Easy on the KNEES
Gardening can be a physical challenge. These tips make it accessible.
Gardening benefits our physical and mental health. But for older people or those with a disability, the prospect of kneeling or bending over to tend to a garden can sound daunting.
Fortunately, gardening can be made more accessible to those with physical challenges like arthritic knees, chronic pain or severe fatigue, says Jay Schulz, a disability and health researcher at the University of Vermont.
“Gardening can be extremely accessible if it is set up correctly,” he says.
The Washington Post spoke to gardeners with disabilities and other experts for their best advice on making gardening more accessible. Here’s what they had to say.
Limit kneeling and bending with raised beds or containers
Raised beds can make gardening more accessible for people with mobility problems, says Wendy Knowlton, program supervisor and chair of a committee that teaches gardening skills to adults with disabilities at the Dartmouth Adult Services Centre in Nova Scotia, Canada.
For gardeners who use a wheelchair, a bed can be raised high enough that the wheelchair can be rolled directly up to the garden, she said. A U-shaped raised bed can be particularly useful, she said, because someone can sit in the middle and reach all three sides from the same location.
Instead of gardening on the ground, try container gardening, which involves growing plants in pots or bins. Put the container at a height that is easy to reach, and make sure you can move the container easily, says Phyllis Turner, 77, a Virginia Cooperative Extension master gardener with arthritis who teaches seminars on adaptive gardening.
“I firmly believe almost anyone can do gardening,” Turner says. “Even if you’re in a hospital bed, we can pull a table across, you can plant seeds into a pot, you can set it in a windowsill, and they can grow.”
Plants grown in containers tend to have fewer diseases and insects, making them easier to care
for, she says. One potential downside is that the soil dries faster, so plants may need to be watered more often.
Remember that kneeling or bending can put stress on the joints and on the spine, says Alicia Green, a horticultural therapist at Chicago Botanic Garden. People with joint pain, such as arthritis, or mobility problems, should limit the amount of time they are kneeling or bending over in their gardens.
Use a garden stool or rolling gardening chair
For people with joint, pain or mobility problems, a garden stool or rolling chair can help.
Charis Hill, 36, of Sacramento, Calif., sits on a cart with wheels to roll alongside the vegetable beds. Hill has health conditions that cause painful joints, fatigue and mobility problems. But Hill has used accessible gardening methods to create a backyard oasis of plants, fruit trees, flowers and herbs.
“Gardening is a place where I’m reminded that I have a place in this world that’s safe and that I have control over,” Hill says.
Try a reversible kneeling bench
Some gardening tasks require kneeling. Toni Gattone, 75, of Sonoma, Calif., recommends a reversible kneeling bench with foam padding. Gattone is a master gardener with chronic, severe back pain and arthritis who offers adaptive gardening seminars. She says an advantage of the reversible kneeler bench is that the legs of the bench can also be used as a hand grip to help push yourself up off the ground when you are kneeling.
Get extendable or long handle tools
Extended reach tools are essential for gardeners with physical limitations. A watering wand can be attached to a hose to make it easier to water plants. A stand-up weeder relies on a claw at the end of a long handle to uproot weeds.
“You want the tool to do the work for you,” Green says.
Find ergonomic tools with easy grips
Look for lighter tools that are easy to lift and ergonomic tools where the handle is bent in such a way that it reduces the amount of twisting or provides the force you need to use to do tasks, such as shoveling soil. Some tools come with straps, which can be useful for someone who has poor coordination or weak hands. Some gardening hoses come with a hook that can keep the handle squeezed for you.
When selecting your tools, Gattone recommends going to the store and asking a salesperson to take the tool out of its packaging so that you can feel how comfortable it is for you.
You can also make the tools you already have easier to grip by adding foam padding, wrapped on each end with tape, Turner says. She recommends buying pipe insulation and cutting it to match the length of your handle.
Ease the labor with automated or selfwatering devices
Use labor-saving devices at every opportunity, Turner says. This helps reduce the amount of work you need to do and can reduce any stress on your body. “Gardening is more fun when it’s less labor,” she adds.
Because of her disabilities, which cause chronic pain and require her to use a wheelchair, Rosemary McDonnell-Horita, 29, of Berkeley, Calif., doesn’t always have the energy or ability to water her plants each day. To compensate, she buries terracotta pots (with the drainage hole plugged) into the soil, fills them with water and covers them with a lid. This way, water slowly seeps through the clay pot into the surrounding soil.
“I only have to water my plants every few days depending on how hot or dry it is,” McDonnell-Horita says.
Try seed tape
Seed tape already has seeds on it that are correctly spaced out and can be buried directly in the soil as is, which can be especially helpful for blind gardeners or gardeners with intellectual disabilities, Turner says.
Reduce strain on joints with orthopedic aids
Hill wears prescription knee braces and notes that wearing orthopaedic aids provide stability and reduces joint strain while gardening.
“Wear braces even when you don’t think you need them,” Hill says. “I’ll often put them on as a reminder to not squat so low because it’s painful. When I’m in the groove, I’m not thinking about the ramifications of what I’m doing.”
Compression socks or sleeves can help reduce inflammation, swelling and soreness from gardening, Gattone says. She also recommends stretching before gardening and switching your activities so that you don’t do any single gardening task for more than 20 minutes at a time.
“You can use different muscle groups and avoid repetitive movements to avoid pain,” she says.
Utilize free public resources
Look for your state’s master gardener programs, which may often offer classes on adaptive gardening to get hands-on learning, says Kathleen Wellington, 72, a master gardener living in Fairfax, Va.
The National AgrAbility Project at Purdue University maintains a database of tools that can help people with various disabilities who want to garden. The site can be tricky to navigate, but Paul Jones, program manager at the project, recommends looking at tools labeled “Gardening” and “Vegetable, Small Fruit, and Flower Production.”
Jones has worked with farmers and gardeners with a wide range of disabilities, he says, including people who have amputated limbs or who are quadriplegics.
“Don’t rule yourself out,” he says.