Archives for October 2021

How to Grow Tomatoes – Growing Tomatoes For Beginners

October 22, 2021 by how

Growing tomatoes is probably the most popular activity in vegetable gardening. Information on how to grow tomatoes is searched more than any other plant.

It’s actually pretty easy to grow tomatoes, and the tomatoes you get from the garden are much better than anything you will find at the grocery store. They don’t take up much room, and can be grown in a wide range of places. So here are some of our best growing tomatoes for beginners tips.

Prepare the Soil

Tomatoes do well in a well drained soil with lots of organic matter. Work in some compost, but make sure it’s fairly mature. Organic matter that is still decomposing will rob nitrogen from soil, and tomatoes are heavy feeders. The soil pH should be around 6 to 7. If you have poor drainage in your soil, you might want to think about a raised garden bed or even to use the square foot gardening approach to building a tomato bed.

Plant at the Right Time

Tomatoes are very easily damaged by frost, so plant them after the danger of frost has passed. Since they are so susceptible to frost, they are usually planted as seedlings. If there is a late frost, be sure to cover them well, if they are still not too tall, you can use plastic milk jugs that have been cut off. Some years we’ve used Wall o Waters with great success, as the thermal mass of the water can actually keep the tomatoes safe during a deep freeze for a day or so. If you decide to start your own tomato plants indoors, you should start them about 6 weeks ahead of when you expect to be planting them. My experience is to start some more about 1-2 weeks later. You may find you end up discarding them or giving them away, but if you get that late freeze that kills of the first round of seedlings, without the backup you are locked into the remnants at the nursery.

Plant Tomatoes in the Right Place

The outside garden is the usual place that people want to grow tomatoes. But tomatoes do well in a variety of places. There are a number of ways to grow tomatoes in containers. Also very popular are hanging tomato planters, and the Topsy Turvy Upside Down tomato planter is inexpensive and very effective. Using a hanging planter lets you create the ideal soil, can eliminate staking, controls soil borne pests, and you don’t have to bend or stoop to tend to your plants. Plus, you can put them anywhere you want (including the garage during a freeze.)

Pick the Right Varieties

This is more important than most imagine. Many folks just wander down to Home Depot or Lowes and think that they must be carrying the best varieties for your area. More often than not this is not the case. A local nursery will do a better job, or start your own seedlings at home. Climate is a big factor, for example, tomatoes often won’t set fruit above 90 F, although smaller varieties will do so at hotter temperatures.

You also need to understand if the variety you chose is a determinant or indeterminate. Determinant will tend to grow to a specific size, and then stop, and often yield most of their fruit over a short period of time. Conversely, indeterminate plants will continue to grow over the season, and will bear fruit over a longer period of time.

An example, for Texas where the spring cool season is short, a great choice is actually an indeterminate cherry tomato. It will yield fruit longer in the spring, since the smaller fruit will handle the heat better. And if the plant is watered and pruned over the hot summer months, in the cooler months you will see a tremendous harvest of the cherry tomatoes because the vines have been growing all summer, just not setting fruit in the heat. But trying to grow the larger varieties like Better Girl can just be an exercise in frustration. So, get to know the varieties for your area, and you’ll be rewarded for your efforts.

Plant Deep

When planting your transplant seedlings, unlike most vegetables, set the seedling into the ground so the stem is covered all the way to the first set of true leaves. Tomatoes will send out roots from the stems, so setting them deeper will encourage a stronger root system, which is key to strong, healthy tomato plants. Tomatoes to be staked can be planted about 24 inches apart with 3 to 4 between rows. If you plan to use cages space them 30 to 36 inches apart.

Staking Tomatoes

While tomatoes can be grown without stakes or cages, they are much easier to care for and will reward you with higher yields if you give them some type of support. Of course, one way to avoid this is with a hanging tomato planter or upside down tomato planter, as the vines will simply hang in these and need no further support.

Cages made of concrete mesh are common, or a similar support can be made of chicken wire, but often the mesh size is too small for chicken wire to allow you to put your hand through. There are other commercially available tomato cages. For many of the smaller determinant varieties it is adequate to simply stake the tomatoes, with a simple wooden stake and some soft twine to secure the plant in place. Another popular choice is to use a trellis for support. It’s best to put the cages in place when the tomatoes are planted to avoid damaging the roots and branches when placing them.

