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As the temperatures begin to fall, now’s the perfect time to garden. Yes, you read that right. Winter gardening is feasible and simple to achieve!

In fact, most farms have their tractors running year-round. Keeping a garden in optimal shape during the winter season helps both gardeners and the surrounding environment.
If you’re not keen on the idea of sowing your land during the winter season, you might want to change your mind. Maintaining a functioning and productive garden throughout the year — winter included — gives your soil the attention it needs to flourish during the warmer spring and summer days.

How You Can Benefit From Harvesting Your Own Food

You don’t have to be a farmer to reap the benefits of harvesting your own food. In fact, any individual with a small plot of land can transform their soil into a haven full of greens and fauna. Preppers and survivalists will enjoy having easy access to fruits and vegetables they can pick straight from their garden. Plus, it saves a trip to the supermarket on extra cold days, too.

Throughout the winter season, you’re likely to find yourself wrapped up in your blanket in front of the television or computer. Gardening provides you with the incentive to get out and exercise without actually having to go to the gym. Best of all, the reward of growing your food makes the activity you put into your garden seem less like work and more like fun instead.

As the snow begins to pile up outside, you might long for warm and sun-filled days. Don’t forget to enjoy the natural world around you. Getting outdoors uplifts your mood and prevents you from feeling cabin-fever, too.

Kick Your Green-Thumb Up a Notch With a Few Simple Guidelines

Even though the temperature continues to drop, that doesn’t mean you have to wait until the summer season to enjoy a garden full of greens. In fact, there’s no better way to wrap up the year than with a few seeds sprouting outside your house that lay the foundation for the warmer days ahead.

You can transform any everyday plot of land into a thriving terrain bursting with fauna with a few of these winter gardening tips in mind.

1. Grow Winter Friendly Crops

You should never plant a vegetable or fruit that needs excessive sunlight and warmth during the winter season with the hopes that it will grow even with the proper TLC. Unfortunately, many plants must be planted within their relative season to thrive. You should use vegetable growing guidelines  as a reference for when to plant seeds for optimal results.

If you think only the best crops can grow in the summer, you’ll happily discover some of your favorite greens to enjoy throughout the winter season as well. Vegetables such as peas, garlic, and onions flourish even when planted on colder days.

2. Don’t Plant Too Early

You might be excited to plant your seeds early. In fact, it might seem that doing so allows you to enjoy your winter harvest sooner. Well, not exactly.

Planting crops too early during the fall season can actually be counter-intuitive to your desired outcome. This is especially true for crops you might plant to supplement your garden. Sowing oats earlier than necessary can result in an overgrowth of the crop which might deplete your garden’s nutrients and moisture prematurely.

For optimal results, always familiarize yourself with a crop’s planting guidelines before sowing.

3. Take Your Flora Indoors

If you’re not one for the cold and brisk air that defines the winter season, you can transfer your gardening indoors.

Many crops can benefit from the temperature-controlled conditions provided by your home. If you have supplemental UV lighting or a south-facing window, even better! When you transfer your greens and crops indoors, you can provide them extra protection against the unpredictable winter season.

Make sure to use artificial light to help your plants grow strong and healthy. Invest in lightbulbs that provide the optimal brightness for each of your plant species to help them receive the light they require.

4. Create a Mound for Added Protective

Farmers and avid gardeners alike watch the forecast with hopes of the weatherman not mentioning one dreaded word — snow. While snowfall doesn’t provide the ideal harvesting conditions, you don’t have to fear snowy conditions.

Use your garden’s surrounding leaves to create a mound on top of sturdier crops such as carrots and shallots. Even when flurries begin to trickle onto your land, the added layer of leaves offers your garden an insulated barrier against freezing conditions.

5. Enlist the Help of Machinery

While snow is a beautiful sight to see, it doesn’t last forever. When snow begins to melt, you might find yourself dealing with a watery mess in your garden. To produce the optimal results in your garden and to help your plants thrive, it’s essential to drain any excess water as it melts throughout the season.

Whenever you need a hand to help you lift massive plots or to transfer your fauna, you can turn to machinery for added assistance.

