Those of us who spend warm spring and summer days digging in the soil and getting our fingernails dirty don’t mind a bit of work; after all, as the cartoonist and illustrator Lou Erickson once said, and as we all know, “gardening requires lots of water-most of it in the form of perspiration.” But no one wants their gardening to become back-breaking labour, with all the aches and pains that can result from it. A few techniques and tools can make it easier to care for plants while they are maturing.

This summer, like so many prairie summers, has been fairly dry, so our gardens need regular watering. Soaking the soil is more time-consuming than giving it a light shower, but will cut down on the number of times you need to water through the summer as plants absorb most water through their roots. Compost and manure, in addition to providing nutrients, break down the soil so that the water can easily penetrate it. Using a hose to spray water onto the soil can be made easier by attaching a sprayer to the hose, which allows all the watering to be done from one position or while sitting down. On hot, dry days, watering in the evening is more effective than watering in the morning or afternoon since the water does not evaporate as quickly.

Even gardens that have been mulched or planted thickly with flowers and vegetables need to be weeded from time to time, but several tools can make the job easier. Long-handled hoes and hand trowels with good, sharp blades can be used to work the soil while standing upright or sitting down, minimizing the need to bend over and reducing strain to the back. Tools with large, easy to grip rubber or plastic handles can reduce strain to the hands and wrists; gloves can also help you to get a good grip on garden tools. Large, thick, deep weeds can be easily removed using long-handled push-pull weeders, which cut weeds from beneath the soil, specialized hoes called weeder hoes with blades on the back that pull whole weeds by their stems, and gripping weedpullers, which grip weeds with a claw so that they can be pulled out of the ground.

Many routine tasks that need to be done over the summer such as weeding, thinning, harvesting, and composting can be a source of strain, but there are a few ways to minimize it. When you need to kneel down, kneeler stools provide comfort and are easier on the knees and back; some feature handles to make it easier to push yourself up. Lightweight wheelbarrows make it easier to transport compost, veggies, and garden tools, and some gardeners even use sack trucks to transport heavy objects like boxes of vegetables. Small, lightweight shovels make lifting and spreading compost less arduous. When lifting needs to be done, be sure to lift with your knees and not your back, and when bending over, bend from the hips rather than the waist. Perhaps the most important thing to do is to pace yourself and take occasional breaks to rest and stretch.

Gardeners don’t mind perspiration and dirty fingernails, but with a few techniques and tools, it can be relaxing and refreshing work that everyone can enjoy.

Submitted by Jennifer Bobowski

This entry was posted on Friday, July 17th, 2009 at 12:51 am and is filed under Dirty Little Secrets.