Pruning Your Tomatoes

The common approach is to prune back to a single or double main stem coming out of the ground, this is commonly done to staked plants, where cages plants are often not pruned.

Fertilizing Your Tomatoes

For best results, you can look at using a dedicated tomato fertilizer. Fertilizer with too much nitrogen will cause a lot of leafy growth, but no tomatoes. Tomatoes are heavy feeders and do well with fertilizer applications, especially with a fertilizer with more phosphorus. Apply 2-1/2 to 3 pounds of a tomato fertilizer, such as 5-10-10, 5-20-20, or 8-16-16 per 100 square feet of garden area. Ideally you should add the fertilizer into the soil before planting your tomatoes by 2 weeks or so. After the first fruit has set you may want to add an additional sidedressing. Another alternative is to use tomato spikes, which have a slow release fertilizer.

Water Often

A consistent soil moisture is critical to the development of tomatoes, and if allowed to dry too much it can help bring on blossom end rot, which is primarily caused by a low level of calcium in the fruit. Generally speaking one to two inches of water per week will be needed.

Mulch Your Tomatoes

Mulch is a great way to help manage your tomatoes. It helps suppress weed growth, moderates the soil temperatures, and with organic mulches will eventually break down and enrich the soil. In addition it keeps the fruit off the ground, especially for unstacked plants. There are commercially available black plastic mulches, and lately there have been some claims that red mulch variations can accelerate ripening of tomatoes.

How to Play Golf

October 22, 2021 by how

One of the first things that you need to do when starting golf is to make sure that you have a proper grip and stance. These are core fundamentals of golf, and should not be overlooked if you are serious about the game. You should grip the club mostly in the fingers and not the palms, and your stance should be shoulder width apart with a good spine angle.

After you have the proper setup position it is time to work on the backswing. The takeaway should be low and slow as this helps establish a good tempo in your golf swing. Tempo is key to success, and a solid takeaway will put you miles ahead of most people who are learning how to play golf.

What You Need to Know if You Want to Learn How to Golf Better

You will NOT learn how to golf better by buying the newest, most expensive golf clubs; buying dozens of golf swing aids; trying to copy a PGA Tour professional golf swing; constantly experimenting with different swing styles; changing from a blade putter to a belly putter, a long putter, a mallet putter, or a heavy putter.

The Best Golf Swing

To learn how to golf better, you need to understand that the best golf swing is your own golf swing. Sure, it is a good idea to learn the fundamental swing mechanics and techniques and to settle on one swing style, but do not get caught up seeking the perfect golf swing or trying to copy a Tour professional’ swing. The illusive perfect golf swing does not exist and is not important; what is important is making consistent and perfect impact with the ball. Just look at the many different swing styles on the PGA Tour – some are very unconventional looking but they get the job done, that is hitting the ball straight and long down the middle of the fairway.

As long as you get all the basic components right that are involved in the golf swing then you will have the foundation for achieving a good, consistent golf swing. Also, if you are a complete beginner or even a more seasoned golfer that is struggling with the traditional golf swing, I would highly recommend checking out The Simple Swing by David Nevogt; this is the same swing that I adopted several years ago that finally ended a couple of decades of frustration – the difference it made to my golf game was astonishing.

Golf Clubs, Golf Balls and Golf Aids

Golf Clubs: One of the mistakes that many golfers make is to buy the latest and greatest golf driver, hybrids, putters, and/or golf balls. They believe the marketing hype that these clubs or balls will make all the difference to their game. The golf clubs and golf balls manufacturers spend millions each year to convince golfers to part with their hard earned money to buy their latest offerings. Their reasoning is that because the technology is changing constantly, then they should upgrade to this year’s latest and improved golf equipment.

All I can say is that the golf clubs and balls that you choose have to be the right ones for your game. Make sure that the golf clubs are suitable for you; buy clubs with the correct shaft length, shaft material, flex, grip size, and head design for your game, physical attributes, and style of golf – you could try out some of the game improvement clubs that are available nowadays.

