Gardening Tips: How to Avoid Pain

Grinning, greening and groaning: Tips with respect to avoiding pain

All right, so you are grinning. You have been greening, but now you are groaning, too. (Remember that if you had just tossed some seeds to the wind, or into some stream or low ying area, you would not be groaning right now. Mother Nature would have done all of the work for you.) 

You have been planting or gardening, but you overdid it  But you are happy, because you have accomplished a lot of garden work today and you know that by planting your garden, you have done your part to improve the environment. Good for you.

Perhaps you could have, should have and would have done more, but already you feel that you just could not possibly lift, even one more shovel full of earth. Now you are in agony, from all of the hard work that you have done. It feels like your back is out of whack and every bone in your body is hurting. You can barely stand up straight or walk. It is painful when you lie down. Every muscle in your body is aching.

Does this sound familiar? Is this what the aftermath is supposed to be like when you have been planting trees, shrubs, or a vegetable garden? What is wrong with this picture?

Should it not be grinning, greening and growing? That is more realistic and much less painful. That is the correct aftermath for all of your hard work, but unfortunately, if you insist on doing things the hard way, you will feel the pain in the end.

Here are a few tips to prevent this painful scenario from happening:

Plan your planting ahead of time, so that you are not trying to do everything, all in one day.

Work in terms of priorities, setting the most important ones first.

If you know that the work that you are planning to do, entails a lot of things that are too heavy for just one person, find a helper for the day.

Good body mechanics can prevent a lot of later aches and pains.

Use the appropriate tools and equipment for the job that you are planning to get done.

Keep in mind the reality that less can be more, as everything that you are planting will expand as it grows.

Learn how to prepare your soil ahead of time, so that you are not digging through hard earth.

Plan your work, so that it is done in the cool of the morning, or evening, rather than in the heat of the day.

Wear appropriate attire to avoid sun stroke, sunburn and blisters.

Invest in knee pads for the garden, if you are planning on spending a lot of time on your knees.

Work the soil within a day or so, just after it has rained and the soil will be so much easier to work.

Learn about compost and mulching, as that helps to retain moisture, fertilizes and lightens the soil and will give you much better results, in the long run.

Remember that a good part of what you have done today, will have to be done again in a few days or a week, so plan accordingly.

Just taking a few of these tips into consideration can save you agony.

Enjoy grinning, greening and growing.

Everyone will wonder what you have been up to and why you have such a happy smile on your face.