Whether you decide to make a raised bed or transfer your crops to another portion of your land, enlisting the assistance of forklifts prevents you from depleting your energy so you have more get-up-and-go power to give to your plants instead.

How You Can Become a Savvy Saver Through Gardening

Gardeners and farmers aren’t the only ones who benefit from gardening during the winter season. In fact, you can turn your plot into a haven full of savings.

Going to the supermarket can be expensive — especially during the winter season. It typically costs more to buy the very same fruit and vegetables you can purchase at a fraction of the cost in June or July. That’s because areas suffering from frost and blizzards rely more on imported crops to fulfill their vegetable and fruit demands.

You can save money by putting a little-added effort into the plot of land that lines your backyard. Not only that, but you will feel a greater sense of accomplishment knowing your food grew to perfection through the assistance of your very own hands.

Use Your Time Wisely for the Ultimate Outcome

Don’t wait until the first frost sets in to turn your soil into a lush array of veggies and greens — start your gardening today!

Familiarize yourself with the conditions and climate that defines your area. Nothing is quite as essential as planning when it comes to gardening. Plant your seeds before the first anticipated frost days to give your plants plenty of time to grow and mature.

Once you have a few of these basic and easy to follow tips in mind, you’ll find your garden full of beautiful fauna — even during the winter season.

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As the temperatures begin to fall, now’s the perfect time to garden. Yes, you read that right. Winter gardening is feasible and simple to achieve! In fact, most farms have their

Running is a vigorous activity which brings many benefits and some problems. Each runner has experienced pain and muscle soreness. Sometimes, the runner encounters these problems out of season and the person should know how to cope with them.

The only question that should be solved is when it is the right time to pull yourself together and to push through and when to stop running.

Let’s see how to identify the pain by type and how to cope with running pain.

Good And Bad Running Pain: What’s The Difference?

All runners experience different types of pain. The difference is that one type may subside quickly while another type of pain needs careful treatment.

Muscle soreness is very common, especially if you are a new runner. If you push your body to its limits, then muscles burn. For instance, if you used to run 4 kilometers and ran 7 kilometers, you’ll experience this pain. It’s caused by a buildup of lactic acid. This pain gives the signal to the brain to let know how hard your muscles work. When you suffer from this pain, then push through and the pain will decrease. Also, you’ll build enough endurance.

Besides, side cramps are also a problem. Running causes you to strain a ligament connecting your diaphragm to the abdominal muscles and side cramps can occur. However, the pain will subside if you walk with your hands on top of your head (you have all seen marathon and distance runners assume this position after an event.)

But if you experience awful pain during running and it doesn’t weaken, that’s a sign of an injury and it means that you should stop for some time.

The most common injuries are caused by applying repeated force over a prolonged period of time and these injuries include the following:

  • Runner’s Knee

This condition is characterized by a tender pain around or behind the kneecap. Downhill running, weak hips, and muscle imbalance cause runner’s knee.

Treatment: take anti-inflammatory medications, use a knee brace, and don’t run for a long distance.

  • Achilles Tendinitis

This condition is characterized by swelling of the Achilles tendon. This swelling is caused by tight calf muscles, inappropriate footwear, flat feet, and a mileage increase.

Treatment: take anti-inflammatory medications, stretch your calf muscles, wear supportive shoes, and avoid activities that put extra stress on the tendons.

  • Plantar Fasciitis

This condition is characterized by inflammation, irritation, and tearing of the plantar fascia. This leads to extreme pain and stiffness in the arch. Wearing inappropriate footwear and excess pounding on the road trigger this condition.

Treatment: stretch the heels, wear cushioning shoes. If the condition worsens, wear orthopedics and a night splint.

  • Shin Splints

Shin splints occur when the muscles and tendons covering the shinbone become inflamed. Typically, this condition is caused by prolonged running on hard surfaces.

Treatment: wear shock-absorbing insoles, ice the shins for 15 minutes, try to run on softer surfaces.

  • Patellar Tendinitis

This injury is typical for distance runners and it is characterized by tiny tears in the patellar tendon. It connects the kneecap to the shinbone. Overpronation and over-training are the major reasons for this injury.

Treatment: strengthen the hamstrings and ice the knee.

