This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

[ENABLED] blind/low vision gardening

Well, this isn't an article, but here are some tips I've accumulated from
various places.

1.  Get inexpensive rope  and tie knots in it at spacings needed for
transplanting or planting.  Nylon rope is cheap so you can have one for each
distance you tend to use such as 1 knot every 12", 18", 24"  . It just
depends on how far apart you want to plant.  Feel for a knot and stick a
plant or seed(s) in.

I gave a workshop last summer for some ladies who are losing their sight and
they thought it would be very helpful.  Also, if you can't get down on your
knees to plant, use a pvc pipe to drop the seed through each time you feel a
knot with the bottom end of the pipe.

The knotted rope also comes in handy if you're gardening with children or
others that need a spacing guide.

2.  A similar planting guide is made from a 1 x 8" board.  Cut notches in
the board at the desired spacing distance.  Lay the board on the soil and
feel for the notches so you know where to put the plant.  The Royal National
Institue for the Blind  published a book _Gardening without Sight_ by
Kathleen Fleet that has lots of suggestions for garden aids.

3.  At a Master Gardener conference a couple years ago, the enabling
horticulture speaker got very very strong reading glasses from an
optometrist.  She had everyone put on a pair (7x, 8x) to get an idea of what
having very poor vision is like.  She had several plants to look at through
the glasses and everyone found that the brightly colored flowers were
easiest to see.  So, the suggestion..... don't just plant for texture, but
vivid colored flowers may make it more enjoyable for someone with very low
vision.

4.  Save old tennis balls, put them over the ends of garden stakes so that
if someone trips and falls on a stake they are less likely to be
impaled...... a good hint whether or not one can see.

Hey! the sun is shining!  gotta go,

Susan














At 09:25 AM 3/4/98 +0800, you wrote:
>some articles on how to garden when blind would be appreciated.
>Kind of gardening by touch so to speak.
>
>Thanks,  Tom Baccanti
>
>
Susan Schoneweis
sschonew@unlinfo.unl.edu
Extension Coordinator-
Home/Environmental Horticulture
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index