Stress Free Gardening

Many people think of gardening as a hobby, but in reality it is a very physical activity that can take its toll on the body when not done properly.  Gardeners often experience the back pain from bending over to pull weeds, dig in the ground or haul the hose across the backyard to water their garden.  Gardening, however, does not have to be so stressful on the body. 

Before beginning any physical activity, it is recommended to stretch and warm up the body; it’s no different with gardening.  Be sure you are stretched out and wearing proper clothes and shoes for working in the yard. 

A good pair of gym shoes or gardening boots that support your feet are important for every gardener to wear while working. Even if it is warm out and you’re tempted to throw on a pair of flip flops, your feet, and your back, will thank you for the added support from your sneakers.

After stretching and warming up, be sure that you are using smart techniques while working.  Lifting bags of mushroom compost and soil the proper way will save your back.  Remember: lift with your knees.  If you find yourself in an odd position while trying to reach for some weeds or spread mulch, and it hurts your body while doing the work, it will most likely not be any better later on. So be aware of how your body feels while you are performing taks in your garden, and adjust accordingly.

Using tools and other aids to help you with completing your yard work will also save some of the strain on your body.  Some of our favorite tools may seem simple, but they are affective in saving your body. A staple in every gardener’s toolbox is a good pair of gloves. These will not only keep your hands clean while working in the soil, but can help prevent cuts from thorns and blisters when using tools. 

Using garden kneelers and stools while working outside will not only help your back from having to bend a lot, but they will protect your knees from having the weight of your body on them while kneeling on the hard ground.

Long-handled shovels, spades, clippers and weeders will help you while planting, pruning and weeding.  The longer handles not only help you get a little bit of leverage, but will prevent you from having to bend over to pull a weed or strain yourself while reaching to clip an unwanted branch.

Another great tool for helping you from having to stretch too far is a watering wand.  Attaching one of these to your hose while watering your garden will allow you to easily water the base of the plants without having to bend, as well as reach the very back parts of your garden that may be a stretch with just the hose.

If you have heavy bags of mulch, soil or large pots to move, try using an aid like a wagon, dolly or plant caddy.  These will make mulching go much smoother when you have to haul all those bags from your car to the back of your yard. Plant caddies are great for any pots that need to be re-positioned for better light or put out after being stored all winter. Place the pot on the caddy and roll it to where you want it.

Finally, using container gardens and raised beds can help prevent backache.  These allow your plants to be higher off the ground, bringing them to you rather than you having to constantly bend over to reach them.  These are especially great for vegetable and herb gardens where you will be frequently harvesting your crops.

Another way to relieve stress on yourself is to plant low maintenance and easy to care for plants.  Some of these include drought tolerant plants that don’t need a ton of attention, including plants like geraniums, lantana, moss roses, sedums and begonias.

Other plants that can be a little more stress free are perennials.  Once you plant these and have them established in your yard, they will come back year after year. There are certain perennials that need more attention than others, so when selecting these for your yard, be sure they don’t need too much pruning or care.  A good way to go is to choose native perennials to the area. These tend to take care of themselves.

Bulbs are another easy plant.  Simply dig the hole, drop in the bulb and you’re done.  Planting your spring bulbs, like tulips, in the fall and your summer bulbs, like canna lilies, in May will give you beautiful flowers without a whole lot of work.

Finally, after planting your garden, use time-release fertilizers that you can sprinkle around once every couple of weeks or even months. This will help you feed your plants without having to constantly mix water-soluble fertilizer when watering. You can also use weed preventers like Preen and animal repellants to help keep your gardening simple and care-free.

Taking photos of what annuals you plant in your yard and containers each year will also help ease your buying each spring.  Seeing how many you bought and what worked best for you will help your spring shopping run smoothly.

In the end, if a plant dies, don’t stress. It happens to everyone, even master gardeners. Especially after a drought like we had last year, plants can’t necessarily make it unless you are really on top of watering and feeding them to make up for what Mother Nature cannot provide. 

For more information on Gardening for Stress Management , check out our free class on Tuesday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m. with Fisher Chiropractic.

Happy Planting!