  • Ankle Sprain

An ankle sprain occurs when the ankle rolls in or outward, stretching the ligament. Unfortunate landing, curbs, and potholes can cause this injury (as well as severe heels and platform shoes.)

Treatment: have a solid rest when this injury occurs, strengthen the muscles around the ankle, wear an ankle brace.

Ways To Avoid Running Pain

Of course, there is no universal remedy that helps to get rid of pain and soreness but there are some handy tips that will help you to eliminate pain.

  • Train Smart

Go towards your goal slowly but surely. You should listen to your body, sleep well, and stick to healthy eating habits (don’t consume sugar and processed foods; eat less sodium and more lean protein, fruit, and veggies). If there is a lack of sleep, then a healing process is prolonged and inflammation and joint pain aren’t reduced.

The training program should be right for you. If you have a minor injury, it’s better to avoid long runs and don’t do speed training because it puts stress on your tissues and ligaments and your condition may worsen.

Also, if your condition is very poor, then miss or reschedule a few runs, it won’t have a big impact on your training but it will affect your recovery positively.

  • Take Care of Injured Muscles

If you are going through a lactic acid build-up period and muscle soreness is a common situation for you, then heat sore muscles before the run but never heat them after running because it can only increase inflammation. Always cool down the muscles with ice after the run.

  • See a Specialist

Only a specialist can tell you whether you will be able to run with pain or not, so a visit to a doctor is a must. The specialist will make a diagnosis. Remember that such conditions as Runner’s Knee, iliotibial band syndrome, Piriformis syndrome, patella tendinitis, and Achilles tendinitis should be treated only with a professional’s help. Besides, a professional will make adjustments to your training schedule, and he will give an appropriate treatment plan.

  • Use Techniques to Release Pain

There are several techniques that help in reducing pain. You can try an active release technique (ART). It can help to eliminate muscle pain which occurs due to injury.

Active release technique is a type of soft tissue therapy that helps relieve tight muscles and nerve trigger points, greatly reducing joint stress or muscle pain. This technique helps to relieve different problems, which include lower back pain, shin splints, Plantar fasciitis.

The major benefit of this technique is preventing and breaking up dense scar tissue, also called adhesions. Adhesions limit the normal range of motion of joints and muscles.

If you choose ART, you’ll get the following benefits:

  • Your flexibility will be increased because ART helps restore normal muscle and connective tissue function. As a result, your performance is improved and running injuries are prevented;
  • A range of motion and mobility will be improved;
  • Back pain will be relieved because compressed nerves are released.

Another technique you can try is called The Graston Technique. This is a patented form of manual therapy that uses stainless steel tools to perform muscle mobilizations. These tools treat scar tissue and fascial adhesions, which decrease the range of motion.

The Graston Technique helps to treat such conditions as ankle sprains, Plantar Fasciitis, runner’s knee, pulled muscles.

The treatment brings the following benefits:

    • A fast and full recovery is facilitated;
    • It can work as a post-surgery therapy and as a means to ease chronic inflammation;
    • It reduces chronic injuries and corrects dysfunctional movement patterns within the tissue. Eventually, the more efficient movement is allowed;
    • This technique provides an immediate reduction of pain.
  • Never Run with Major Pain

If you suffer from unbearable pain, then stop and rest because running with major pain may delay recovery. If there is an injury, then stick to a golden rule – RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation). If it doesn’t help, then visit a sports injury specialist because if you don’t treat the injury, then the pain can become chronic.

  • Don’t Run if the Injury Causes You to Limp or Change Your Stride

If you can’t run normally, it’s better not to run at all because it may worsen the injury. However, if it is just soreness and if it doesn’t worsen during the run, then you can run. Usually, minor soreness disappears when muscles warm up.

  • Don’t Use Painkillers and Anti-inflammatory Drugs Before a Run

These drugs don’t heal the injury, they only hide pain, and your condition may only worsen. If you feel extremely bad, it’s better not to run, but if the pain is bearable, then it’s better to take medications afterward.

How To Keep Running If You Want To Stop

Each runner has experienced running pain during the race and everyone faced a choice – to stop or continue to run. The ability to push through the bouts of discomfort is a necessary ability for the athlete.

