Riddle Time:
What goes out more than teenagers? My back.
What do Rice Krispies ™ and my knees have in common? They go “Snap, Crackle and Pop” when used.
Do you give friends, at a moment of excitement, “Medium 5s ” because your shoulders don't like your arms in the high position?
If you can relate to any of these, you might be a gardener – a gardener that could also have mobility issues and degenerative changes to your body. One of the joys of being a gardener is the peace and tranquility of working the soil and watching things grow. You also know that you bend, move soil, reach, pull and twist to different and often awkward levels to do a task. What should make us happy and contented, can also cause us pain. The truth and reality of living a long and productive life is that many of your body parts wear thin or completely out, on top of being painful. As many of my peers say, “Growing old is not for sissies.” I am also very well aware that even children can be challenged by this and many other mobility ailments. Many of the things I will feature below can be applied to them as well. For simplicity, I will be using generic terms that can be applied to many physical challenges.
As a sage old physical therapist and long-time gardener, I ask myself, “What can be done to modify those tasks that are the most physically troublesome to make things less painful and fun again?” I do not like to be in pain, so some of these issues are personal. I'd like to share “seeds” of wisdom with you that I've gathered.
I start out with looking at my garden and/or task to determine what is the most difficult task I do that hurts and start there. The main one is going to ground level and back up. Let's think about this from the ground up. Heavy lifting, carrying, tossing and/or reaching from the ground may be physically unsafe. You could hire a helper for those big, heavy tasks in your garden or think of ways to move bulky items into smaller containers. You will make more trips with a lighter and more manageable load rather than going for a big grunt effort. Buying smaller bags of products instead of big bags will make the task slower, but easier and less stressful.
Getting down and then back up from ground level soil work and planting, is difficult for some, especially the coming up part. Give credit to gravity for the going down assistance. There are stools and other adaptive devices that can make that task easier. If you don't have to go down as far or reach as far, that is a step in the right direction. Also, while in that low posture, you are probably reaching and digging with small tools. Getting tools that have longer handles that do the job while you are sitting will also help reduce the strain from sitting or kneeling and then standing back up. They could be used while standing or sitting depending on the task and length of the tool.
Okay, if that is still too hard to do from a sitting or standing posture? Answer: If you can't bend down, raise the soil. Think about raised planters at waist level and 24” or 48” wide. Purchase or make wooden boxes with wire mesh bottoms to keep out gophers and moles Have them waist high so you don't bend far and the width such that you can reach across the box. In a 24” wide box, you should be able to reach to the other side of the box. With the 48” box, you should be able reach to the middle with your tools from either side. 
You can even consider getting a galvanized raised garden bed (aka stock tank). Here is one that can be found on most search engines. It's a 6'x24”x 24” galvanized tub.
Raised planters will also give you a handhold to stand back up. The layers of soil, drains and insulation for the sides of the trough is another discussion. Or this raised garden bed with legs, wooden planter box for those with limited bending or if they are in a wheelchair. It is raised up on posts so your legs can fit under the planter.
As far as the surface around the planter, that has to be considered as well. If you are capable of walking without assistive devices, (Cane, walker, wheelchair) the soil in the yard should be okay. Adding and packing down hard gravel should be considered for cane or walker users. If still unsteady or wheelchair users, a cement path wider than the walker or wheelchair would be needed.
If you have the option, place the containers closer to the house to reduce the distance you need to walk to tend them. If you have stairs, consider getting a long ramp with 1' length for every 1” of height of the stairs. For example, if the height of the stairs is 24” the ramp should be 24' long. If you wish, a firm path could be used instead of a ramp. Railings and non-skid surface are a must in either case.
Though the focus of this article was to promote the idea of raised planter boxes, the same concepts would work for other containers or vessels. Flower pots, large jugs, birdbaths, bathtubs, bicycle baskets, or old blue jeans can be used and admired from a standing or seated position. Have fun and work safely. I can you dig it, can you?
Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143. Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.
Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.
