Gardening as a 66-year old Polio survivor

I thought it might be helpful for me to post some notes from my first year of gardening from my three wheeled electric scooter.
The first matter that seems important is that I bought my scooter year ago from the classified ads for $300. A new one like mine runs $2000 to $3000. And mine runs like new. I converted the battery charger compartment into a garden toolbox (the charger is best left out of a dusty and bumpy enviroment anyway). With the 360 degree swivel seat I have been able to tend my flowers and even harvest from my potato patch. To stretch out the labor, I harvest my potatoes as I need them. I figure leaving them in the ground is better than the unnecessary hardship of harvesting them all at once and storing them in my garage. Significantly, I do all this potato harvesting while seated in the scooter and simply put them in my front basket. I dig once a week only what I need.
I bought a hose reel that mounts at right angles to the house so I can grab the end and easily and smoothly peel it off 75 feet to the back of my yard. I can stand and it is also easy for me then to reel in the hose when I am done with it. It doesn't require much strength at all.
The joy of this first year is that I can do things that I previously thought were impossible for me. I found this out by leaving my apartment of many years and buying my own home with a big back yard to enjoy. I'm a year older now but I feel 10 years younger. I'm not nearly as handicapped as I thought I was.
I have many other notes but I'll stop here. I just wanted to post this as an encouragement to others.

I am editing this to explain that it was originally intended for the Disabled Gardeners Forum which has been put on hiatus. Though tailored to that audience, there may be some useful labor saving ideas for all gardeners such as growing potatoes under a black plastic sheet to eliminate mounding and other details like the type of hose reel I find most convenient.

This message was edited Nov 18, 2004 1:57 PM

Neat post, dwdruley. Welcome to DG! You're very encouraging. :) We need to mount our hose reel - it is one of the rolling kind with a handle, and it always ends up tipping.

Welcome to DG. Your post is wonderful and will give a lot of people great tips on gardening and just living this life to the fullest every day. I have seen those carts several times in the want ads for sale for about what you paid for yours. I have thought about having one myself just for the days that my back and hip aren't co-operating for me. Looks like I should get a little more serious. I didn't know they could go across such uneven ground as a lawn let alone a garden. Thanks for the post.

By all means buy an electric scooter. And for that matter a hose reel that mounts perpendicular to the wall of the house or deck.

It isn't difficult to find a used electric scooter for $500. The problem is finding the right one. Here's what I have and why I have it. It's a front wheel drive which gives me a tight turning radius of 32 1/2" and since it is only 21 1/2" wide and only 42" long I can use it indoors without the great cost of widening doorways and the like. I will never need a power chair or overpriced mobility device such as the "Hoveround". Can you visualize trying to garden in a Hoveround as seen on TV? I also have 8.75" tall tires which provide me with 4" of ground clearance meaning that I could not possibly get stuck in my yard (by the way, I also use the scooter on shopping trips since it has a 27 mile range on a single charge). If you want to garden with it, you should not buy a scooter with less ground clearance. It makes no difference how old the scooter is. It a simple device and mine will be running like new when both you and I are gone. The only important tip to keeping it in good shape is to charge the batteries every night whether you use the scooter or not. The batteries are very expensive Gell Cell types and they love to feel that charge every night. My scooter goes only 5 mph because that's an industry standard although I'm in the process of doubling my top end speed through a simple regearing since I want to cut my travel time in half when shopping and I will be twice as safe when I cross busy streets. By the way, I do drive a car but my scooter is sometimes more convenient. For example, for food shopping I have my own grocery cart that I hitch to the back and fill it then drive home right into my kitchen without having to carry one bag one step I can't do that with my car. If I haven't covered enough just post your question. I'll be watching this thread because my philosophy is "He succeeds best who helps others succeed".

As to the hose reel question: Just click on my name and email me and I will return to you a hyperlink directly to the hose reel I bought. It's a little pricey but it will last a lifetime.

Regards to you both.



This message was edited Sep 9, 2004 10:25 AM

This message was edited Feb 28, 2005 2:43 PM

This shows how bad my short-term memory is, LOL...What did it say before? You're right, Terry is a very warm person. This forum doesn't get quite the readership that others do, but the ones who do read and post are faithful!

