Gardening

Take care

Spring = gardening = backache.

Not neccessarily so…

Is your back prepared for the spring onslaught ?

Is your garden a pleasure and a source of food ?

The modern advice is that gardening is good for you. It can certainly be a source of pleasure and stress relief but the pleasure and produce has to be balanced against the pain in the back after a big dig or a lot of continued bending.

What can we do help? Simple exercises can prepare us for the tasks ahead. Certainly warm muscles work better than cold ones and in other times and places a brisk walk or bike ride down to the allotment would certainly get our biggest muscle (our heart) pumping. The value of stretching is rather more controversial but to do some supported bending (leaning on the fence and doing hula hoop movements) can do no harm. See your osteopath for treatment to get your back working well and advice on what you can realistically achieve in the garden.

Digging is made easier by either not digging at all ever as is recommended by the “extreme mulching” faction of garden experts or by at least limiting it to the must dig tasks (potatoes). Use the longer handled leverage spades which are widely available now. Even the digging associated with potatoes can now be circumvented by the “bag of spuds ” I’ve got here. Just sprinkle a bit more compost and gradually roll up the side of the bag. Harvesting is then simply a matter of emptying the sack.
We have an excellent nearby resource at Herons Wood house in Dromana. The “Diggers Club” is an great source of inspiration and interesting seeds and plants just waiting to be reared by you. I now have a Gooseberry bush to look under, a Fig tree , Black Russian tomatoes, a Licquorice plant, Victoria plum all manner of citrus fruits and Rasberries which will make for interesting eating before too long .

In these difficult times for water conservation the practice of carrying buckets of water from the shower to the plants is marginally better than carrying the pot plants to a source of water but some backs just don’t “do” carrying and the large unsteady weight carried on one side is a frequent cause of back strain.

Being bent over for a prolonged period puts excess strain on the muscles supporting the back. Try sitting or kneeling for a time. This variation of tasks and posture works well for all situations. Unfortunately changes in hips and knees can preclude all squatting and kneeling activities even with a kneeler so raised beds are popular with more disabled gardeners.
This is the recommended posture for plant watching. The glass of wine is optional but generally found to be beneficial.

Sometimes “busy” people find gardening a dreadful chore and only fit in what absolutely has to be done to placate the neighbours or make the place look half decent for the relis visit. This is a high risk activity doing a job you don”t want to do , in an unskilled way, because you don’t do it very often, in a hurry because you are “so busy” when you are tired because you are “so busy”. The bad memories from the burst of compulsory gardening and the back pain put you off going anywhere near the garden until the next time the “bloody garden” is in urgent need .
Now is a good time to find some non-urgent time for the garden, plant some low maintenance plants and heaps of mulch. Promise yourself a half hour(no-longer) in the garden twice a week for the next month. Plant something you can eat.
There is nothing like the flavour and satisfaction to be gained from your own fruit and vegetables. Your calcium, iron levels and antioxidants will all be maximal. You will be healthier and help save the planet.

Keep your tasks manageable and varied. Enjoy !

Miles James