Help! Fall is here and I'm not only recovering from surgery, but am having a horrendous RSI flareup. I don't have much, if any, money to hire someone to help me with all my garden tasks. But I know if I don't do some work now, I'll not only not have a harvest to look forward to, but I'll have weeds up the wazoo. (I experienced that problem last winter when I had the first of these surgeries and couldn't do all the fall/winter prep.)
I have long backyard that consists of 4 inconveniently large raised beds in back (the old owner designed them) in which I grow most of my veggies along with companion plants and some herbs, deciduous fruit trees that grow mostly 4-to-a-hole, a legacy peach tree and fig tree, a brambleberry bed, numerous young standard citrus trees, feijoa, loquats, and an avocado tree. I also have spent hollyhocks, foxglove, and others that have gone to seed (some of which I've collected and some not). I have two artichoke plants I'd like to get rid of and put something else in their places. I have 3 citrus trees that were damaged in the record frosts this year and I'm having trouble deciding between replacing them now in order not to delay any longer on getting them caught up with my edible privacy screen, or buying them in spring so that the nursery has to worry about overwintering them. I have strawberries, currants and a gooseberry (that needs to be taken out of the pot and planted). I've got some seed garlic I want to get into the ground and I'd like to have a fall planting of snowpeas, haricots, arugula, potatoes, onions and lettuces.
The raised beds are choked with field bindweed despite as aggressive bouts of weeding as I can manage. I just tried going out and hula hoeing a plot to plant the garlic, but got distracted into trying to get some of the weed seeds out using a riddle. After realizing that could go on forever, I gave up and decided I was going to have to sheet mulch. Then I ADD'd into collecting Italian parsley seed and calendula seed.
Ack! I don't know how to prioritize this! I've had this disability for 12 years now so it's not like it's all new. But I'm more easily tired than ever before. I wanted a big yard and was warned about the upkeep but I felt prudent planning and preventative maintenance would make it manageable. I wasn't depending on my disability getting suddenly worse, though. Nor my job being in jeopardy and having way less income than I started with so that I can't hire anyone...
Here's my list of tasks, probably in no particular order:
- plant seed garlic
- plant seed potatoes
- plant poppy seed
- trim the brambleberries to encourage fruiting
- collect seed from all the various things I've let go to seed
- after collecting seed, cut down the hollyhocks and foxglove
- dig up the sow thistle and dandelion
- sheet mulch the areas that are hopelessly compromised by field bindweed
- clear infected debris from beneath the fruit trees and dispose of it properly
- clear leaves from under the strawberries and cut the dead stems
- renew sheetmulching in places where it's worn out
- decide what to do about the frost-killed citrus: replace now or replace in spring
- fertilize citrus for last time 'til spring
- buy or somehow prepare frost protection
- weed the woolly thyme path and mow it down so it's not so raggedy and can regenerate
- when fruit trees go dormant, dormant oil them
If I've got severely limited strength and energy, how do I prioritize things? Not only task by task, but within a task itself? For instance, I spent time riddling that soil and then decided it was too much work. If there are smarter ways of going about these tasks, ways to save time and toil, I'd love to hear about it.
I'm hoping I'll get better, but if I don't I may have to move all my annuals to container and have a container garden just because it's easier to control soil and keep the weeds out.
Need Help Prioritizing Garden Tasks!
spidra, please contact the largest church in your area, and ask if they have volunteers who can help you over this hump. It won't take knowledge for them to clear under the trees and help with some of the other tasks if you direct them. Part of getting well will depend on having less stress in your life, & your garden shouldn't cause stress. Cutting back on your garden will be hard if you continue to have problems, but I've found having a garden just around my patio (that I can manage) satisfying.
Gentle Hugs, Cathy
Thanks, cathy. I don't feel comfortable asking a church for help.
At least I got out and fertilized most of the citrus today.
Hi again Spidra, it is so very hard to ask for help, I certainly understand as I have had to learn to myself. Where I live, the High School students have to do an amount of community service. Perhaps there is a similar program in your area?
I'm a firm believer of pay it forward. If you have to accept help right now, when you are well, you can help someone else in some way, like sharing your fruit, etc.
I'm glad you got outside today, one thing off your large list!
Caringly, Cathy
Thanks, Cathy. What I've been thinking of doing is going on a local gardening list and offering one of my huge raised beds for the year in exchange for gardening help. We'll see. I have to be careful about that because I'm supposed to be getting housemates for this house and any housemate that gardens will want a share of that space (as well as the fact that if I get gardening housemates, I can share this workload).
Spidra, that sounds like a wonderful solution, good luck!
One of the things to consider are those folks who just enjoy working in the garden and helping people out. The types of tasks you have listed would be my idea of a grand time in the flower bed, and if it helped someone else at the same time that would even be better! As far as the "pay it forward" part you may actually be doing just that for someone by permitting them to take some of this load off of you.
If there is a local horticultural society I bet you might find some gardeners willing to help you out!
Or check with your local Master Gardener group. That would a be a wonderful project for them and help them earn hours for their certs!
Heh. As I am going into Master Gardener training in January...I wonder how they'd react to me suggestion that. :-D
spidra, I sure wish we could get more activity on this forum, there have to be lots of us out there who can't crawl around like we used to. I looked at an adjustable rake the other day, it was so light weight it was wonderful. I put it on my Christmas list. The garden tools that have the arm bands for wrist strength/protection are going back, they weigh a ton.
Yep, I have a shed of ergonomic tools, though not as many as I'd like. My big wish for an ergonomic tool includes a wood chipper so I can compost better. I can't cut things into little pieces before chucking them in.
Now that would be something nice to have, I have to put the larger stuff out for the yardwaste pick-up. I priced half wiskey barrels yesterday for raising more beds, yikes they are expensive. I know they last a long time, but I just can't bring myself to buy them, but I know I will in the end. Building boxes with treated lumber will cost just as much and I can't do the work anymore.
spidra, I would be very surprised if you don't get all the help you can handle from your MG classmates. And most of them have friends who are gardeners also. So do "cast bread upon the waters"! Nobody realizes you need help if you don't tell them. I know sometimes that difficult. Got the same problem myself sometimes. I was thrilled with the link to ergonomic tools. I need one of those roll around stool thingies, I get down and can't get back up very easily without help. I truly pray the doctors figure out what the heck is causing all this other than being older. Now they are talking fibromialgia.., we'll see, I know it's a tough one to diagnose, but they ought to be on my end..............LOL
doccat, when you decide what kind to get, let me know. I've tried all but the tractor seated one, it looks the best but I can't find it around here and hate to buy without trying. I have a plastic seat/cart, but it has seen better days. If you are a large person, make sure you check the max weight, some are pretty low.
Yep, I am a large person......and I was looking at the max weight on some of those. I'll let you know Cathy4, my Xmas list is starting to move into next year.....already! LOL