Boldest Action Winner: Kati J's 2' x 2' prolific urban garden

Category: Environment
Challenge: Go Organic
Sponsor: Gaiam
Action: We have a 2'x2' deck off my SF apt. we have 6 tomato plants, 1 lemon tree, catnip, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, a basil plant.

Kati's Thoughts:
The story goes that before i moved to San Francisco, I lived in Cleveland where I had a fantastic little garden. I dragged wave washed stones from the Lake Erie shore to line the garden, and had the most amazing eggplant of my life. After i moved to the San Francisco, I lived in an apartment where I had no room for plants, not even a window ledge herb garden.

Since I moved in with my boyfriend, he had a the little deck area that was begging to be utilized. we decided some wine barrels cut in half would be enough acreage for this little apartment. Chris wanted a lemon tree in one barrel, and I knew I could grow tomatoes in the other. One thing lead to another and a $100 bucks later I had rosemary, thyme, chives, basil, two kinds of sage, lavender and cat nip for a special kitty. The best part was getting four more tomato plants from a friend who had too many. We've made pasta sauce twice now, chives for every omelet, tomatoes for salad, and sage on our butternut squash last night! Mmm.. its so rewarding to know you can grow even the smallest amount of food, in a small space. Viva la urban gardeners!

Sweating for the sweets with Scott M - Boldest action of the challenge winner!

Challenge: 'Get Sweaty'
Challenge Sponsor: Gaiam
Category: Health and Fitness
Scott's action: "Spent several hours harvesting a new honey crop in a protective bee suit when it was close to 90 degrees. Sweats for the sweets."

Scott's thoughts:
I got into beekeeping after becoming friends with an older beekeeper that had been doing it for 30 years. My father kept bees when I was a very young boy, and I was always fascinated with the creatures. I can still remember the taste of fresh comb honey right out of the hive. Beekeeping is much more difficult now than it was then. The bee population is under assault by environmental pollution, electromagnetic waves, resistant viruses, parasitic mites, weather extremes, and a loss of natural habitat. As a result, bees require a lot of hands on attention to keep them healthy so that they can survive these influences. There are virtually no wild bee populations that have survived. As a result, bees require a lot of hands on attention to keep them healthy. I was surprised by the learning curve required to be successful with raising bees. There is a constantly evolving research effort worldwide to save the bees. It is very satisfying to help preserve a population of critical creatures that without human intervention would become extinct. The rewards are sweet.