FitOldDog setting up his agronomy experiment, while Silver smells fishmeal - yum! I can’t trust my worms until I puts them to the test. Photo by Rick, owned by Silver, who loves to cause trouble (Silver, that is!)

My mother dished out advice as quotes, and one of her favorites, which was right on target, was, “By their deeds shalt though know them.”

FitOldDog’s worms are on the way.

Building trust takes time, so watch what people or worms do, and then decide who to employ based on your life experience and experimentation.

For instance, I do enjoy the writings of Jeff Bullas, concerning blogging. But I had no idea, until his latest post, that he was a runner. His ideas are extremely insightful, and never boring. Knowing that he is a runner increased my respect for him, enormously. But that has nothing to do with blogging, you might say. But it does, in my book. So I continue to read his posts. But how do I chose a medical professional to fix my body or worms to till my garden? Research and testing, same as I did for Jeff Bullas. I look at the track record, and test things out. By their deeds!

My twisted pelvis: I told this story already, about how the Ostopath fixed my running problem, which he diagnosed as a displaced pelvis. He then proceeded to correct it, and my running is now returning to normal. He diagnosed the cause of my issue, an accident-induced pelvic displacement, and fixed it in one session. Now it’s up to me.

My friends, Tara and Rick, untangling the dogs in my new vegetable garden, next to my experiment. Photo with permission by FitOldDog.

I was led to him by someone I trust, Tara, my friend, massage therapist, and body movement instructor. This led me to take her advice, and the outcome was success. Trust initially came in the form of my trust for Tara, but I had to do the experiment myself, i.e. go to the Osteopath, before I really trusted the idea. This is why I tend to trust runners; they will do the work necessary to do it right. For worms it was a different story. I didn’t know anyone who really knew about worms.

Worms for my new garden: I had some very nice soil delivered, but it was without life. Just well-rotted cow manure (no signs of heat), but no worms. I don’t want to dig my garden. I want worms to dig my garden. So I started to ask people about worms for vegetables. They all gave me the same wrong advice - “You need red wigglers.” I just didn’t trust them; these people seemed too sure of themselves. I called the experts, but they weren’t available. So I went on line, and found a place I trusted, Worms 4 Earth. Why did I trust them? Because their website laid things out, with just the information I needed.

Here are two other people I trust. Jonathon and Tracey, who are studying Sustainable Agriculture at CCCC. On their advice, I’m sending a soil sample for testing to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. Photo by FitOldDog, with permission.

And, indeed, NO! Red wigglers are great to break down kitchen waste, but they don’t do well in a vegetable garden. I ordered the recommended worms (three species in one bucket of 1,500 worms), and proceeded to the next stage. Soil preparation.

I once again sought the advice of experts, at the local gardening store, I received two clear, but different, solutions to preparing the soil for my worms, from two staff members, these being (A) a bacterial soil preparation, or (B) worm castings. I then set up my experiment, with four test groups, A, B, A+B, neither A nor B. And I await the arrival of my worms.

Finally, the other day, I overheard two guys, Jonathon and Tracey, discussing agriculture, with great enthusiasm, in a local coffee shop. They were studying sustainable farming at Central Carolina Community College (CCCC). I struck up a conversation with them, which finally led to the issue of soil health in my new garden. I was thinking, “That’s what I want in my vegetable garden, sustainable agriculture.” Just like I want sustainable body repair work. They said, “Get your soil tested for free at NCDA.” So, due to trust, just based on their level of enthusiasm for their studies, I did just that, today. Thanks, guys! May you fix the planet for future generations. Food-wise, anyway!

Moral of my stories: When you choose a physician or some worms, do your homework and then set up the test. Don’t just trust random people to set you on the right road.

My hip is great.

Worms? We’ll see. I can’t wait for their arrival.

 Important Note: These posts do not provide medical advice. You should always consult your physician before undertaking or significantly modifying an exercise program.

Copyright © 2010 Kevin T. Morgan aka FitOldDog, Old Dogs in Training, LLC.

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