Long in the tooth I am hoping to face up to my decrepitude
For better or worse, I tend towards denial when it comes to accepting the ignominious aches and pains that come with getting older. Despite the countless articles I’ve read about how to bend and lift using my legs and core to avoid straining the lower back, I find myself out in the garden hoisting big rocks and 40-pound bags of compost in a way that would make my physical therapist cringe. This year, I plan to avail myself of some new tools designed for older, crankier bodies (and minds). There’s a lot to choose from.
One pose we gardeners strike often is the kneel and crouch; a yogi might call it the praying mantis. This go-to position for weeding, digging and planting is hard on the knees and the lower back. Standing up without support after several minutes of this position can be life-threatening. To ease the strain, there is a lightweight padded kneeler with an aluminum frame you can hang tools on and hold on to when you’re ready to stand up. It can be turned upside down to make a garden seat for tasks that aren’t so low to the ground. Needless to say, I’ve never tried it myself, but this device gets very enthusiastic reviews. Hadley Garden Center sells them, as well as various online garden supply places including Gardener’s Supply Co. in Vermont.
I have also seen a nifty garden scooter online — a seat on wheels that can take you around the garden without having to stand up and bend. This looks appealing but does not move easily through grass, which limits its usefulness. It also is best confined to flat surfaces because it has no brakes. My garden has too much terrain to accommodate such a device. But if you have long, flat beds to plant, weed or pick, this might be just the right solution for you.
There are also a variety of ergonomically designed gardening tools that ease repetitive garden tasks that can lead to muscle fatigue, carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis. The Radius tool company makes dozens of trowels, shovels, spades, weeders, pruners and more with easy-to-grip handles that increase leverage while reducing strain on hands and wrists.
Hadley Garden Center carries a popular heavy-duty ratchet pruner made by Ironwood Tool Co. that’s gentle on the hands and wrists. If you want to splurge, HGC also carries a wide range of Felco brand pruners in various shapes and sizes designed to fit different hand sizes and strengths. You will be surprised at the difference an appropriately sized and shaped pruner can make after an hour of cutting.
Long-handled tools are an aging gardener’s best friend, eliminating the need to bend over to clip grass or pull weeds. Fiskars makes a line of lightweight tools with telescoping shafts that adjust to fit the individual gardener. These are available widely wherever garden supplies are sold.
The task of moving heavy things around the garden causes many backaches at the end of the day. A well-built cart or wheelbarrow is a wise investment. I use a heavy-duty cart from Gardener’s Supply that has proved invaluable and indestructible for more than ten years. I dimly recall that it wasn’t the easiest thing to assemble, but it has been worth that initial trouble. (Did I mention that I’m the world’s worst “some assembly required” customer?) I saw an ergonomically friendly cart online called the Simplay3 Easy Haul Plastic Wheelbarrow that has received positive reviews. It doesn’t have the large capacity of my cart, but it looks to be very easy to maneuver.
I am cautiously optimistic that having some elder-friendly tools might ease my gardening aches and pains. It would be wonderful if I could eliminate the Frankenstein-the-Monster pose that I always strike as I stand upright and prepare to quit work for the day.
Mickey Rathbun, an Amherst-based lawyer turned journalist, has written the Get Growing column since 2016.
Just a reminder, the annual GCA sale takes place May 18 is on the Amherst Town Common, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., rain or shine. Plan to shop early for the best selection of perennials, shrubs and small trees.
On May 23 from 5 to 6 p.m., Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge will host Ariella Chezar, one of the most sought after and highly regarded floral designers in the world, for a book talk and signing. Ariella Chezar’s newest book is Seasonal Flower Arranging: Fill Your Home with Blooms, Branches, and Foraged Materials All Year Round. The book provides gorgeous photographs, step-by-step instructions and projects that celebrate the splendor of flowers, the bounty of the changing seasons and the wild beauty of nature in your home. Her earlier books are The Flower Workshop and Flowers for the Table. She a master floral designer whose work has appeared in numerous magazines, including O, Martha Stewart Living and Real Simple. She is an instructor and artistic director at FlowerSchool New York and has designed flower arrangements for the White House. The event is co-presented with Berkshire Magazine. Members: $15/nonmembers: $10
Unique to the local plant sale scene this spring is the Northampton Community Garden’s 2nd Annual Clean Plant Sale. It will take place at the NCG’s 51 Prince Street, Northampton location on June 1 from 2 to 6 p.m. The sale will offer plenty of perennials, annuals and vegetables provided by small, local growers. There will be pollinator-friendly and native plants, and all stock will be “clean,” i.e. free from pesticides and safe for both pollinators and people.
Larri Cochran, Co-Director of NCG explains, “Our goal is to make it easy for our community gardeners and gardeners throughout the Pioneer Valley to find clean, non-pesticide treated herbs, vegetables, perennials and annuals to enjoy and also help support the small, local growers who dedicate themselves to growing them.”
This year’s vendors include That’s A Plenty Farm of Hadley, Bare Root Farm of Worthington, Wing and a Prayer Pollinator Nursery of Cummington, Crabapple Farm of Chesterfield and Nasami Farm of Whately.
There will also be information tables hosted by local organizations dedicated to sustainable habitat education. These include Western Massachusetts Pollinator Networks, The Conway School, Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association and Native Plant Trust (formerly New England Wildflower Society).
Every plant purchased supports our pollinators and the growers who lovingly help sustain them. Free parking and free admission. Visit Northampton Community Garden’s website at nohogarden.org for more information about the organization and its upcoming events.
The eighth annual Hilltown Spring Plant Swap will take place May 18 at Cummington Community House, 33 Main St. from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Bring your extra seeds, seedlings and perennial plant divisions to swap and share. Get new plants for your garden and meet fellow gardeners, seed savers, and pollinator-enthusiasts. You won’t leave empty-handed. You do not have to bring plants to come to this event. People at all levels of experience are welcome, including those who have never gardened before.
The event will begin at 10am. You will have plenty of time to browse and help yourself to the dozens of home-grown varieties of tomatoes, beans, kale, wildflowers, and many other crops, as well as perennial plant divisions including pollinator-friendly and medicinal plants. If you cannot attend the plant swap but wish to drop off plants, you may do so any time after 10 a.m.
Everyone who is bringing seed or plant material to the event is encouraged to list it online using our Virtual Seed Bank. Once you have registered (a quick and easy process), you will be able to browse varieties that other people in the Hilltowns are saving and perhaps bringing to the swap.
The suggested donation for this event is a sliding scale of $5-15. For more information, contact Sadie at 413-475-2692.