Lifestyle Trends
Stay Healthy, Keep Gardening
Aging doesn’t mean you have to give up gardening, which can keep you physically and mentally healthy. You just need to use the correct tools. Also, consider gardening with raised beds or containers, which can be easier on older bodies. Click here to view article.
LIFESTYLE
Stay Healthy, Keep Gardening
Michael Taylor started his first garden, in a small Chicago backyard, when he was 13. Later, as a father and husband raising seven children, he maintained a large garden behind his suburban home, growing tomatoes, green beans, sweet corn, radishes, peas, green peppers, basil and dill. After he moved to a senior retirement complex, in his 80s, he had a small plot in the shared gardens space, growing a few tomatoes, green peppers, dill and basil. It was only at the age of 91 that he decided to retire from his lifetime pursuit of gardening.
For many older adults, like Michael, gardening has been a lifelong hobby, especially for those who grew up planting “victory gardens” to aid the war effort. But many seniors worry that they will have to give up gardening as they get older and cannot easily bend, kneel and squat to dig, weed and prune. For others, moving to an apartment/condo means the loss of yards and gardens.
Aging doesn’t mean you have to give up growing your own tomatoes or roses. Using the correct gardening tools and taking advantage of garden innovations such as raised beds or containers can make it easier for older bodies. In fact, many assisted living communities are offering raised garden beds as an amenity. You can also take advantage of community gardens or sign up with the local garden club to beautify public
Health Benefits of Gardening
Beyond the pleasures of growing our own food or other plants, gardening stimulates all the senses, gets us outdoors and provides many health benefits, both physical and emotional. Studies have shown that gardening relieves stress, eases depression, boosts self-esteem, increases heart health and reduces the risk of stroke. It also improves hand strength and dexterity, increases brain health, decreases Alzheimer’s risk and regulates the immune system.
When practiced regularly, gardening can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol and prevent diabetes and osteoporosis. It gives all major muscle groups a good workout including your legs, arms, buttocks, stomach, neck and back. Digging up soil, setting plants or carrying water can increase heart rate and tone the body.
Gardening is also an excellent way for aging bodies to get “moderate cardiovascular exercise,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The National Institute of Health recommends 30-45 minutes of gardening 3-5 times a week to combat obesity.
Raise Up Your Garden
To prevent having to bend over constantly, and to avoid back strain and knee problems, you can raise the level of your garden.
Raised bed. Create raised beds with lightweight plastic landscape timbers or other materials at the height you need, including wheelchair height, and just add dirt. Make sure you can reach the middle of the beds from either side.
Container gardening. Those who don’t have large yards, or have limited mobility, can use containers on balconies or small spaces. Place them at the right height for you, and consider wheeling them around on castors to catch (or avoid) the sunlight or rain. (See sidebar for tips on container planting.)
Vertical garden. Grow your garden upward, with trellises that can hold cucumbers, squash, melons, beans and other vegetables that have vines. You can also use tomato cages, bamboo stakes, fences, walls or arbors as supports. These will help cut down on bending and stooping, and they’ll make harvesting easier.
Gardening Aids
To help avoid physical strain, look for the right tools at your local garden center, nearby hardware store or online website.
To avoid knee pain, use a kneeler stool, which has a thick foam pad that’s comfortable on the knee joints, plus hand grips that make it easier to get up from a kneeling position. Once you’re up, flip the kneeler over to convert it to a comfortable stool. Similarly, a garden seat with wheels provides stability, and some can hold tools.
Choose tools that are longer and made of aluminum rather than steel. Aluminum tools are lighter, and longer tools help prevent over-stretching and provide more leverage. For less strain, buy ergonomically designed handles and tools. If your vision is poor, use tools that have brightly colored handles, or add your own bright colors with colored tape.
Other tips for making gardening more comfortable:
- Choose padded gloves, which will provide protection for your hands when you are leaning on them.
- Select a spinning compost bin so you don’t have to reach into the bin to turn it over.
- Use watering wands or coiled hoses rather than straining with heavy watering cans.
- Opt for two-wheeled wheelbarrows to avoid having a heavy load shift.
- Punch small holes in the lid of a jar, mix seeds inside and sprinkle them on the soil from a standing position. This prevents you from having to bend over to plant your garden.
- Add foam grips to existing tools to soften the handles and add traction, or include “grabbers” or extension poles. These tricks are especially useful if you have a condition, such as arthritis, that makes holding tools painful or impossible.
Join a Garden Club
If you don’t have any soil to call your own, consider joining a community garden, which gives you a small plot of land in a larger, shared space. Usually, the local government or a nonprofit runs community gardens and charges a fee for the land use. Many senior living facilities also provide shared spaces for residents to grow vegetables and flowers. One of the pleasures of a community space is sharing tips: which nutrients to add to the soil, how much to water or when to harvest your winter squash.
In fact, the American Community Gardening Association ascribes all kinds of positive attributes to participating in community gardens. The association claims that community gardening “improves people’s quality of life by providing a catalyst for neighborhood and community development, stimulating social interaction, encouraging self-reliance, beautifying neighborhoods, producing nutritious food, reducing family food budgets, conserving resources and creating opportunities for recreation, exercise, therapy and education.” The association provides a “Find a Garden” option that locates community gardens near you.
Similarly, garden clubs provide a social aspect to gardening. Today’s clubs do much more than plant flowers around the Civil War statue in the town park. According to the National Garden Clubs, they teach gardening skills to developmentally challenged high-school students; plan, plant and maintain healing gardens in nursing homes and veterans hospitals; provide gardening education and encouragement to prison inmates; work to re-landscape hurricane-damaged public areas; help Habitat for Humanity homeowners establish low-maintenance, environmentally friendly gardens; and rehabilitate parks and vacant lots. The National Garden Clubs can help you find a club near you, or you can check your local media or ask at nearby gardening centers.
Sources
“6 Unexpected Health Benefits of Gardening,” Sept. 19, 2015 Earth easy
“Today’s Garden Clubs Are Globally Focused and Locally Grown,” National Garden Clubs
“Growing Community Across the U.S. and Canada,” American Community Gardening Association
“Gardening’s Surprising Health Benefits,” May 30, 2014, Next Avenue
“Adaptive Gardening Tools: Tools That Make Gardening With Limitations Easy,” Gardening Knowhow
Gardens For Senior Citizens: Creating An Easy Care Senior Garden, Gardening Knowhow
“Easier Gardening for Seniors,” DIY
“Growing Connections: Gardening with Seniors,” Agingcare.com
“Tips and Techniques for the Senior Gardener,” Agricultural Extension
Tips for Container Gardening
Gardening with containers looks easy, but you need to take some precautions.
Container. Choose a container with good drainage. Be aware that containers made from clay and other unglazed pottery are porous and tend to dry out more easily than other materials.
Water. Container gardening requires special attention to watering because plants can’t get water from the soil, only from you. Water plants frequently, especially when it’s hot.
Plant. Although almost any kind of plant is suitable for a container garden, the plant’s root length will determine the container’s required depth. Plants with long roots will need deeper containers, whereas plants with shorter root lengths will do fine with more shallow containers.Sunlight. Adequate sunlight is essential to any successful garden, and container gardening is no different. Keep in mind you may need to move your plants from one location to another to follow the path of sunlight.
Source: “Novice Container Gardening Tips,” Gardening Knowhow.
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