If you don’t experience severe pain, then quitting isn’t the solution. Here are some tips concerning your physical and mental health that will help you to keep running when you want to stop.

Tips For Overcoming Physical Pain

  • Take Walk Breaks

If your goal is to run a marathon, then you should take walk breaks to win. A study in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport found that including regular walking breaks in your race can bring you to the finish line at the same pace as if you ran the entire way — while doing a lot less damage to your body.

Walking breaks help runners experience less muscle pain and fatigue. Also, they help runners ran farther and for longer periods of time. Besides, each run is not only a physical but also a mental challenge. It’s easier to run if you cut the distance into small parts and a walking break helps to achieve it.

  • Loosen Your Grip

If there’s tension in your upper body, then it makes a regular run feel twice as hard. In order to run longer and be less tired, you should loosen your grip. To check whether your upper body is tensed or not, you can perform an easy test: roll up a sheet of paper and run with it in your hand for a few minutes. If the paper is crunched, then you try too hard and you should relax. This works when trying to fall asleep as well spread your fingers wide and keep them that way to relieve tensions that may be keeping you awake.

  • Breathe Deeply

If you change your pace often and get tired quickly, try to take deep breaths. Slow down, breathe deeply, it will lower your heart rate and you will breathe better. If you try to bring in much oxygen too quickly, you don’t get rid of CO2 in your lungs.

Find your breath and you can try a two-breath sequence: two steps on one inhale, two steps on one exhale.

Tips For Improving Mental Health

  • Get Distracted

Research has found that listening to music can improve your running performance by up to 15%.

Thus, if you feel tired, just get distracted, listen to your favorite music, don’t look at the watch or an app to see how many miles are left and go towards your goal.

Also, another way to forget about pain is to let your mind wander. You can count the trees when you pass them, think about the colors of the cars and houses you see, it will definitely help you to forget about the pain.

However, there’s another point of view. Some studies show that the most skilled athletes have the least activity in the brain. In other words, they are able to perform on autopilot.

  • Repeat Positive Affirmations

If you suffer from mental pain, abstract from it, think about something pleasant. Focus on achieving success and repeat the affirmations – I feel fine, I am a fierce competitor, my endurance is high, winning is the best feeling in the world, I am a winner, and you will not notice how the pain will go away.

  • Remember Your Motivation

When you are ready to quit, remember where you have started. Your initial goal will help you to complete the race. Remember how hard you worked, how strong you are and that you are capable to withstand the normal pains of physical stress.

Conclusion

Please, remember that none of this information should substitute professional medical advice. When to stop or when to make your way through if you suffer from running pain is a decision, which is made by each person individually. And in this case, a physical and emotional condition should be taken into account. Before making this important choice, think carefully, see a specialist, and listen to your body, because sometimes in order to take a step forward, you need to take two steps back.

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Running is a vigorous activity which brings many benefits and some problems. Each runner has experienced pain and muscle soreness. Sometimes, the runner encounters these problems out of season and

Why written emergency plans (EP) are better than just having one on your mind

Terrorism attacks, accidents or natural disasters can occur any time and if you are unlucky enough, leave you dead or in a hospital and in a dire financial situation. Fortunately, most emergencies are somewhat foreseeable such as flooding, wind and solar storms and hurricanes and to some extent, health problems. As it were, constant disaster preparation is a life philosophy of every prepper, and one of the ways to prepare for an emergency is to have a logical emergency plan for you and your family.

The purpose of this post is to analyze why written emergency plans are better than just having one on your mind. But before we even go there, why do you need to plan for emergencies in the first place?

  • It reduces potential losses and damages – Emergency planning may involve, for instance, buying and placing fire extinguishers all over your house and teaching family members how to operate them. Thus, they will be able to stop fires before they spread and raze the whole house.
  • It’s a confidence boost – With an EP, you and your family will know what exactly to do in case of an emergency. In the event of a disaster, they will be calmer and organized as opposed to the panic, chaos, and feelings of helplessness that accompany unpreparedness. Isn’t that what makes preppers ‘better’ than other people? Well, more dependable for sure.
  • Helps you get through emergencies – Planning for food, clean water, and medical supplies for sick members of your family makes it easier to go through difficult situations and saves you much-needed money.

