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Healthy Habits for
Gardening
Gardening is one of the
most popular & loved pastimes. Taking a sensible approach to how
you do things in the
garden can give you more time & energy to devote to this pleasurable,
creative & satisfying
activity.
Here are some tips on
doing things wisely & safely in the garden.
Rationalise & keep tasks simple
Collect all the materials
and tools you need and have them ready at hand in a bucket or
wheelbarrow, to save traversing the
garden back & forth endless times. Save your energy
for gardening.
Decide beforehand what
tasks you will tackle and try to stick to them, so that you have the
satisfaction of seeing fruits of
your labour. Avoid branching off into a myriad to halfcompleted
tasks, which can be
demoralising, as garden tasks can seem insurmountable!
Be comfortable
Gardening when sitting
is often most comfortable. Avoid bending over excessively or
awkwardly. Protect your joints.
Avoid using muscles or holding joints in protracted
positions. Change tasks &
posture frequently and avoid awkward positions & postures
than cause muscle strain & fatigue.
Work at a comfortable
pace. Take regular breaks to rest & admire your work.
Drink water to keep you
hydrated.
Sun & skin protection
Especially in summer,
garden at cooler times of the day, early morning and evening. Avoid
the heat and high
ultraviolet exposure of the middle of the day (11 a.m. to 3 p.m).
Always
wear a broad brimmed hat and
high SPF sunscreen on exposed
parts of your body. Wear
clothing that is comfortable,
but protects you from sun, insects.
Choosing Tools
Finding the right tools
to use to make gardening safe, comfortable & enjoyable can be
difficult. Finding just the right
tool depends very much on the individual gardener’s
abilities, the nature of their
garden, and the tape of gardening they want to do. When
possible handle the tool before
you purchase it. Check that the weight, & size of the tool are
suited to what you want it to
do. Whenever possible, test tools before making your
purchase.
Here are some guiding principles for tool selection & use:
• Choose tools that are
the correct weight for your body, build and strength.
• Choose lightweight tools
(e.g. newer metal alloys & durable plastics), especially
important for tools that extend your
reach.
• Enhance comfort &
grip by modifying handles with padding (e.g. foam insulation
that can be slipped like
a glove over too handles) especially helpful for those with
reduced gripping strength or
arthritis. Even wearing snug gardening gloves can help
grip & protect your
hands.
• Ergonomic tools are
designed to work with your body’s mechanics. Long-handled
tools save you having to bend
& stretch to out-of-reach parts of the garden. Longhandled
tools are most effective
when gripped with both hands close to the body
rather than extended, so
adjust the length of the tool appropriately. Long-handled
tools improve leverage. A
range of long-handed tools is available, including
watering wands and pruners.
• Assistive devices which
make tools user friendly are available (ref). For gardeners
with very reduced or no
hand function, use rehabilitation equipment such as cuffs,
braces & utensil holders.
Attach garden tools & modified eating utensils to cuffs &
splints, to function as garden
tools.
• Keep cutting tools well
maintained & sharp to mimimise the force
needed to use
them.
• Try children’s
gardening tools as these are smaller & lighter & require less
strength
to use. Such tools are
often suitable for gardeners who use wheelchairs or who work
from a seated position.
• Kneelers & knee pads
are an option for gardening tasks at ground level.
Re-design your Garden
Sometimes it is
necessary or desirable to change the layout and nature of your garden, so
that you can garden with
greater ease and pleasure. Simple changes, such as incorporating
a raised garden bed,
using container plants, or vertical structures, widening garden paths,
can make gardening easier
and less strenuous.
Mulch improves soil texture, suppresses weeds &
conserves soil moisture, and so is a
labour-saving strategy on several
counts. Minimise time & effort associated with weeding
by smothering the soil
with mulch or better still, groundcover plants.
A No Dig
Garden
Digging the soil can be
arduous. It also disturbs healthy soil micro organisms. It is better to bring
the soil to a
comfortable working height (e.g.
with raised beds), appropriate tools & posture and then create a no-dig
garden with layers of mulch.
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