Talk about feeling old (and fat)...UGH!
At 55 and over weight I'm having a harder time getting up off the ground and sore muscles after a day in the garden has become the norm, especially legs and feet from getting up and down alot.
I have a Garden Hopper
http://www.step2.com/indexEng.cfm/action/details/category_id/1001/subcategory_id/1016/product_id/1096.html
but all too often I like to get down on the ground to weed. The Garden Hopper is an aid at getting up but I don't always keep it handy. The No Mercy tool I recently got via a co-op here has been helpful. The long handle allows me to weed easier from the Hopper and gives me more reach.
I'm not able to re-vamp to raised beds at this time so I sure would appreciate any tips.
Since I don't want to be taking pain killers all the time what natural remedies do you use to treat sore muscles?
Thanks for any comments.
Being over weight and 50 something is catching up with me
Has anybody tried this "Garden Kneeler"?
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2132498
Hi, no I haven't tried that one, but it is neat too. I have a garden hopper almost like yours, it is older model though, and it is a life saver for me potting up pots, cause sitting on the ground or in a chair kills my back!!! I also have a metal wagon with big tires to pull my plants around, and it helps a bunch, got it a few years ago at SAMS. I prefer to sit too on the ground, but I am always saying "help I can't get up!!" LOL> which really isn't funny anymore!!!
If you come up with any ideas, let me know please!!! Cause I need help!!!!
that might be a good one to use. I had one of those chinzy ones--metal and plastic, hurt to kneel on it!!! So I got a rubber one from Wally world, just a kneel pad. Talk to you later, and happy gardening, any which way you can do it, I say do it!!!!!
Ruby(rose_petalzz)
I have a bench that is similar to the garden kneeler..it is light enough to carry around with me, and it is good at aiding me to get up when I do end up, on the ground.
This message was edited Jun 4, 2006 10:08 PM
Ruby I have a knee pad I use too. Has anybody used those knee pads you strap on? I'm tempted to buy that kneeler due to probelms getting up. A wagon is a very good idea. I am always losing my tools and leaving things behind even though I have the hopper to put things in and I am forever walking back and forth.
Looking forward to hearing your tips.
I posted my best tip here:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/611502/
OH! On sore muscles... I read recently that drinking chocolate milk is just as good as sports drinks because it had the right amounts of carbs to protein your body needs after working out (or gardening) so I'm going to try that using Ovaltine in skim milk because it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup (bad for you) in it plus it has added vitamins and minerals. Now that sounds better than Gator Aid doesn't it? ;-)
I have a garden hopper and it was okay, but at age 75 I have problems with balance, and leaning too far risks falling. I now have a tractor seat scooter. The seat swivels 360 degrees and tilts in the direction I lean which helps me keep my equilibrium. My weight problem is that there's not enough; my doctor says I should weigh 120; I slipped to 98 as of last week. My checkup is set for the 27th - I know she's gonna fuss.
I also have a heavy duty metal wagon on pneumatic tires.
Yuska
Thanks for sharing!
Where did you get that scooter?
At Gardener's Supply. http://www.gardeners.com The lever on the front lets you turn the wheels so that you can go around corners without getting up.
I have one also! Can"t do without. This is my second one as my son uses the old one for washing the cars etc. I like my new one better because I can steer it. It also has trays that can hold all my tools, seed packets, fertilizer, pruners, spray cans of all types(insects) and whatever. Every gardener with any kind of health or disability challenge should have one. They are a blessing and the price is right...
Tplant where did you get yours?
I need to get one!
From "Gardeners Supply"
THANKS! :)
I need that too, very nice!!! Is it low enough though so you can weed and plant? My little hopper is the right height for me.
Yuska, be careful and take care of yourself. Cottage Rose, I love the idea of skim chocolate milk for the protein and energy. I am diabetic so that would help me out, thanks for that tip!!!!!
Ruby
Hey Ruby I think choc milk is better than gatoraid anyday of the week! ;-)
I have also been finding that 6 Shaklee Alfalfa tablets in the morning and 6 at night help with muscle pain.
Good point Ruby...tplant that device does look a little tall.
How tall is it at the seat?
THE "GARDEN SCOOTER" IS LOW ENOUGH TO PLANT SEED PLUS THE TRACTOR SEAT IS HEIGHT ADJUSTABLE. It really is fantastic.
The seat is a couple of inches higher than my hopper, but because it tilts when I lean, I have a better reach than from the hopper. The seat is much more comfortable, and I find it is easier to rise from it. I'm going to offer the hopper on freecycle.
This message was edited Jun 9, 2006 2:21 PM
Here's a pic of my new wagon . It is so helpful to move containers to new spots, or bags of potting soil, or garbage bags to the curb.
Quote Yuska: "I'm going to offer the hopper on freecycle"
What does this mean?
Freecycle is a nation-wide group where people offer items they no longer need or use. People can also list items they need or want. Everything is free; no money changes hands. The chapter here is very active.
Oh thats good to know!
Here's the link
http://www.freecycle.org/
look for your area, and city
thank you for that link.
Yes, freecycle is terrific and so is that wagon, just like mine! I would not be able to do anything without it!! Try freecycle, you can ask for things as well as offer things, it really works!!
I use some cheap foam knee pads that I got at Home Depot. They help a lot. I don't need anything fancy, although I'm thinking of getting something low to sit on when I weed or harvest. I'm over 50, overweight, and my joints sound like a percussion session.
