One of my favorite garden television makeovers was a front yard vegetable and herb garden that Michael Glassman and I designed for our show, "Garden Police," (Discovery Home Channel).

 

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What Does WeightWatchers Have to Do With Gardening?

Everything!

If you need to lose weight and you're a gardener, WeightWatchers new Point'sPlus® eating system may be the perfect eating plan for you.

WeightWatchers encourages followers to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

What a great incentive to go out and grow my favorite varieties fruits, vegetables and herbs!

 

I recently joined  WeightWatchers  to lose the extra weight I gained during the past few months and I've adopted their new "PointsPlus" eating formula.

 

Even though I started my "eating modification program," (don't call it a "diet"), during the holiday season, I lost nearly 6.5 pounds during the first few weeks.

Not bad.

I was a WeightWatchers member years ago after my children were born and followed the "regular "Points® system, ( which was good), but the new revamped PointsPlus® way of eating blows it away!

I'll tell you why.

 

The Old "Points" System

Under the old WeightWatchers Points® system, I used to have to calculate every banana, papaya and carrot  I ate, which was kind of a pain.

You'd think that these power foods would be sanctioned as "safe foods" to eat in any amount!

When you're watching your weight, fruit becomes your "candy" and salads and veggies your salvation since you can fill up on them without consuming too many calories.

In any case, under the old Points® system, you had to count the point value against these saintly foods.

Not anymore!

 

The New WeightWatchers "PointsPlus®" System

Members are encouraged to "fill up" on most vegetables and fruit without having to count their points!

Bananas, papayas and pineapple included, watch out.

Of course if your vegetable preference leans towards starchy food like corn, potatoes or beets you still have to count their point value. 

This modification to the Points® system makes ALL the difference for me!

I eat a plate of papaya, bananas and strawberries twice a day and I don't count it against my allotted Points for the day!

 

 

Why Weight Watchers is Perfect For Gardeners

Vegetable gardeners take heart! Now our vegetable gardens can play a greater, CALCULATED role in our diets!

Now that I can eat ALL the vegetables and fruit that I want and still lose weight, my vegetable garden  has become my favorite room in the house. It's like my pantry.

 

Vegetables From Shirley's Garden

I'm enjoying vegetable gardening more than ever now that I've got a plan for healthful eating! If I like a vegetable that is difficult to find at the market, or is pricey, I grow it.

 

A chayote from the supermarket can cost up to $2 each!

 

• Chayote- this satisfying squash is popular in Latin American cuisine and can be enjoyed in place of potato or other starchy and filling vegetables. I dice it, saute it in olive oil  spray, add onions, cumin, salt, pepper and top with cilantro.

Chayote will grow into a tall vine. Make sure to add a support it can grow on at planting time.

 

You can root a healthy looking chayote that you buy from the market.  Set a whole chayote fruit about 4 to 6 inches deep, fat end down and at an angle so that the stem end is just level with the soil surface. Wait a few weeks until after your last frost as chayote is a warm season plant that grows into a beautiful vine. Give it some room. One chayote plant will feed a family of four.

 

 

Even dogs find lemongrass hard to resist!

• Lemon grass-  (Cymbopogon citratus) Why buy this Thai cuisine staple when you can grow it? This fragrant, lemon scented strappy plant makes a delicious and comforting tea, soup flavoring and is one of the stars of Pad Thai. Anyone have a "low points" recipe for this?
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Lemon grass is another plant that is simple to propagate (if you can find it at an Asian market). Select a healthy specimen with bulb and roots intact. Cut off the top part of the clump and place the bundle into a glass of water until you have a couple of inches of root growth. Plant in a container or in your garden if you are in a warm climate zone. Make room- can grow up to 6 feet tall!

 

Rosemary is a sharp and complimentary tasting herb for roasted vegetables, meats and bread.

 

• Rosemary- (Rosemarinus officinales) This popular mediterranean herb thrives in hot, dry climates. If you garden in a more temperate climate, try growing rosemary in containers. Add it to roasted vegetables, meats and scrape some on your high fiber bread.
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Rosemary is another plant that is easily propagated by cuttings. Here is an excerpt on propagating rosemary from the website, Vegetable Gardener:

 

"To take cuttings, clip 2-1/2-inch stems from new growth on an established plant (see Propagating rosemary). Snip off the bottom leaves (rather than pulling them off) and dip the bottom 1/4 inch into a hormone rooting powder. Place the cuttings in a container with equal amounts of peat moss and perlite. Spray the cuttings with a light mist on sunny days."

