aging gardeners

ECPep@aol.com wrote:
I deal with that issue (aging gardeners) every spring and here are some methods I have learned by way of a sore back and waning energy.
> Plan what to grow and cut that amount in half.
That, by far, is the hardest thing to do on your list! Half? HALF?? I'm having heart thumps just thinking about cutting my wish list by half!

Find some young man in your area and plan a day for him. Pay him enough to be happy to come and have him cut, prune, drag off brush, move rocks, mix soils, unload the car of heavy bags of peat and other things.
And it helps if he's attractive and tan . . . . giggle.


If you have a son or grandson, bribe him.

Promising them the garden as their inheritance doesn't work - I've tried!
Don't cut grass. Maybe you should not even have grass. Get anybody else to do it. Cutting grass saps energy and can ruin your ability to do anything else on a hot day. Some grass framing beds is quite nice but some to me means around 18 inches or one mower swath. Don't get caught up in weed free grass. Forget grass (lawn)
This is the only area where I have a slight disagreement with you, Claire. I would amend it to say get a lawn tractor with a comfortable seat and a drink holder (I'm guilty - I have one). I love the *zen* of mowing patterns in the grass and the smell is unbelievable. Besides, I have children who need to run and play, and the whole side yard is grass for them to play on - for now.

I live on 3/4 of an acre that was ALL grass when I moved in 4 years ago. I am making serious inroads into converting it all to gardens, but a large patch of soft grass on a warm June day just begs to be laid upon. I've had neighbors stop and yell *Are you okay??* when I rest prone on my grass during the garden frenzy months. Nothing beats it - and an 18 inch swath around the gardens just doesn't cut it for me (no pun intended!).

Thanks for many good tips and tricks for my aging gardener's frame.

--
Pat Mitchell
corgilover@wi.rr.com
Zone 5 - SE WI - no snow, no ice, just brown plants and grass.

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