Accessible Gardening: Practical Matters for Physically Challenged Gardeners #18, 1 by Sansai87

Sansai87 wrote:
The lasagna method Carrie mentioned is a good way to create low raised beds. (Hi, Carrie! We're a 4-computer household again so I'm back.) Lasagna beds are a lazy gardener's dream. They take such a little amount of work. I'm in my mid-20's and have no arthritis or anything like that, but I'm very low energy because of thyroid problems and chronic anemia. I'm always looking for lazy ways to grow food. The downside of lasagna gardens is they take time to compost down and are only about 18" high. That's okay with me because I prefer to work sitting on a cushion on the ground and I have more time than energy.
Jim is in his early 50's with serious back problems and chronic pain, he likes to work sitting down, if possible. He has scrounged all sorts of super sized containers that allow him to work sitting down in his W/c or a lawn chair that is light enough to move easy, but sturdy enough to hold his bulk. The high-rise beds are made of everything from spa-size bathtubs, the drums of washers and clothes dryers, old barbeque grills and even a refrigerator. Kay dresses the finds up with ornamental concrete work and I paint them. Jim's garden space is busy looking, but too funky and artsy to resemble a junkyard.
MK is virtually blind and suffers from too many birthdays, as she puts it. Defined edges on beds is her major concern. That way she doesn't accidently step in them. She likes me to put hardscape or perennial plants around my low beds. She has osteo-arthritis that primarily affects her knees and hips. She is in good physical condition for someone her age and incredibly stubborn. Those qualities make it possible for her to do almost anything in the garden if she has her walker nearby to help her get up and down. Jim's sitting beds and hanging pots are her favs though. Also, she has created pots atop post for the shady areas so she can garden standing up. A container has to be very large to go in sunny locations here because they dry out so fast.
I'll post some photos of some of the sitting and standing beds later when the smell has faded a little. Creating fertile soil organically can be a smelly business.
Photo: Guess what Jim and Kay are doing today? (The pic is of my pick-up bed filled to over-flowering with barnyard fertilizer, IO1. Missed you all! Nadine, the Frog Queen
P.S.: They better clean out my truck bed when they are finished!


This message was edited Apr 10, 2014 2:28 PM