Blog - Backyard Medicine Cabinet

My parents enjoying their container gardens by the front porch in Maryland. Now that we’re in our fifties and our parents are in their seventies, we’ve had to begin adjusting our gardening practices and priorities to ensure it remains an enjoyable and manageable pursuit for all of us. As a young couple, our gardening goals were all about the highest yield at the lowest cost along with bragging rights for the biggest tomato or zucchini. As we’ve aged, our gardening (and life) goals have become increasingly focused on the joy and contentment derived from time spent sowing seeds, helping our small plots of plants thrive, and preparing a healthy meal from our harvest. We learned a lot as a young couple in college turning a quarter-acre plot at my future in-laws' property into a prolific garden. Our youthful optimism and enthusiasm overcame the physical exhaustion of watering, planting, weeding, and harvesting the large plot by hand. We correlated our success with an excess of vegetables that we shared with everyone we knew and even strangers who would take a bag of squash, tomatoes, or peppers. Not that we still don’t enjoy having freshly harvested veggies to share, but we’ve learned to design our garden to maximize our harvest of vegetables we enjoy eating in a small, accessible and easily managed space. Our experience seeing our own grandparents having to give up vegetable and flower gardening altogether long before their passion for gardening was gone was upsetting for the whole family and eliminated a huge source of joy from our grandparents' lives. In the past decade, we've helped our aging parents transition to more accessible gardening practices to extend the time they're able to garden independently. All of this has helped prepare us for reevaluating our own gardening plans now that we're in our fifties and reaching 'senior status.' Even though neither of us have limited mobility yet, many of these practices have allowed us to spend much more time enjoying our garden rather than laboring or feeling frustrated with gardening chores such as watering and weeding. The following nine tips represent what we've learned over the years to ensure we are gardening for as long as we choose to do so. 1. Plan your garden layout for accessibility. Regardless of your age and physical ability, you should always take the time to plan your garden layout to consider factors like sunlight and soil quality. Factors such as accessibility become increasingly important as bending, kneeling, and climbing over fully grown plants becomes more difficult. This could include simply making rows wider to allow room for a chair or stool for sitting while tending plants or even room to allow for walker or wheelchair access if needed for you or any family or friends involved in your garden. Depending on the layout of your garden, be sure to designate clear pathways between garden rows or beds and containers to provide easy access for maintenance and harvesting. You can even use materials like gravel or stepping stones to ensure stable footing. 2. Elevate your garden using raised beds. You can limit or completely remove the need for bending and kneeling by selecting garden containers that raise the level of the garden surface. Raised bed gardens can range from just a foot or two above ground level to a garden that can be planted, tended to, and harvested while seated or even standing. You can build your own custom raised bed or purchase from a large variety of raised bed gardens made from wood, brick, metal, stone, or plastic. Raised beds can also minimize the need for watering and simplify maintenance tasks such as weeding. There are many options for raised bed gardens depending on your personal preferences and needs. We recently shared a link to our Facebook community (shown below) of an example of an elevated raised bed that is both accessible and attractive - here's the link to check it out or search similar items on Amazon (paid link). As with all raised beds, it allows for accessibility from all four sides and, at 28.5 inches tall, little to no bending is needed to tend to the plants standing or from a chair, stool, wheelchair, or walker but is still short enough that children and grandchildren can help tend the garden plants. With a length of almost 6 feet across and 2 ½ feet wide, it is large enough to allow for multiple types of plants but compact enough to use on a patio or deck if desired. It is made of cedar and comes in multiple colors.This particular product does require assembly; click on this link to view this product or related raised garden products on Amazon. (paid link) 3. Plant high yield plants in patio containers. For those with very limited mobility and/or very limited space, containers allow you to bring your garden plants to you. In addition to elevating your gardening space making it easier to reach plants without stooping or bending, container gardening provides options allowing for gardening on a patio, deck, porch, balcony, or even indoors. Containers can be placed at a comfortable height, whether on a raised surface, table, or hanging basket, allowing easy access for planting, watering, and harvesting. There are containers designed to be hung from railings and overhangs or vertically placed on shed walls and fences. There are traditional window boxes and trendy containers specific for root vegetables with built-in access to the roots. They can be made of terracotta, glass, plastic, stone, and even cloth and come in every style, color, and design imaginable. Your plants determine the container size - from a small thyme plant to a fruit bush or tree. Although more expensive, many seniors find the convenience and aesthetics to be well worth the additional price. Similar to raised garden beds, container gardens minimize the need for weeding. Containers may require additional watering so location near an easily accessible water source or use of drip irrigation (below) is an important consideration. 