Tips for gardening with arthritis

Brynmor

The sun is out, and the sky is blue, so it’s the perfect time to get stuck into the gardening. Spending some time outside on these longer and lighter days can help our wellbeing too, especially in this time of lockdown. It's a chance to enjoy nature, plant some seeds, watch the birds and boost your vitamin D.

For people with arthritis, gardening can be more of a challenge. If you get tired easily and have painful joints, tending your plants may seem like more trouble than it’s worth, but we can all enjoy the pleasures of gardening if we change how we do it. 

Read our tips on gardening with arthritis:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2021/april/tips-for-gardening-with-arthritis/

Brynmor

Mike1

I have always enjoyed gardening and growing my own but as my OA rapidly spread and got worse I became unable to carry on. To make life easier and also to negate the overwhelming feeling of frustration when I looked at it I decided that the best thing would be to put in plastic grass, raised beds etc. Being physically unable to do the work myself I contacted gardening clubs in Cornwall and groups that supposedly offer help to the disabled and only one responded and that was in the negative. Not having much spare cash to be able to enage someone to do it and also pay for the materials I needed I approached the Gardening For The Disabled Trust https://www.gardeningfordisabledtrust.org.uk/ and they were able to pay for the materials up to a limit, all they wanted was photos of the way the garden was and a plan of what I wanted, then all I had to do was submit invoices for everything that I purchased for the garden. Afterwards they asked for photos and a bit of a write-up about how the alterations had improved life for me. All in all a good experience which enabled me to get most of what I wanted done. Well worth a look if you are in a similar situation.

Kazza52

I love being out in the sunshine and tending my garden. When the weather is hot and sunny I do gardening for about an hour each day and if I can I sit down when weeding, potting, etc.

Some garden centres are also doing home deliveries to people who are shielding which is a great help.

I also find that the sun (but remember to use sunscreen) has a beneficial effect on my joints and find that when gardening/sitting in the garden my joint pain subsides.

If you are able to get in your garden it also helps with your mental wellbeing.

Lilymary

I thought I’d resurrrect this post as there appear to be a few new forum members who are keen but frustrated gardeners. If anyone wants to add more tips on what they’ve found works for them, I’m sure it would be really helpful. @Brynmor , the link to the article doesn’t seem to be working. Would you be able to share it again please?

Thanks for letting us know @Lilymary , sorry it's taken a while to spot the discussion! Link now replaced Yx

wazz42

A tip from me too

I can only do any task for at the most 30 minutes before I have to stop completely/change job/stretch muscles so I select some songs on my phone and when they finish I know it's time to break off. Hard if you are in the middle of something but so much better than not getting into the garden at all the next day, and maybe the next as well

Hope it helps x

Spider

I too love gardening but cannot kneel anymore! Help!!!

Fran54

Hi Spider

I too love gardening and also because of osteoarthritis in my right knee, I cannot kneel anymore. A few years ago, I bought one of those seats/kneelers which you can sit on. I find it quite helpful when weeding individual pots. As for general weeding I use a long handled hoe for digging up the weeds, then I use it as a prop to bend down and pick up the weeds.

I do limit myself to about half an hour of gardening at one time, as I know I will suffer the next day otherwise!

I must admit that now I have a gardener to come in and do the more strenuous jobs, like digging over the vegetable patches, then get my lovely husband to plant the veggies for me😊 ( He does suffer with back problems, but does help me when he can)

I find my garden helps me too relax and is a diversion from thinking too much about my health problems. Hope this helps.

Fran54

Hi

Just an update from me.

With the weather warming up over the last few days I have not been doing an awful lot of gardening ( I can't garden in the heat). However, I find that an early morning stroll up and down the garden, does make me focus on a few things and if I see a handful of weeds they get pulled up. Sometimes I find it easier just to meander around and do bits whenever I see it needs to be done, rather than set a certain time, like I have mentioned before.