Golf Balls: The same goes for choosing the right golf ball for your game; you have to take into consideration the characteristics of each golf ball type; spin, feel, distance, and control. For, example, if your natural tendency is to fade the ball then you might want a ball with less spin because a higher spinning ball could result in a slice instead of just a fade.

Golf Aids: Although there are a few good golf aids available to help you with your golf swing, swing faults, putting, grip, etc., there are also hundreds of other golf aids that are a waste of money. If you have a persistent golf swing problem and you have tried all the conventional methods of trying to fix that fault, then there might be a golf swing aid that can help you overcome the problem. You should search online for as many unbiased reviews for the golf swing aid specific to your requirements to see what other golfers and professionals think about it before investing in one.

Playing golf can either be a rewarding experience or a very frustrating one, sometimes both together even on the same round of golf. That is what makes golf so fascinating as it can be a real challenge to pull all the components together all the time. If you are serious about becoming a good golfer or you want to learn how to golf better then you have to take into consideration all the areas involved in playing a good game of golf.

Apart from having the right golf clubs and balls for your game, and knowing the basic swing mechanics and techniques, there are other considerations as well. Golf is an all-round game so you need to learn and understand the metal game of golf; the importance of golf stretching, flexibility and fitness; and how to implement a proper golf practice routine.

Driving Range Practice

One of the major differences between a professional golfer and a recreational golfer is the amount of practice the pros put in. Even though you may not have that much time for practice, you should make the effort to get in some driving range practice at least.

Apart from driving range practice there are other ways to practice for golf. You can practice at home with a golf mat and golf net, with a golf training aid, and also you can practice while playing a round of golf if the course is not too busy.

Types of Driving Range

Hopefully, you have a driving range close to where you live or there may be one at your local golf course. Most driving ranges are just open grass areas with a row of hitting mats at one end. However, there are some that have the hitting mats under a protective roof that lets you practice golf even when it is raining. Others are floodlit, which lets you get in some practice time at night. All driving ranges should have yardage flags or markers set out every 25 or 50 yards which is useful for judging the distance of each club in your bag.

You will also be able to buy golf balls by the bucket; just remember though that these will be range balls or practice balls that have been well-used. They will probably not play like your regular golf ball but should be adequate for your driving range practice. There are different sized buckets, for example: medium bucket – 96 balls, large – 125 balls, jumbo – 205.

Driving Range Practice Tips

You can use a driving range for a number of types of golf practice; for trying to fix a swing problem, for gauging golf distances for each club, for improving your golf swing, for working on a specific type of shot like the draw, or for warming up before a round of golf.

Whatever type of practice you are doing, please bear in mind one thing. Do not do what the majority of recreational golfers do on a driving range: they buy a big bucket of balls, pull out their driver, and proceed to smash drives down the range with all their force. Even if you came to the range to fix a driver golf swing problem, this is not the way to start a practice session. This is why a driving range should be referred to as a practice range.

Instead, you should begin with a few stretching exercises without hitting a ball. Once you have warmed-up and stretched your muscles, you can then take a few practice swings but not a full driver swing. Use a medium iron and swing to only about 50 to 75% of your normal swing. You can swing the club back and forth in a steady rhythm to continue warming-up and stretching those golf muscles.

Now it is time to start a proper driving range practice routine. Begin with your wedges, then your short irons, mid irons, long irons or hybrids, woods, and finally finish with your driver. Even though you might start with a driver on the first tee, for driving range practice, you should gradually work your way up to using a driver.

There are a couple of reasons for this; first, with a driver you are using more force and putting your muscles and spine through more exertion than you are with a short iron. Second, in a round of golf you will be hitting more shots from within 100 yards than you will take with your driver. So, you should be putting more practice into your short game than you put into your driving.

Ideally, you will want to get a hitting mat that is in front of the yardage markers. This way, you can check how far you are hitting each club. This is necessary for good course management; you need to know how far each club can hit the ball. For example, with your wedges, you should use a full swing, three quarter swing a half swing. Aim towards the yardage markers and see where your ball is landing for each swing length.