4. Install drip irrigation to minimize watering. Drip irrigation and micro-spraying watering systems deliver water directly to the roots of plants, conserving water and minimizing the need for manual watering. Carrying heavy buckets of water or dragging hoses that can be trip hazards is burdensome to gardeners of any age but can be the final obstacle that makes seniors decide to give up on their gardens if they or their families can no longer keep up with the watering. The initial expense and installation of drip irrigation will be well worth the investment if it allows you to continue gardening for years and can be incorporated easily into raised bed gardens. For more information about drip irrigation and micro-spraying watering systems, check out this blog post. 5. Limit pests naturally with companion planting. This tip is is applicable for every gardener as it helps reduce or eliminate the need for pesticides and herbicides to keep your plants not only looking healthy but also keeping your fruit and vegetables safe to eat. Companion planting limits pests by planting certain plants that are known to deter pests, such as marigolds, near appropriate vegetable plants. In addition to naturally deterring pests, companion planting can also improve soil health which reduces or eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers as well. You can also intentionally attract beneficial insects and birds to your garden by incorporating native plants, bird feeders, and insect 'hotels' near your garden to also help with pest control naturally! 6. Adapt your current tools and equipment. Many of your current gardening tools can be adapted relatively easily by adding extensions or grips to the handles. Extensions allow for increased access from pathways or from a seat for those with limited mobility and grips making tools more comfortable to use for those with arthritis. My father-in-law turned an old kitchen chair into his ‘gardening chair,’ extending his ability to keep up with his prolific vegetable garden for years. Pool noodles in the garden? Although you can purchase expensive grips, we’ve found that cut up pool noodles that cost just a dollar or two to can easily be used to make tool handles easier to grip (and are definitely more colorful)! 7. Invest in ergonomic gardening implements. Not every tool you already own is adaptable so invest in tools that are lightweight with comfortable handles - this equipment is specifically designed to reduce strain on your joints and muscles which can make a significant difference in both the gardener’s ability to maintain their garden and in the enjoyment derived. The handles on the hand tools linked here are designed with a vertical grip to minimize pressure on your wrist; these and other ergonomic gardening tools can be purchased on Amazon using this link (paid link). Consider using gardening stools, knee pads, or gardening carts to provide support and reduce strain while working in the garden. We recently shared an example on our community Facebook page, below: The investment is worth minimizing the risk for injury. Click this link to check out a foldable stool with tool pouches that converts easily to a kneeling pad (paid link). We like how versatile this stool is because it can also be used as kneeling pad with sturdy arms you can use to push yourself up from a kneeling position. The fact that it's foldable and has pouches for tools are also helpful for any gardener! 8. Choose low-maintenance plants. There is a wide variety of options when it comes to selecting what types of fruits, vegetables, and herbs can be grown in any given climate. There is a wide array of types of each vegetable or fruit you plant so with a little research, either on a site like this or by speaking to master gardeners or garden center owners in your area or online seed and plant companies, you can determine which strains require the least care and the hardiest for your region. 9. Plan your gardening tasks to maximize enjoyment. Break gardening tasks into smaller, manageable sessions to avoid overexertion and plan these work sessions in the early morning or late evening to avoid working in the hottest part of the day. Pace yourself and listen to your body, staying hydrated and protected from the sun - remember to drink plenty of water and wear sunscreen, a hat, and protective clothing to stay comfortable and safe while gardening, especially in hot weather. Gardening should be a source of joy and relaxation! In a study published by Cambridge University Press, “participants reported numerous psychological, physiological and tangible positive benefits of gardening, together with the ways in which they had successfully adapted or limited their activities to continue gardening." (1) There will be plenty of time to maintain and enjoy your garden, take a break for a few days if you find yourself physically overwhelmed or frustrated with the tasks required. Take the time to appreciate the beauty of your garden and the satisfaction of growing your own food and flowers! Footnote: (1) Scott, Theresa L., Barbara M. Masser, and Nancy A. Pachana. "Exploring the health and wellbeing benefits of gardening for older adults." Ageing & Society 35.10 (2015): 2176-2200.