Gardening

The best way I have found to work in the garden is on my hands and knees. But then I don't do much work- I let dh do that. When necessary (weeding or turning soil) I go bum up and boy it works my shoulders!

Same here. I love doing almost all the works on hands&knees and it is easy this way.
Sometimes I bend from the hips, lumbar curve in place, great exercise for the hamstring muscles.
Can't wait to garden, we have HUGE snow here for weeks.

Re being active: I was all active last summer (with freshly found POP and a 6 mo), and it was hard sometimes, but I made it. This summer is gonna be a breeze! :D Really, do not worry about being active, do a lot "bum in the air" , and b aware of the posture, let yourself rest a lot in the evenings and you'll be just fine.
Liv

Fellow gardener here. I too do the bum in the air thing. When I hoe I stay in posture as best I can. My son(11) helps me with any heavy lifting. I pay him well(it's a great motivator when you are 11). I also take a nap with my 21 month old in the afternoon. I find laying down for an hour really helps my rectocele feel better. Some days it feels like I may have done too much, but things are always better after a day or two.

Mellie

I've just got a small garden, its a raised bed 4X4 square foot garden which needed very little to maintain. dh did most of the lifting/hauling to fill it. I did the weeding/harvesting on hands/knees and the kids helped.
we also had some containers going on the patio for cherry tomatoes and string beans and herbs. also easy to care for.
this year I'm hoping to build another 4X4 raised bed if dh can find the time (I say 'I'm hoping to build' but I mean 'I'm hoping dh will build').
I'm envious of your 'real' gardens. and chickens too! would love to have some chickens, dh even looked into it for me but we can't legally have chickens here.

Same here gals. I was crying yesterday, such a beautiful day and wanted to work in my garden. Kept trying how to do all this in ww posture. Hands and knees was ok and watched other angles. Our beautiful leader is right.gotta find what works best for our individual bodies. I was trying to rake the lawn but the angle is not good. Trying to figure that out. So glad I can read all your comments, I have learned so much. Love You all

Hey Ribbit, I am so happy for you, nibbling bits out of your garden!

Another technique I use a bit is to plant in big tubs. I have a couple of 44 gallon olive drums that I have hacksawed in half and cut the bottoms out of them for drainage. I bury them in the ground a little, just to keel them stable, and fill them with soil and compost. Then I plant seedlings or seeds, sometimes mixed, eg tomatoes and basil, then when they are established I mulch them with shredded paper to conserve moisture and keep the soil cool in summer, and prevent weed takeover in winter. I like my big tubs because our dogs don't lie in them, or run through them and mash up the seedlings, and I can sit on an old, low kiddy's chair, legs akimbo, and plant and weed to my heart's content.

No dig gardens are great too. Just pile the soil and compost on top of a bit of weedy ground which you have covered in half an inch of old newspapers to prevent the weeds growing up through your soil. Maybe put a border, or wire mesh ring, around the outside, or just heap up the edges to stop water from running off. Then put about 6 inches of straw mulch over the top, and plant down into the compost and soil. The earthworms love the warmth of a raised bed, and will soon do all the cultivation for you, and break down the straw mulch. The weeds underneath will rot and the worms will also break up the newspaper base and bring nutrients up from underneath. Erfwurms are so cute!

You can make a spare tub into a liquid manure factory, and add all sorts of things to the brew, and decant off the lovely smelly liquid and pour round the base of your little planties. Mulch uses nitrogen to break down, so you need a source of nitrogen in your liquid manure to boost the soil nitrogen. I'm not telling what I use for that. Just keep it covered and the top weighted down well if you have free range kiddos!

Establishing gardens in April is the one thing we all have in common, no matter which hemisphere we are in. The last of our Western Australian wheatbelt's, really hot weather has almost passed, so winter seedlings will now survive their first week without frizzling. Our winter vege gardens are usually the most prolific and fun to do, because our summer vege crops have to be protected from the extreme summer heat and sun, and can be a bit frustrating. Enjoy!

Louise

Re raking, try doing it to the side of your body, like the video of Nikelle vacuuming, or across your front; or just hope for a windy day, and let the leaves make their own arrangements. Evergreens, eh?

Or just pull them out and plant concrete instead. No leaves. Not.

Louise

Hi Ribbit

I would think a handle extension would be quite easy. you could slip a section of PVC pipe the right size over the end with as much extra length as you think you require, and fasten a couple of screws through it into the wooden handle. Or you could just go and buy a length of broom handle the right length and replace the whole handle.

Are you raking a seedbed or raking up leaves? I think the longer handle will work better either way because you can get it flatter to the ground and stick your butt out.

If you are raking leaves and have a power lawn mower you could just put it on high and mush them up and collect them in the grass catcher, a bit like a power-vac. It is an awfully noisy option though!

I find pushing lawnmowers, trolleys etc with my hips is quite POP friendly. Much better than pulling, which makes me tuck my butt under. You can't push a rake very well though!

Good luck. I think learning to love leaves is much more POP friendly.

Louise