Tips For Gardeners With Arthritis

You love to garden, but lifting heavy pots, getting on you knees (and up again), and gripping tools are difficult because of arthritis. We know gardening is good for us physically and mentally. Gardening reduces stress, helps maintain range of motion, joint flexibility and quality of life. Gardening smarter lets everyone continue to enjoy this wonderful activity.

Plan to garden during the time of day you feel best; if you have morning stiffness, garden in the afternoon. Be sure to warm up your joints and muscles before you begin. A brief walk and some easy stretching first will get your body ready to work and help prevent injury. As you work, be careful not to put excessive stress on joints. Garden when you feel good but don't overdo it. That's good advice for all gardeners.

The right tools can make gardening with arthritis much easier. Wear gloves to protect hands and cushion them. A glove with a padded leather palm takes some pressure off the hands and assures a good grip on tools. Adapt those you have by attaching foam tubing to the handles to make them larger and easier to grip. Use ergonomic tools with extendable handles. If you need some new tools, consider those designed especially to reduce stress on the body. Keeping tools sharp reduces the strength needed to make the tool do its job. Use a carpenter's apron or a plastic bucket to carry smaller tools with you. With a lid for the bucket, you can leave those tools in a handy location by the garden. I keep small hand tools and other items in a mail box in my garden.

Let your larger, stronger joints and muscles work for you. Rest a flat of plants on your palms and forearms rather than gripping with your fingers. Lift by bending at the knees, not the back. Use a stool that is padded on top and bottom when getting down to ground level. It's a stool for resting or, turned over, it's a padded kneeling bench with legs that make it easier to get up again.

If bending or kneeling is difficult, bring the garden to you. Window boxes, hanging baskets, containers on wheels, trellises or raised beds are for all gardeners but especially for those with back or knee problems. Vegetables as well as flowers can be grown in containers and raised beds.

Choose low maintenance plants, especially for hard to reach areas of the garden. Planting shrubs or perennials that bloom every year or spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils, reduces the work. Many perennials will need to be divided after a while which requires digging. A gardening buddy can help with that job. If you have limited strength, annuals may be a better choice. If you're buying plants, smaller transplants are easier to handle.

Reducing the need to haul heavy hoses or buckets of water makes gardening more pleasant. Think about the easiest way to water your gardens. Soaker hoses are the answer for some gardeners while a sprinkler system works best for others. The right equipment and plant choices can make a big difference in how enjoyable gardening is for arthritic gardeners. Come to think of it, that's true for all gardeners.