Another important driving range practice tip is to treat each shot with the same respect as if you were on the course playing in a competition. Don’t just hit away, one shot after another until your bucket of balls is finished. You should go through your normal pre-shot routine, golf setup, and address position. Focus on each shot so that you make each shot count.

The final golf driving range tip is to not over exert yourself. With a medium sized bucket of balls holding about 96 golf balls, it is easy to go through them in an hour and a half. That would imply that you are hitting one ball every minute non-stop. This is not a good idea, even if you warmed up and stretched prior to your golf driving range session. You should take a break every so often and before starting again, do a few more stretches.

Driving Range Practice Summary

It is true that practice makes perfect but you have to know the best way to practice for golf. Hopefully, the next time you get some driving range practice time in that it will be quality practice time – don’t forget to practice your putting as well!

How to Box?

October 21, 2021 by how

Maybe you’re sick of being the nerdy guy (and all the shit that goes along with it) or you’ve watched Rocky one too many times, but the idea of learning to box is really starting to excite you. Good, hold on to that passion and energy, you’re going to need it.

Boxing is a tough and challenging sport that will push you to your limits both physically and mentally. However, stick with your new “hobby” long enough and I guarantee it will become one of your life’s most rewarding pursuits. You’ll develop the ripped body of a Greek God, the iron will of a warrior, and the self-confidence of Muhammad Ali.

But where do you start? Timidly following Youtube videos in the safety of your bedroom while shying away from judging eyes? Or do you go full throttle and sign up to be someone’s punch bag at your local boxing gym? And just how fit do you need to be to join a boxing gym? Do you need your own gloves? And what about boxing rules and etiquette?

If all of these questions has got your head spinning more than a hard right to the chin would do, fear not, Learn How To Box was created to be the ultimate resource on boxing for beginners. Whether you’re a complete newbie or an old hand in the fight scene, stick around, you might just learn a thing or two.

Benefits of Boxing

Who would have thought that trying to knock another human beings head off would not only feel good, but have so many physical and mental benefits? Here’s what you can look forward to when you get into boxing:

Fit and healthy body with increased muscle tone
Development of a Jedi mindset – Ability to remain calm during intense physical and mental situations
Self-confidence that you can “handle yourself” in a fight
Learning a martial art
New friends and gym buddies
Stress Relief – there’s nothing more effective for lowering cortisone than smashing pads at the end of a long day

Where Can I learn boxing?

Although you could theoretically learn to box anywhere, there are three common venues where your training could take place.

Sports Hall – Boxing classes could be held in any sports or recreational facility such as your gym, town hall, school, or university. The quality of trainers and difficulty of classes can vary enormously. The classes are predominantly aimed at beginners, and they are useful for learning the fundamentals of boxing or if you strictly want to practice boxing for exercise (boxercise).

Boxing Gym – Joining a fight gym can be intimidating for a novice, but they cater for people at all levels. Don’t worry, you’re not going to accidentally stumble into some underground fight club and be forced into a cage to do battle till death. Relax, boxing is a sport, and the instructors are almost all too happy to share their knowledge of the game.

Boxing gyms come in all manner of styles, from the state-of-the-art gyms, to the warehouse kitted out with a couple of worn out punching pads and some smelly, old pads. Joining a boxing gym is the best way to learn boxing as you’ll learn correct technique from boxing gurus with years of fight experience

At Home – Online boxing training has seen an enormous rise in popularity. Instructional workout DVDs, eBooks and boxing training videos on Youtube and are all credible methods to teach yourself boxing. However, don’t get suckered into buying hyped-up inferior products and remember to check the credentials of whoever’s behind the training.

Can I Actually Learn Boxing At Home?

Your closest boxing gym may be an hour’s drive away, or they may not be one in your town at all. Busting out a few combos while in the comfort of your living room seems like the perfect solution. I mean how hard can it be? Just do exactly the same as the guy in the video.

However, the major flaw I see with boxing training at home is that there is no one available to correct your mistakes. Digital sources are fantastic learning tools, but their training is only one directional.

It also leaves your skills untested. No amount of boxing training videos will prepare you to use your skills in a real fight. For that, you need sparring. Nothing else will teach you how to dodge, block and parry an opponent’s punches, how to take a punch and keep fighting, or how to remain calm while under intense pressure. Plus, what’s the joy in learning to cook if all you do is prepare the food?

