$17? $20? Per square foot? Are you sure that's not the value of what you grow in that space? Or else someone is buying all their plants in the gallon size and planting them in pure purchased potting soil. The best reason to grow your own is to get better food, not necessarily to save money. But, darn, where do those figures come from? My son is starting from scratch this year and so far has $6,000 in plants, fencing, raised beds, and irrigation. But that is for 13,500 square foot of deer and varmit proof growing area. That's (what? math isn't my best skill) about 25 cents per square foot in fencing and permanent assets that should be prorated over the life of the garden and the life of the fruit trees. Veggies seeds aren't cheap, but there are less expensive ways to get them besides off the rack, and a package should be good for a couple of years. It's not the cost of veggies from the market. If you have home grown, you will eat more veggies than you would have bought, and you will eat veggies INSTEAD of other purchased groceries. Note: my policy is to only grow stuff that is expensive to buy, or else tastes much better home grown. I grow blueberries, not potatoes. Also tomatoes, because I don't like the pink rubber balls from the market.

I'm currently working through the smaller pots of Brugs that got hit with the cold, to discern if they are all dead or not (and if they are, I have to start over).. I have some live cuttings that are just now rooting but nowhere near close enough to get cuttings off of to trade out just yet. The ones I know for sure that are alive (because they were moved in after the first frost since they were in the larger pots and I wanted to fit them in while the space was available) are: Ollie Isabella Valley Peach Rosa Traum Dr. Seuss B. suaveolens 'White' Texas Pink/Big Pink (I can get one cutting from this one now for sure, but it's spoken for already - will see if it gets enough growth on it for more cuttings between now and warmer weather) I think I for-sure lost my Halo Peach - a real buzzkill. Went and did a double-check in order to make the correction and update on my seed list... the CupidÂs Dart is Alba  Catanache caerulea 'alba' (ivory petals, purple centers) sorry :/ The True Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) and the Atropa species are all "finicky", figured I'd forewarn you, as getting them to germinate can be a true test of patience (and frustration!). The pomegranate seeds are easy when they are fresh. I'm not sure after they've been dried and stored. I'm still sitting on a fruit for my next round and for trading - putting off collecting the seeds out of it as long as possible since I already have an entire tray of seedlings. They did seem to relish bottom heat - they sprouted for me in 4-5 days... I will hopefully have more Brugs to choose from come Fall... love my Brugs. I usually trade or get cuttings for postage with other Brug fanciers, but I select based upon traits I am looking for for hybridizing/crossing purposes. I had Butterfly, Halo Peach, etc. but everything was all downhill when we got first an early frost and then fluke freezes in 2006. Really took the wind out of my sails.

