Gardening for Old Folks (Adaptative)

[CapricornFarm]

I was thinking old bathtubs or Jacuzzis filled with soil would be good raised beds. The latter would need drain holes drilled in though.

 

[CapricornFarm]

View attachment 1207400

A view of my vegetable garden area. The rest of my boxes are at the end of the line.

View attachment 1207401

I have a secondary area where I grow asparagus, blueberries, pumpkin and squash. Last year I tried my tomatoes over there and they all blighted, so much for rotating crops. The red are my Cozy Kotes, they help me get my tomatoes in up to a month earlier.

Tell us more about Cosy Kotes please.

 

[chickmom3941]

View attachment 1207400

A view of my vegetable garden area. The rest of my boxes are at the end of the line.

View attachment 1207401

I have a secondary area where I grow asparagus, blueberries, pumpkin and squash. Last year I tried my tomatoes over there and they all blighted, so much for rotating crops. The red are my Cozy Kotes, they help me get my tomatoes in up to a month earlier.

Really beautiful! Your property looks like the kind of place I could easily spend the whole day gardening and sipping a drink on a park bench! What kind of medium is on the ground in the area with the lion statue? Kind of looks like grass clippings, but my eyes aren't what they used to be, so can't make it out very well.

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

Great thread idea! As each year passes, I have more difficulty tending to the garden. Lyme Disease, arthritis, yada, yada, yada...can really put a damper on crap. I'm going to be lurking quite a bit here if you all don't mind.

 

[igorsMistress]

Following

 

[chickadoodles]

Following

 

[CapricornFarm]

Great thread idea! As each year passes, I have more difficulty tending to the garden. Lyme Disease, arthritis, yada, yada, yada...can really put a damper on crap. I'm going to be lurking quite a bit here if you all don't mind.

Lurk away, throw in comments, whatever. Happy to have participants!

 

[microchick]

Hey @KettermanHillCoop Lyme disease. Been there had that and survived. I wonder how many folks here on BYC are Lyme survivors?

 

[CapricornFarm]

Hey @KettermanHillCoop Lyme disease. Been there had that and survived. I wonder how many folks here on BYC are Lyme survivors?

I am thinking i need to get tested. The ticks were bad here this past summer.

 

[lazy gardener]

Cap, I'm glad you started this thread. It will get a lot of mileage. I'm in amazing shape for the shape I'm in. My problem is that my work takes a huge toll on me. I can do this and that, but then have to pay for it for the next few days. Issues with back, hips, knees, feet, and shoulders. And my endurance has taken a huge hit. With some tasks, and some days, I'm only good for 1/2 hour or less before it's time to call it quits. So, even with full joint range, it makes sense to work smarter, and made every thing as ergonomic as possible!

But bales as walls for beds is something I'd like to look into more.

Beware with hay or straw bale gardening, especially straw bale... Many farmers are now using herbicides in their fields which can remain toxic on your land for many years to come. Some of these herbicides even persist in finished compost, when herbicide tainted hay has been fed to ruminants, and their manure has been used in gardens and compost. Bad stuff.

All that being said, hay and straw bale gardening are great for handicap accessibility. Either square or round bales. The bales need time to be conditioned, and should be positioned with good accessibility to hose/rain barrels.

They took the slash and stumps (we wanted the tops and trunks for firewood) and piled it at the base of a ravine where we were having problems with erosion. It made a remarkable difference in the runoff.

This was essentially a HK mound, or at least the beginnings of one. HK is a great way to use up rotting or trash wood, fill in a problem site, or build a raised bed.

Hey @KettermanHillCoop Lyme disease. Been there had that and survived. I wonder how many folks here on BYC are Lyme survivors?

That is an interesting question. Hubby was talking to his Doc about that recently, and the Doc said: "A huge number of folks will test positive for Lyme dz. but remain asymptomatic their entire lives." So, the follow up question would be this: How many folks are symptomatic for Lyme disease, compared to those who test positive but remain asymptomatic?