 

Read the rest of the article at Vegetable Gardener

I look forward to sharing more entries about growing vegetables and losing weight with my WeightWatchers PointsPlus® eating program! 

Come back and see "less" of me and let me know how I can help you grow a gourmet garden!

Shirley

 

"Portable raised garden beds for the urban square foot gardener."

I don't think I've ever written such a long blog title, but it works!

 

It's exciting to be able to present some space efficient options for those of you who are short on yard space but big on dreams of growing your own food.

One of the most important characteristics of all the raised container gardens presented here is that they are all portable!

When you live in an apartment or townhouse it's helpful to have portable gardens so that you can use your patio or balcony more efficiently.

If you are entertaining and need more space for furniture, roll your gardens out of the way!

Temporarily, of course.

 

Let's take a look at some  gardening options for apartment and small space gardeners.

 

1. The Home Allotment Planting Bags by Burgon & Ball

Don't let the beautiful willow basket fool you! Soil will not bleed through the wicker slots because there is a "grow bag" inside the basket.

 

The planting bags come in three sizes for different plants: Herb Planting Bag, Salad Planting Bag, Vegetable Planting Bag & Potato Planting Bag.

You guessed it, the potato planting bag is the deepest.

 

I recommend that these allotment planting bags be set on top of a 1 or 2" inch layer of pea gravel to lift the bottom of the baskets away from standing water.

A less expensive alternative to this stylish system is to grow your vegetable directly in an open bag of soil or even a potato chip bag!

Yes, you can even grow tomatoes with their deep root systems this way.

The roots will spread laterally.

 

 

2. Self-Watering Stacking Planters by Nancy Jane

 

These sturdy stacking containers can be stacked up to 10-tiers high.

That's a lot of planting space and the system is self watering for extra appeal.

Excess water from the top levels drain to lower levels where the water is caught in a removable tray.

I appreciate the rolling casters on these stacking planters so the garden can be moved around.

Vertical gardening is a smart approach when lateral space is at a minimum.

 

 

 

 

3. Eleanor's Garden ("Just Add Water") Raised Container Gardens

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What sets Eleanor's Garden apart from the other two is this container garden comes with the soil and seeds!

The "gardener," (and I use the term loosely), just has to water the instant vegetable garden.

Eleanor's Garden is a complete, compact and portable garden kitchen that is delivered to your door.

 

Anyone can assemble the garden bed in less than an hour and the proprietary drainage system lets you garden in a variety of locations.

 

 

If you are into  modern or contemporary design, the clean lines of Eleanor's Garden may appeal to you.

 

Here is some more information on this instant garden as presented on Eleanor's Garden website:

The beds are made of durable, lightweight plastic and can be moved depending on the amount of sun your fruits, vegetables, herbs or flowers need. Eleanor's Garden Basic Kit comes complete with:

• 1 garden bed  24 x 24 x 8" that provides 4 square feet of gardening space
• 1 Quick-Start Guide  Instructions for quick and easy assembly
• Coconut Peat growing medium – No need to drag bags of soil home from the nursery
• 2 square foot dividers  provide a total of 4 individual square feet of gardening space
• 4 packets of vegetable seeds. Plant a different vegetable in each of the 4 square feet
• 4 legs  Makes raised bed gardening easy
• 1 drainage field mat Made from non-woven 100% recycled plastic, the lightweight mat creates even, thorough drainage and allows oxygen to reach the vegetable roots.No need for rocks!
• 1 drain outlet.  Allows recycling of water. Collect the runoff and use it again for your next watering
• 1 watering cup.  Makes it easy to water individual square foot sections as needed
• 1 drainage connector. Allows you to connect the drainage systems of separate boxes
• 3 drain plugs. Let you control which side of the box your water will drain. Great for balconies so you won't flood your neighbors below

Eleanor's Garden is available for purchase at independent garden centers across the USA.

 

 

This is a system that I like because of the planter design itself.

 

The square foot grid appeals to me!

 

 

Everyone should thank Mel Bartholomew, author of the "Square Foot Garden Book."

 

Mel invented the "square foot  gardening" system that allows one to plant in square foot grids to maximize crop yield.

 

Now the whole world is "square foot gardening!"

 

 

 

Visit the Garden Center TV website and community to preview new garden products from around the world and share your opinion about them!