This message was edited Feb 28, 2005 2:44 PM

Uh, oh, what's that say about me? LOL

Kinda like people say Peter didn't have much faith because he found himself sinking as he walked toward Jesus on the water. Hey, at least Peter got out of the boat! ;)

Right! Do you have any interest in my link for the hose reel?

Sure, why not. Can you just post it here in the thread? I bet lots of readers would like to check it out! :)

Awww, shucks. Thanks! BTW, I think we recently added a Watchdog entry for a mailorder hose reel place....yep, here it is: http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/3497/

Dave, I don't know if this is the same one you ordered from, but if it is, I'm sure they'd appreciate feedback; if it isn't, lemme know if there's another similar company out there. (The Watchdog's motto is: the more vendor's the merrier ;o)

Gardenwife & Terry;
I will post the link to my special hose reel as soon as you (Gardenwife) willl teach a beginner how to insert a hyperlink into his post and, while you're at it, how to upload pics. No one less than Terry told me that you, Gardenwife, would be an excellent source of help for me. Terry knows that I am a beginner with DG.
Terry, I checked the link you posted and that's not my source. My hose reel is such a helpful thing for a disabled gardener that you might want to delay posting any other until you see it (after I learn how to hyperlink) if your Watchdog entry constitues a reccomendation.

Terry;
As if you needed any more proof that I am a beginner! I just now realized that the post I replied to was directly from you. I didn't think the "head brass" got involved in these threads. Oh well, my learning curve is starting to improve. Am I correct that you are THE Terry at DG?

This message was edited Sep 9, 2004 10:31 AM

Gardenwife;
I went to the link that Terry gave me and that's should be all I need. Thanks.

Hi, I'm just catching up after being out and about a lot today. If you still need info tegarding the hyperlinks (or any text for that matter), this might help: http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/viewentry/10202/

Posting pictures is addressed here: http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/viewentry/24595/

I'll post a new thread later with a pic of my scooter and a link to the hose reel. In the meantime, I'll do my DG homework. Thanks.

The link to the hose reel is: http://www.myreels.com/gardenpd.aspx

Too pricey for me. :-)

not all that pricey, if it really will last. And I have a friend who is gonna love seeing your scooter/three wheeler. She needs some thing to allow her both corner store and garden travel.

I'm gonna show her this post. Thanks and welcome to Dave's. So good to hear you have a new life. ~Blooms

If my hose reel doesn't last 15 years, I'll be surprised. It's built like a BMW. Does that make any difference to you imway2dumb?

Yes it does. Right now my hose is stored where I last used it! LOL

Well, here she is as she stands today!

Not much to look at now especially since you can see the duct tape and wires on the console. That's because I'm only halfway done with the job of doubling my top end speed.

When I get that wiring (and maybe regearing) job done, I'll post a "pretty" pic of her with my grocery cart hitched. Be forewarned that my grocery cart is not one of those little bittie things - it's big enough for me to nearly lay in a winter's supply of groceries and cut my food shopping trips in half. My cart looks different because I've customized it but the original can be found at the follow link at a price that maybe even imway2dumb might approve: http://gardeners.com/Shopping/sell.asp?ProdGroupID=18743&cmCategoryID=9

Another couple things missing in this picture are things that I thought might appeal to imway2dumb: A cup holder for my lemonade and the umbrella I'll want for those hot sunny days. Just kidding but who knows - I'm having so much fun with this project!

You can see my potato tool in the front basket and the garden tool box in the rear. The seat is low enough so that leaning over is the same as if one was working on a manual scoot.

OK. What do you think?

Regards.

That garden cart has been on my wish list for some time now. A scooter is too but, since I am still able to ambulate it has a lower priority right now. Besides, my wish list is loooong! dw, it is not my place to approve or disapprove. Its just cheaper to store my hose where last used. The savings can then be used to remove another item from list. :-)

imway2dumb;
That makes great sense to me.

:-)

:-)

I just recently got one of those four wheeled wagons exactly as you see it in the above post at Home Depot for $59.95 and I believe the usual price of it is $20 more. I love mine already and haven't gotten to use it much because my DH who didn't want to buy it has used it so much that he always has a load on it.

