Hi all, new to the forum. :) Hubby and I are gardening in Wheat Ridge. 2013's good, bad, and just plain weird... Yellow Cherry went steroidal on us, breaking down the biggest tomato cage we had. It had so many fruits on just one plant that I made tomato juice out of self-defense (it was delicious, btw). Golden Jubilee was a big disappointment. It ripened one fruit, which I never tasted because my visiting six-year-old niece was so enthralled with it that I gave it to her. The plant unfortunately never produced any more, but I'm hoping it was a good investment in the next generation of gardeners. Siletz had what I ended up calling "Teenage Mutant Ninja Tomatoes". It producedvery well, but the fruits were the weirdest thing I've ever seen. Almost all of them had what looked like stubby fingers growing from inside the fruit out through the blossom end. We later heard that there was a seed lot that had this strange mutation - evidently our packet was from that lot. (I had thought it was maybe our proximity to Rocky Flats!) They tasted fine, but were very weird-looking! Burgundy okra was a definite winner. I grew it out front in a rose bed we'd built that we didn't have the budget to plant entirely in roses. The okra flowers were pretty and occasioned lots of questions from neighbors who didn't know what it was, and we got enough okra pods to freeze a few bags. We haven't used it all up yet. Sugar Snap peas (the pole type) - another big winner. Nice fat, sweet pods and lots of them. We froze a bunch of these and are still enjoying them. Giant Marconi peppers - our first successful year with these. They really were giant! Good producer, too. Brassicas in general did rather poorly for us this year. Spring broccoli didn't produce till October, only one head of cabbage survived, and the cauliflower died the moment it was set out. Hard to tell with the potatoes. They got caught in that September deluge as we were starting to dry down the vines, and almost every spud split because of the sudden excessive moisture. They taste good, but look awful. That was our 2013...

I havent watched the show in a few years because I think it does a disservice to the general public and is very unrealistic. These people are eating 1,000-1200 calories a day and exercising 6-8 hours a day. They are at the ranch for around 16 weeks and then I think they are home for 2-3 months before the finale. I did hear Rachel interviewed on tv and she lost 155 lbs in 7 months(which would mean 4 mos at the ranch and 3 at home) ...that's an AVERAGE of 22 lbs. a month. Even Dr. Oz came out and said it is unhealthy to lose at the pace they do....and all his show seems to be about now is the latest weight loss diets/gimmicks. When you see people losing 12,15, 17 lbs in a week and then you get on the scale and see 1 lb, it makes YOU feel like the biggest loser..in that, how come you only lost a lb.? There's no way these people can keep up these routines when they return to their normal lives and are working again so of course they put weight back on. I also read an article a few years ago that what they don't show you is all the injuries they incur because they are pushed so hard from the get-go. You cant take a sedentary 300 lb person and expect them to walk a mile first time out or do 45 minutes at 3.5 on the treadmill, etc. without developing knee, hip and other injuries. I don't find the show inspiring at all because it is so unrealistic.

I was glad she won. ALL of the contestants did very well, in my opinion. My only complaint about the finale is that they wait until the very last second to announce the winner, and then there's not even a couple of minutes for them to let that winner speak, etc. Vannie, you say you slept thru the ending? I always set the recorder to tape it while I watch, because I've been known to do that. I looked at the clock at 9:58 pm eastern....(YES, only two minutes left)...and dozed off till 10:01 !!!! I was sooo glad to have it taped. Shirley

Matti, I hear you girl about the crying. Many, many times did I have tears streaming down my cheeks. As for the player left behind, I think they will have a chance to make it into the house. Did you see the clip with Jillian telling them "it's not over for you"? And even if they don't make it to the house, they will have begun their weight loss journey on their own, and hopefully be succeeding at home. I totally agree with you that maybe it's about baring their souls, and not seeing ourselves as others do. Did you hear the one guy say he thought he was overweight, but not obese. I think he weighed close to 400#!