However, there is nothing wrong with practicing boxing at home or using it to learn basic boxing moves and to get the body in shape.

Is boxing hard and will I get hurt?

Call it stating the obvious, but in case you weren’t aware, boxing is a full-contact sport. Expect to get hit in the chops a few times.

Now this rule doesn’t apply at a beginner level or for boxercise classes where technique is less of a focus and it’s all just about simple combos for cardiovascular fitness (cough, pussies, cough).

Stroll into a boxing gym for the first time, and your fresh, unmarked face will scream newbie to the instructors who’ll ask you about your previous experience. Now is not the time for macho bravado. Tell them it’s your first time or you’ve had a little practice but still don’t know your right hand from your left. That way you’ll be partnered with someone with a similar skill level, and you’ll not end the class eating the local champs glove.

At a beginners boxing class, you’ll perform stretches, exercises, simple drills on the pads and possibly some bag work. There will be little physical contact except perhaps blocking as part of a combination (tip: never with your face), or some very light conditioning.

Advanced classes will contain combinations that are more complex and may allow some sparring. The intensity of the conditioning will also increase. Expect to engage in torturous exercises such as taking punches to the gut, or having a medicine ball dropped on your stomach from height.

Fight training or sparring classes are offered by some gyms. When it comes to sparring sessions, you will get the occasional black eye or burst nose, and you’ll find yourself wincing like a little girl at times. However, you often don’t feel the punches in the heat of the moment and by the time you’ve reached fight training level, you should have conditioned your body somewhat.

How long does it take to learn boxing?

How long is a piece of string? Asking how long it takes to learn boxing is a similarly retarded question.

Many people would be keen to know how many hours, months or years it will take to become good at boxing. But all I can offer is a shoulder shrug and a non-committal “it depends”. It depends on how often and how long you train, your training methods, the intensity of training, who your instructors are, any God-given natural talent you possess and how hungry you are to learn.

Now it’s time for some sensei wisdom Mr Miyagi styles. Don’t be impatient – It will take as long as it takes. Remember that anything worthwhile in life takes time.

Learning how to box is a venture that could take years to complete. In fact, you never actually finish. Sure, you reach a level of expertise that you are happy with, but there’s always the quest to get better, faster, stronger.

Discontentment is a good thing. It keeps you at the top of your game.

However, what I can say with confidence is that the surest and quickest way to learn boxing is to immerse yourself in the sport completely. That means joining a fight gym and showing up six days a week whether you feel like it or not.

What Boxing Equipment Will I Need?

I’m assuming you’ve read all of this, and you’re not put off by the long road of hard slog that lies ahead? Good, now it’s time to get kitted out.

No warrior heads into battle without weapons and armor. However, don’t be that knob head that has all the gear and can’t box a dozen eggs. You know the one – he splashes out on the best of equipment for each new hobby that takes his fancy, quickly realizes he’s not cut out for it, or lacks the commitment to get good, and then ends up selling his pre-loved wares on EBay. “Boxing Gloves for Sale – Hardly Used”. Yeah, don’t be that guy.

Here is a list of the essential items that should make up your kitbag when starting out.

Boxing Gloves – (well duh! You’re going to need a set of gloves unless you plan on using those wretched, blood and sweat stained gloves the gym provides) If you can only afford one thing, splash out on a decent pair of gloves (around $100). If you need help choosing a pair, check out our boxing glove reviews or select a pair from our top ten best boxing gloves below.
Hand Wraps – Support the wrist and protect the hands when punching. Not just a pointless accessory for added color coordination.
Water Bottle – Get a water bottle that is durable and with a lid that is easy to open with gloves on.
Training Bag – There is no excuse for missing training. You bring your kit with you everywhere you go.
Mouth Guard – Now this item could be omitted if you’re not planning on doing any sparring within the first few months. When it does come to buy one, go premium and select a mouth guard with excellent shock absorbing properties while that is compact and still allows you to breathe easily. The toothless hillbilly look is not cool.
Comfortable Clothes – Shorts and T-shirt will do.

Everything else is surplus. You can add to your training arsenal in time.