Dear Friends,
Valya has been our family gardener for many years, but this year, Valya has surprised us with her new passion. She espaliers fruit trees. Considering that we started renting this house only seven months ago, the results are unbelievable. It has long been our dream to start a fruit garden. When our landlord welcomed our garden ideas, we got busy. We knew that it would take many years for trees to grow and start bearing fruit. When Valya began to spend time in garden stores and other people’s orchards, we didn’t pay much attention. Then one day we heard this word in our family: Espalier. Valya pronounced it with glowing eyes.
Now we realize why she was so excited. From the trees and bushes that Valya received in the mail only six months ago, we are already harvesting our own apricots, figs, mulberries, black currants, peaches and grapes. We are now looking forward to our own pears, persimmons, and pawpaws. The best part is that all of these fruits are as organic as they can be, and perfectly ripe when we pick them. My two grandchildren say they never knew fruit could be so tasty.
The miracle of espalier allows multiple benefits for organic gardening including stronger healthier trees, more accessible fruit, and best of all, getting the highest yield from the smallest amount of space. If you are interested in learning this technique from Valya, and wish to prepare for growing your own espaliered fruit garden this fall, we invite you to Valya’s live one-hour webinar this Wednesday August 29th, at 6 pm Pacific Standard Time.
In this class, Valya will demonstrate how to espalier a tree and explain how to take care of it. She will share the necessary steps including how and where to purchase a healthy tree, how to take care of it with minimal effort, and enjoy bountiful harvest of free, tree-ripened fruit for decades from your own back yard.
The cost of this webinar is $20. To sign up click here. The webinar includes two instructional videos by Valya and a live teleconference when Valya will be answering your questions live. You may email your questions after you register for this webinar.
I am constantly receiving emails asking if the jaw exerciser can be used with TMJ, also known as TMD, TMJD, or TMJ syndrome. TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint, and D stands for disorder. This condition covers a lot of symptoms such as:
- Biting or chewing difficulty or discomfort
- Clicking, popping, or grating sound when opening or closing the mouth
- Dull, aching pain in the face
- Earache (particularly in the morning)
- Headache (particularly in the morning)
- Hearing loss
- Migraine (particularly in the morning)
- Jaw pain or tenderness of the jaw
- Reduced ability to open or close the mouth
- Tinnitus
- Neck and shoulder pain
- Dizziness
The causes of TMJ are considered unknown, but some research indicates that sometimes TMJ resulted from teeth clenching and biting hard. That makes me think that the Jaw Exerciser could be helpful at least in these cases.
Luckily, we have received several testimonials from our customers who were able to significantly improve their condition by regularly chewing the jaw exerciser.
As the jaw exerciser is still a relatively new device, I am still in the stage of researching all its potentials. If you have TMJ, I think you have a good chance to improve your condition, only apply caution and progress slowly to increase the time and pressure you use. Start with one minute exercising your jaw on the thinner side of the jaw exerciser, and then add another minute every day, but don’t go over ten minutes at a session until you develop strong jaw muscles. Then you may start using the thick end of the jaw exerciser.
Please understand that the jaw exerciser is nothing more than an equivalent of chewy food. If your doctor warns you against biting into an apple or carrot, than the jaw exerciser is not for you. If you are allowed to eat food of any hardness, then the jaw exerciser cannot harm you.
Reviews from Customers:
I have used the Jawcerciser for almost six weeks. Since I’ve been using is daily, I have lost the crick in my jaw. (A sound I hear when it seems my jaw’s out of alignment while I eat. I never chew gum because of it). I’ve also received compliments about my face looking thinner. Oh yeah!
-S. K.
I use the jaw exerciser off and on while on the computer. Since I am a teeth-clencher, it keeps me from doing that when I am on the computer.
-B.G.
I purchased three jaw exercisers, one for my son and two for myself. I keep one in my desk drawer at work and will take it out throughout the day to just chew on it. It did initially feel a bit strange. I was afraid I would bite the end off because it is pretty “chewy”. It is sturdy and is not separating. It has definitely strengthened my jaw muscles and helped with some jaw tension (slight TMJ) that I experience. I am one who has clenched my teeth when I am feeling anxious and chewing on the Jaw exerciser has helped release this tension.
-S. W.
You may purchase jaw exercisers here.
Can we really eat that thorny looking thing? That’s what Valya and I asked Sergei when he began cutting the sow thistle into the bucket during our morning walk.