Having said that, we can now agree that emergency plans are too important to be stored in memory or on your phone or laptop. You need to put it in writing for the reasons discussed in the next section.

 

5 Reasons Why Your Emergency Plan should be in Writing

Below are some reasons why hard-copy emergency plans absolutely rock:

  • For Easy and Fast Reference

Keeping your EP in hard copy and making enough copies for everyone enables them to quickly check what to do or who to contact in an emergency. On the flipside, keeping emergency phone numbers or procedures in your memory may cause panic when, in the face of disaster, you forget some numbers or steps. As a matter of fact, it is quite hard to focus or remember things in such occasions. Additionally, when your family members are not privy to your plan, they might get panic attacks or get hopeless when faced with a calamity, which can, in turn, affect your psyche and your reflexes.

It is even worse if you keep your plan on your phone or computer as it could go off exactly when you need it the most. You might also not be in a position to access your electronics and as you know, emergencies and time wait for no man. With printed copies, which by the way should always be in your and every other family member’s sight, you won’t have a problem with communication and managing disasters as they happen.

  • Writing Keeps You Focused and Self-Aware

When you write, your brain is focused on the act of writing and strives to create a logical flow. As such, you are able to write what’s on your mind without filtering any thoughts. Most importantly, old-school writing (using pen and paper) will help you remember disaster preparation concepts that you’ve learned whether from life experiences or government programs. You will also retain knowledge by noting it down as your brain will go into overdrive trying to decide the words to use, committing to long-term memory in the process. In an unfortunate situation, you will be able to remember at least some parts of your plan even without referring to the binder.

When it comes to emergency planning, we recommend that you first write all your concerns and aspirations in case of emergency on a draft paper then compile them into an organized document.

  • For Fast Review and Corrections

When you plan things in your head, the chances are that you won’t be able to see any faults in your thoughts. On the other hand, when noting down your plans, you can always review later to check for mistakes and do corrections. In this context, you can do further research and consultation with experts, authorities and your family and compare their thoughts, opinions, and suggestions with your plan. Also, keeping a hard copy of your emergency plan close to you gives you the chance to read it over and over at different times and with time, you might be able to see some mistakes you overlooked and amend them in time.

  • It’s Easy to Make Helpful Notes and Schematic Drawings While Writing

As mentioned in the first point above, the act of writing focuses your thoughts on one idea at a time. Sometimes, as you jot down a fire management strategy, for instance, you can almost ‘see’ a certain thing or action in your mind that would be convenient in such a situation, such as an available door for quick exit.

Depending on the clarity of the mental image, you can make a drawing to show how one can move from different rooms in the house to the exit door and on to safety. Whether you are a good artist or not, as long as you can focus on a single image and make a draft, it can always be improved and polished by another person. Furthermore, it would be easier explaining to your family the movements and procedures to follow in case of a disaster using images and drawings as opposed to only words

  • If Something Happens to You, Your Family Can Use Your Plan

Keeping everything to yourself or on your phone, which probably requires passwords for every action, will only make things difficult for your people in case something bad happens to you. For one, they probably won’t be aware that you had an emergency plan in the first place. Secondly, if they can’t access your plan, they will come up with their own which could be ineffective due to panic. Sadly, statistics from the US government show that only 33% of Americans have communication plans in case of emergencies.

In essence, by writing a comprehensive emergency management plan in an easy to understand manner, you not only make things simpler for yourself but to your family, neighbors, and friends too. They will know exactly what to do in case of anything and everything and who will be in charge of what, thereby minimizing confusion, chaos, and stress.

Conclusion

It is often said that failing to plan is planning to fail and as a prepper, it’s hard to argue with that. Emergencies and disasters are messed up by themselves. You don’t want to add disorganization and disorder to it. Create a plan for such occasions, put it down on paper and circulate it to every member of your family and close friends. With that, you will be able to at least minimize the disastrous consequences of those bad days on you and your family’s lives.

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Why written emergency plans (EP) are better than just having one on your mind Terrorism attacks, accidents or natural disasters can occur any time and if you are unlucky enough, leave