I may have to buy a second one next year. lol

dwdruley - Where are you? Are you OK? I happened across your thread and started reading with interest and then noticed the thread seems to have stopped. Let us hear from you.

Judy

OK I found you, you just moved on to talking Cameras & Hostas!!!

Have a good day.

Judy

Thanks, Judy;

Now you know all my secrets. I just hope that my electric garden scooter gave at least one person some hope and encouragement to get out and enjoy all the pleasures of gardening (and digital photography) regardless of their physical circumstances.

Frankly, I was expecting and hoping for more feedback that I had realized my goal.

Warm Regards,
Dave

I thought you provided GREAT information and were extremely encouraging.

Keep up the good work.

Judy

Dwdruley you certainly helped me. I am a polio survivor of 1944 and have been suffering with PPS in my golden years and had to limit my gardening and many other pleasures in life such as short walks whereas I can walk no farther than 25 feet and then must rest. I would like also to meet some of my neighbors and bring them some tomatoes but can't walk that far. Your posting has given me new hope. THANK YOU AND WELCOME TO DAVE'S GARDEN

Thanks Tplant,

Your response makes all my work on the thread worthwhile!

May God bless us both with many more years of an active and independent life!

Regards,
Dave

Since there seems to be some ongoing interest in this thread, I thought I'd post an update and talk about the gardening I've been able to do this past summer with the mobility I have - all while working seated in my electric scooter.

Since I enjoy a good baked potato for lunch and I love seeing hummingbirds dance around in the air, those two items have been my main priorities.

To attract hummers, I have planted Dropmore Scarlet Honeysuckle (which grew 8 feet taller the first summer), Scarlet Trumpet Vine, Bee Balm, Cardinal Flower, Butterfly Bush, Red Hot Poker and various Hostas to name most of them.

I also planted a 4 X 16 foot garden to give me a big splash of red to attract hummers to my yard since hummers are hard to come by in South Bend, IN. This being my first year I made a mistake by choosing hybrid Red Impatiens. Though it gave me the beautiful red I wanted, I found that Impatiens are not hummer friendly, and even if they were, hummers don't like feeding that close to the ground. Come spring, I'll try a different strategy.

My potato patch was also 4 X 16 feet and it was a great success. I planted Norkotas and harvested 100 pounds from the patch. To make this much easier for me, I grew them under a black plastic sheet which eliminated all the tedious labor of "hilling" or mounding the potatoes as they grew. These Norkotas are sweeter and more moist than any potato I've ever bought at a market.

I'm including a picture just taken showing where my potato patch was with the hummingbird garden behind it. I'm getting a new digital camera so I will be able to post better pictues later.

All in all, I'm pleased with the success I've had this summwer and the many, many hours of pleasure it has given me.

Tell us more about the black plastic and potatoes. Did you just make holes for the potato bush and cover the plastic with dirt?

I started by first laying down a several mil thick black plastic sheet. I anchored it with landscape staples every 4-5 feet. I then cut a 4 inch X wherever I later wanted to insert my potato starts which were 60 in all (12 inches apart on center).

I opened the "hole" in the plastic when I planted and then closed it. The potatoes quickly sprouted up thru the slit in the plastic. I gave them all a good denching of water immediately after planting but thereafter no watering at all on the advice of an ag agent with whom I worked.

As a result, the potato patch was totally maintenance free and yielded 100 pounds from a 4 X 16 foot patch which I am told is better than average.

This is what the black plastic sheet looked like as I began my harvesting. Notice that the vines in the backgroud have "died". I waited for that - again on the advice from my ag agent.

This message was edited Feb 28, 2005 11:49 AM

The pics you see in this thread are all from my little "bittie". I am keeping it for as long as it takes for me to educate myself on digital photography. There is, however, a limit to what one can expect from a $99 camera.

The "next" camera I referred to will be capable of hummingbird shots though not as good as you post. I understand that you can get hummers as close as 3 feet. Is that true? If so, how do you pull that off?

This message was edited Feb 28, 2005 11:50 AM