by Joyce Wedel
I really don't like to consider myself handicapped, but --- the truth of the matter is, I have now had three new knees, courtesy of a very fine surgeon. This does limit my mobility! But let me tell you how I am able to garden - lots of gardens.
I sit. I have a big thick cushion made of sponge rubber that I scootch on the ground under me. I am able to lean in as far as I can lay on my side, stretching all the way, and get that weed with my short hoe. This hoe is just 12" long, although I have one that is l5" that is heavier. I have a 5-gallon pail that I stuff the weeds and clippings into. When the pail is full, that is my weight limit anyway, so I go and empty it, either where the clippings can compost right where they are dropped, or into a wheelbarrow to take somewhere else.
My paraphernalia is complete with a small hand-clipper (lightweight for ladies and pink, of course) and washable garden gloves. By the way, a pink (or yellow or white, etc.) clipper shows up on the soil or in the pile of clippings so less danger of me throwing it away. Washable, cheap (99 cents) brown garden gloves. Works for me. I like a clean pair of gloves each day and if I touch poison ivy, I can just wash them out.
This is the time of year it is hard to resist transplanting. There's a hole here and there that I could nicely fill with an extra plant that has popped up. Sometimes, when George isn't home, I'll just transplant it anyway, and water it like crazy. It almost always takes, and if by chance it doesn't, I'm not out anything. The sure way to fill a hole is to get a new potted plant from Wedel's!
How wonderful the rudbeckia, or black-eyed Susans, are this year. I like a lot of one thing and rudbeckias sure do spread. Lots of office buildings and parks have great patches of yellow waving in the breeze. What a neat sight!
And Round-Up and Killzall are my good helpers. They are an invaluable aide to anyone who maintains a lot of garden. The trick is to get things weeded, and then just as the new weeds pop up, give them a good shot. Tall, dead brown weeds are quite unsightly, so I only shoot the short guys! Here again, I have modified to accommodate my knees. I use a three-gallon sprayer mounted on a luggage cart - a one gallon-sprayer always empties when I am too far from the water and chemical source, and three gallons is too heavy to carry. I've already worn-out one of these carriers.
Keep the water flowing! Sometimes one hot dry day can be a killer!
Happy Gardening!
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by Joyce Wedel
I really don't like to consider myself handicapped, but --- the truth of the matter is, I have now had three new knees, courtesy of a very fine surgeon. This does limit my mobility! But let me tell you how I am able to garden - lots of gardens.
I sit. I have a big thick cushion made of sponge rubber that I scootch on the ground under me. I am able to lean in as far as I can lay on my side, stretching all the way, and get that weed with my short hoe. This hoe is just 12" long, although I have one that is l5" that is heavier. I have a 5-gallon pail that I stuff the weeds and clippings into. When the pail is full, that is my weight limit anyway, so I go and empty it, either where the clippings can compost right where they are dropped, or into a wheelbarrow to take somewhere else.
My paraphernalia is complete with a small hand-clipper (lightweight for ladies and pink, of course) and washable garden gloves. By the way, a pink (or yellow or white, etc.) clipper shows up on the soil or in the pile of clippings so less danger of me throwing it away. Washable, cheap (99 cents) brown garden gloves. Works for me. I like a clean pair of gloves each day and if I touch poison ivy, I can just wash them out.
This is the time of year it is hard to resist transplanting. There's a hole here and there that I could nicely fill with an extra plant that has popped up. Sometimes, when George isn't home, I'll just transplant it anyway, and water it like crazy. It almost always takes, and if by chance it doesn't, I'm not out anything. The sure way to fill a hole is to get a new potted plant from Wedel's!
How wonderful the rudbeckia, or black-eyed Susans, are this year. I like a lot of one thing and rudbeckias sure do spread. Lots of office buildings and parks have great patches of yellow waving in the breeze. What a neat sight!
And Round-Up and Killzall are my good helpers. They are an invaluable aide to anyone who maintains a lot of garden. The trick is to get things weeded, and then just as the new weeds pop up, give them a good shot. Tall, dead brown weeds are quite unsightly, so I only shoot the short guys! Here again, I have modified to accommodate my knees. I use a three-gallon sprayer mounted on a luggage cart - a one gallon-sprayer always empties when I am too far from the water and chemical source, and three gallons is too heavy to carry. I've already worn-out one of these carriers.
Keep the water flowing! Sometimes one hot dry day can be a killer!
Happy Gardening!