Sneakyplant- First and most crucial thing- this time I REALLY wanted to lose it. I was sick of myself. I was sick of buying frumpy plus clothes, I was sick of wondering what new people who met me thought of my weight, I was sick of other people descibing me as the 'fat one', I was sick of people asking me "have you lost weight?" when I hadn't lost a thing and I knew they were 'hinting'. I was sick of not having any photos of me with my children because I was too embarrassed to be photographed. (If this is you, no matter what your size, be in the photo- you can't wind back the clock and have a photo with your chn.) Second thing was breaking it down into achievable goals. The whole amount to lose was too high and freaked me out, so I would set a shorter goal and treat myself when I got there- treats like new item of clothes, a magazine etc (not food!). Even now (with not much to go) I have a short term goal between now and my big goal (which is to be in the healthy weight range). I initially tracked my weight loss progress on a simple hand drawn chart- that was motivating- I could see how far I was going in a visual way. I weigh myself once a day- I know they say weigh weekly, but I needed the reminder that I was losing. Third- which was a BIG help, I built weekly menus that had less fat, less sugar. I buy only the food for the menu (and yes my children eat this too- but they have more carbs and dairy). Variety is a key for me to stay interested in the menu. Here is a sample: Breakfast small bowl of 97% fat free cereal with skim milk OR 2 slices raisin toast- usually no butter (but if desperately wanting it a smear of diet marg). Totally cut out all juice. Mid morning a piece of fruit- usually an apple as I like apples. Lunch- virtually always the same thing- a wholemeal/multigrain roll with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and a 97% fat free meat (eg turkey, ham, beef. In winter I sometimes had one of those 99% fat free instant soups as well. Afternoon- this was the hardest as I kept wanting to eat- but I have nothing. One days when I am starving I 'borrow' something from dessert early. Dinner- lots and lots of vegies, lots of flavour from herbs, spices, chilli, approx 200g meat- chicken 1-2 per week, fish twice, red meat 3-4. Made into stirfry, roasts, casseroles. No carbs with dinner- no rice, pasta, potatoes etc. But I will have pumpkin with roast as my potato substitute. (Fish took a while to get used to as I rarely ate it before.) A low fat frozen dinner is always in the freezer in case I can't cook- in the old days I would order pizza! Dessert- always a low fat dairy- custard, yoghurt, sometimes (not much) icecream, fruche plus a serve of fruit- stewed, fresh piece, fruit salad. I mix up the combinations so I don't get bored. My personal favourite (have it about 1 per month) is: simmer a pear in redwine and spices serve with a SMALL piece of cheese- eg brie, blue. Tastes so indulgant, but is not that bad either. The trick with the menu is to stick to exactly what is on for that day. Every now and then I 'break'(usually if I am stressed) but make sure it is something not too bad- such as low fat rice crackers and salsa, and always do my walk first. If you are going out or want say rice with dinner skip the roll at lunch and have a huge salad instead. Forth- Making a regular daily effort to walk for 45 minutes. Even when I am dog tired, sick, raining, too hot (you know the excuses I mean!) When I very first started I walked for 15 minutes a day for a few months, then gradually walked a little further- adding 5 minutes at a time. I have walked 45 for last 18 months. Now I have just started adding a small amount of jogging but that has taken 2 years to get to that point. A exercise partner is a big help as you can 'talk and walk'. When I walk I visualise that each step is slowly winding back the eating junk clock. Each step is one step closer to my goal. After a while you do actually get to like the walks, and miss it if you can't go (eg unexpected company drops in and it's too late when they leave). I did hire a treadmill for 3 months- but it was too expensive to keep hiring - I figured walking outside was free. I also help keep myself on track with reminders- eg a poster I made for myself which says "Every day my body is getting stronger, slimmer and healthier" (sounds dumb but it reminds me of my goal and I keep it near my makeup so when I am getting ready for the day I see it.) I have the WW newsletter emailed to me- it has good ideas and keeps my brain on track. In the fridge I have a small post-it note- on it I wrote 35. No other people see it as it is barely noticable- but to me it reminds me to get out of the fridge because I want to reach my goal before I am 35. (I think I might just make it..!) If 'desperate' diet soda tastes like a treat, and low-fat hot chocolate help those chocolate cravings. I know the site is not about adverstising but one place I used to develop my menu was an Aussie firm called Lite n Easy- they have a free online DIY menu. It gave me an idea of quantities and types of foods to eat. I never bothered with fancy lunches, I always had my salad and deli meat roll. It would be easy to follow their menu and use a frozen dinner instead of their dinner. Anyway- I see this is LONG!!!! Hope it helps, and if you want more info ask. YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!! Step by step! Koala_Em Here is a link that might be useful: DIY menu that can be adapted

Lonepiper, how many months along are you? I didn't gain any weight either for the first 3 months, I actually lost weight too. Then 4-5 months, I had only gained around ten pounds. By the time I was 7 months though, I had gained 30. Owch! Listen to your doctor, unless you have other concerns with his advice. We're all individuals, as long as your baby is healthy I think there shouldn't be any worry about actual poundage gained. Some people don't hardly gain any weight. Some get as big as a house. The main thing to remember is that your baby is taking from you everything they need. Good nutrition is important for the baby, yes, but the baby will take what it needs from you. You need to replinish your supply for your health, so the baby will have more to take and not leave you depleted. Baby Center says: How much weight should I gain during my pregnancy? It depends on your height and weight, or body mass index (BMI), before you conceived. You can calculate your BMI here. If pre-pregnancy weight was in the healthy range for your height according to your healthcare provider (a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9), you should gain between 25 and 35 pounds, gaining 2 to 5 pounds in the first trimester and about 1 pound per week for the rest of your pregnancy for the optimal growth of your baby. If you were underweight for your height at conception (a BMI below 18.5), you should gain 28 to 40 pounds. If you were overweight for your height (a BMI of 25 to 29.9), you should gain 15 to 25 pounds. If you were obese (a BMI of 30 or higher), you should gain no more than 15 pounds. If you're having twins you should gain about 35 to 45 pounds. If you fall into any of these four categories, talk to your healthcare provider about how much you should gain each month.