Our daily lives can be very hectic with jobs, appointments, volunteering, and with other duties. We may get to enjoy a few relaxing moments in the garden or admiring a pretty view during the week. But when the weekend comes, we become weekend warriors and join 84 million other Americans doing the same thing — gardening.
For many of us, gardening is our primary form of exercise. Garden related injuries are on the rise because we have not been using those muscles and motions during the week. Besides the problem of being less physically active during the week, weekend warriors often try to fit too much work into their gardening schedules. Using common sense and slowing down a little will help reduce the chance of injury. Also, take frequent breaks and drink plenty of water so you won’t be sore the next day! Do finger and hand flexes daily to help strengthen your hands. Try some raised garden beds or ‘table-top’ container gardens to save your back from all the bending.
Do you find yourself stretching or getting into really awkward positions just to get ‘one more weed’? Make yourself move over just another step instead of reaching out too far. Try moving around more in the garden while you are working and don’t stay in the same position very long. The new extra-long handled tools may look pretty strange, but they keep you more upright with less strain on the back.
Help in the form of ‘ergonomic’ tools is well worth checking into. Motions that are repeated over and over are hard on the body. Ergonomic tools are designed to decrease those harmful motions and the amount of strength used to do the work. When you shop for garden tools, look for hand tools that reduce the amount of wrist movement. Some tools, like the new goose-neck handled trowels, keep the wrist from bending. They may look really weird, but they are much easier and less tiring to use. Some spades are designed to absorb impact with their special handle shapes and padding that extends down the shank. Find pruners that comfortably fit your personal grip and operate with a spring return. Many of these new ergonomically designed tools can be found on the internet, or in the smaller garden centers that often fill these specialty niches.
While doing your weekend gardening this fall, consider planting some bedding plants that will provide color through the winter month.Flowers to plant now include Shasta daisies, pansies, petunias, and snapdragons. Keep in mind that flowers increase your maintenance time, so try putting some in containers. Grouping containers will add lots of winter color, but will be much easier to water, fertilize and deadhead.