Wellness Day at the Washburn County Fair – July 30

​Join our Master Gardeners at the fair when they present “Gardening with Ease”- Tips on making gardening easier on the gardener.   Their presentation will be at 1:00 pm on Saturday, July 30th in the Exhibition Hall at the Washburn County Fair, Spooner, WI.  

​Here’s a preview of their presentation:
Tips for Easier Gardening

• Don’t try to do everything in one day.
• Take a 10-15 minute break every hour or more frequently if you need.
• Plan your activities; gather tools, seeds, and supplies to avoid unnecessary trips.
• Stretch before you garden.
• Wear gloves and slip resistant shoes.
• Make sure your tools are sharp to make the job easier.
• Obtain assistive devices to reduce stress on hands, hips, and knees.
• Put resting places throughout your garden, a bench with a back will allow a better rest than one without.
• Place a watering source close to your gardens.
• Create pathways preferably 5 feet wide to accommodate you and your equipment.
• Install appropriate plantings, shrubs are generally lower maintenance than perennials, native lower than exotics.

Tools
Select tools that are best for you:

• Length of handle should be long enough for you to stand up straight
• If your hands get tired or sore, try retrofitting handles with foam insulation over the handle
• Sharpen blades before you use them, take file at a 20% angle to get a nice edge for hoes, spades, pruners (if you don’t want to do it yourself, ask at your local hardware store)
• Seed planting can be easier with a PVC pipe cut to a little higher than waist height; for smaller seeds use a hand seeder
• A kneeler bench can help you kneel and just as importantly stand back up and can be turned over to provide a nice place to rest
• Choose wheelbarrows, wagons, or carts with large rubber tires to make it easier to push/pull
• A hand truck can help you move heavier pots or bags around the garden
• There are hand tools that have ergonomic handles that put your hand in a better position and are cushioned or have larger handles
• Use a bypass pruner with extra-long handles to give you more leverage and not have to get so close to the ground

 
Techniques

• Use watering wands to get closer to the base of plants or leave stretcher soaker hoses in garden beds that need more frequent watering
• Mulch retains moisture, improves soil and suppresses weeds
• Move the garden closer to you by using containers, raised beds
• Put annuals in pots into your perennial beds to add color and make it easier to water and take care of them than if you put them directly into the bed