show green and then another few weeks to “harden off.”

3)  Once your tomato plants have “hardened off” in this case meaning that they are accustomed to the environment, they have a developed root structure, and they can survive transplanting, it is time to move them to your full sun area.  I like to prepare 18-20 gallon containers with great drainage at the bottom 1/4 and a organic soil with a little sand mix on the top.  You can find containers by asking local gardeners if they have any extra after their projects or by visiting local garage sales and asking.  I have found many great containers for free.  You can buy soil at a local nursery but your own home made compost will work better in almost all cases.  I normally recycle ink free cardboard or other non-toxic media at the bottom which also makes the containers lighter to move.  Remember, one tomato plant per container so it has space to grow and if there is a disease or problem you can easily remove it or change the position of the container.  Prepare the soil with water so it is moist but not soggy, transplant the tomatoes in the late evening so it is dark for the roots and the plant has time to adjust before the sun and heat of the following day.  Do not touch the stem at any point.  If you need to, you can use the lower most leaves to handle the plant since they will not be used in food production.  I have also found it helps keep the plants alive if you provide some water right after you transplant your tomatoes in larger containers.  After this I normally water once a day in the morning directly to the soil and add organic fertilizer or compost tea about once a week or slightly more often.  I have read that tomatoes benefit from leaf watering but I have not seen any significant improvement with this and some of the leaves start turning brown if the temps are above 100 F.  Once established tomatoes seem to do very well in hot dry weather.

Some say adding used tea or coffee grounds help the tomato plants grow fast but I have not found this to make any significant improvement.

4)  Enjoy the beautiful yellow flowers from the plant and harvest the tomatoes when they are completely ripe.  Do no refrigerate, store in a cool place if needed but pick and eat right away from your kitchen garden in about two months from transplanting.



2010 Kitchen garden tomatoes

Preparing Kitchen Garden Tomatoes

Pick and eat tomatoes promptly when ripe out of your kitchen garden with a variety of herbs including basil, oregano, and thyme.  Add a little gray salt from Brittany France for extra flavor and include olive oil or balsamic vinegar over sliced pieces.  Many people also love tomatoes with mozzarella cheese or white Queso Mexicano.

Tomatoes are said to have some Vitamin C at 13 mg (22%) of C per 100g.  The orange is said to have 45 mg (75%).

Anything to add?  Please leave me your suggestions here for a better tomato growing and eating experience for everyone!

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