But I refuse to grow old.
This is my first post on DG but oh do I relate. I just told someone today that I think I take better care of my plants than my own body. I am fat and over 50 and the getting up and down is really getting to be a problem. The joint and muscle pain is getting worse and I think I am addicted to advil. I laughed at the response about leaving tools everywhere because I think I spend more time looking for things than I do actually gardening.
I think what helps me the most is rotating my chores. It helps my body a lot if I weed for awhile then get up and deadhead for a while or prune then back to weeding, digging, etc. It takes thought though because my natural way of doing things is to get in a do it until it is done. I am finding I can't do it any more. All that said, I don't know any better way to get sore than to get out and dig in my garden. In a strange sort of way, it feels good to hurt this bad!
YOu are not along Nanakins, I garden crazy, when I am well enough. Right now the heat is so bad, just watering takes all day, well until I almost pass out!!! I garden haphazardly too, because I will be planting ; and see something else that needs to be done, then I am off to that, get back to planting and watering, see something else.....................LOL, you know the drill. :) But being overweight is terrible for me; cause I know the joints don't move as well and sometimes when I get on the ground(forgive the pun) I can't get up!!!!! Luckily I have my cane that helps me out. And if it weren't for my little scooter thingy(brain dead), I would not be able to plant or dig. So join in the club and if you have any brilliant ideas on what we can all do to get gardening again, please let us all in on your secrets!!!!! :):):)
Rose_petalzz
Lose weight for starters. ;-)
rotating chores is a big definite plus. stretching beforehand, during, and after too. it's especially hard to remember this while you're on the way to get the mail or newspaper and see something that you just 'have' to do LOL. for my sore muscles i use medibeads - they provide moist heat from the microwave - or if you're in the need for cold instead of heat to feel better, you can put them in the freezer. i also use biofreeze too - it's kinda like bengay. for sitting, i use a garden rocker [or used to before i broke my ankle] it is lightweight and easy to carry. not so sure that i'd like the scooter. our ground isn't so flat [can't get the wheelchair around] plus since my kneew are the only good part left on my body, i'd be afraid of messing them up driving the scooter around. may be worth a try tho when i'm better.
handhelpers --- The scooter does have large balloon tires and this makes it a lot easier to get around.
t = how do your knees hold up?
There is not that much pressure on them, far less than standing or walking. Don't forget they are large balloon tires and roll easily. Even if you used it just to sit on you would be far better off than you are now. It eliminates kneeling and with the adjustable seat it is easy to bend over and plant seed and far easier to tend to the garden. Try it ---- all that have love it!
My first time on this forum but I sure do appreciate all of the good info. I've been to the Gardener's Supply website and saved it in favorites. I'm going to show my DH the garden scoot and beg for it for Christmas or before! I have two artificial legs (below knee) and kneeling has become a problem, if not dangerous! I actually broke a prosthetic foot trying to get back up for the kneeling position and these things are not cheap. I love the tractor style seat in the pnuematic tires. The seat looks like it would fit my ever-expanding rear end and the tires should make it pretty easy to maneuver around on our uneven ground! My only question - how easy is it to get off of it. does it roll with you when you start to get up? Is there a break mechanism? Again thanks to you all for the wonderful insights into continuing to garden after 50.
I am also trying to lose this weight. The legs were never meant to carry it and it makes the summers even harder to bare. I've gained the majority of it in the last 5 - 8 years. Seems like I just woke up one morning fat but know it came on slowly and will be slow getting off!
msfarmergirl, I think the tractor seat is not only easier to rise from, but also easier to get seated. My balance problem seems to be mostly in my knees - they seem to want to "jitterbug" a lot. The seat as I have it adjusted is about an inch below a regular chair seat, so the knees don't have to compress much. The pressure on the tires as I sit or rise is enough that the unit doesn't move at all. The seat is wide enough that I can put my hands at the sides and give myself a little push to rise easily.
This unit could be useful in other activities as well. My brother - 7 years my junior - tried it out when he visited and promptly ordered one for himself. He restores antique tractors and finds the versatile mobility ideal for working on the "innards" of those machines. Yuska
That garden tractor is definately on my wish list!
I showed my husband a picture of it last night, hoping he would take the hint. His response;" I could probably build you one and maybe put a motor on it" (I'm married to a redneck Tim the Toolman). I told him I didn't need a motor; that I prefer peace and quite while I'm puttering in the flower beds. He pouted and said "but you could do a wheelie!" Anyway, I'm saving my pennies for the garden scoot. Thanks for the info. Tried pushing a wheelbarrow full of mulch up a hill this AM and thought I was going to pass out. I've got to learn my limits!
It's easier to pull than to push. That's why I like my wagon so much. Turns easily, too, without tipping.
Yes, it is important not to over-exert. Sometimes making two trips with lighter loads is worth the extra time required.
LOL @ msfarmergirls hubby
LOL Msfarmergirl. Your hubby sounds priceless like Tim the toolman Taylor. My hubby said when I showed him a picture of it "you sure you can't get one from Freecycle?" Here he is always telling me to tell him what I want for birthdays and Christmas and this is my response? LOL
I got to try one of these out at a friend's friends house last week and it was GREAT. I love the steering one better than the older one though. She had both but won't sell the old one because sometimes she can get her DH to sit on it and help her in the garden. Says he eats the produce too so he can help her. He better not meet my DH who does the bulk of my weeding. I don't want to lose my slave. shhhhhhh LOL
Lani