I have some veggie plants that are ready to go in the ground soon, but with little rain, the soil is rock hard ( I have clay soil ). Does anyone else have this problem? I could use my hosepipe, but am trying to keep water usage down as much as possible ( I am on a water meter now, so am aware of water usage).

Anyway, there is a weather warning where I live that thunderstorms could be possible, so hopefully will help solve the dry ground problem. Better get started on the rain dance😁.

frogmorton

I certainly did have this problem @Fran54 but recent rainfall has solved it and my soil isn't clay.

In the longer term I am thinking of making my own Ollas? Have you heard of them? If not give it a quick internet search and see what you think. I think quite a few in my main veggie bed would be good. I have planter for veggies like lettuce and made that self watering already.

We are not on a meter (yet) but I know how valuable a resource water is these days.

Best of luck

Toni xx

Fran54

Hi

well we did get the thunderstorm and rain in the night, thank goodness.

I have looked up Ollas and yes, they do look like a good idea. Although I have clay soil, it can hold onto the moisture more than other types.

I am very aware of water and how valuable it is these days, not just in this country either. I have a water butt and also collect water in buckets I have placed strategically under the sloping roof of my shed. It is surprising how much water can be collected that way. Also, my washing up water goes on the plants as well.

Have put my veggie plants outside to catch the rainwater and it is surprising how quickly they have grown. All I need now is for my hubby to plant them for me! My strawberry plants are coming on well, plenty of green strawberries, so just need the sun to ripen them off.

By the way, does anyone have problems with gooseberry bushes? This is the second year running that all the leaves have been stripped off, there are still some gooseberries growing, but am not sure if they will mature. Could the culprits be caterpillars? I always seem to have plenty of the large/small white butterflies in the garden. Does anybody have any ideas about this?

Anyway, I could go on for longer, but will close for now. Keep looking at how quickly the grass is growing, but that is another matter for another day.😉

Take care.

Alchemilla

Just posting here to recommend geared bypass secateurs for those of you with weak thumbs. I just bought some, they're not cheap, but they make a huge difference to what you can cut through.

RogerBill

The link to "tips for gardening with arthritis" in the first post of this thread is now broken. Instead try https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/living-with-arthritis/gardening/

Redlady07

I've just recently bought some tools for arthritis sufferers https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08DHYNB34?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details recommended to me by a lady with RA and https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002W6YYXY?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details the 2nd is pricey but I fond I was trying to bend or stretch and in danger of face planting into bushes.

Even so, I am limited and tend to break down jobs into smaller pieces. Which will take longer. Don't be afraid to pay for help. We have to know our limits.

noddingtonpete

Hi it should be said that there are other suppliers of tools for those with arthritis so please do a search on teh internet and shop around.

JulieF

Hello my name is Julie and I have just joined the group. I am in my early 60s and love gardening but I'm now finding it difficult bending for too long. I need to start potting up my autumn/winter plants and was wondering if anyone could recommend a good potting table. I would like a table that can be folded up and stored in the shed if possible. I have been looking around but haven't been lucky so far.

frogmorton

Julie i am lucky my shed has a potting bench in it already. It does help so much with the need to bend too much minimised.

Have you not got room to leave it in the garden if you get a quality one which is reasonably weatherproof???

I'm going to try to get @toady in on this she's a gardener too and might have an idea (or not)....

Best of luck

Toni x

toady

Hello @JulieF, sorry I missed this mention/notification from frogmorton, I had a couple yesterday and counted the same one twice apparently 😳😄.

Sorry I can't be too helpful off the top of my head, I use the sinkside of my utility room for potting which is rather uncivilized 😬 (but it is a very unglamorous utility and is more help to me for this purpose than being showroom tidy! and I hate the cold so being a bit messy indoors is the lesser of 2 evils).

I certainly can't bend for long and I just pot up things in small sessions, have had a dispiriting year in the garden and will really have to try to get up some incentive for autumn/winter which I hate. What is particularly unsuitable about the things you've looked at that aren't right, just can't find a good foldable type, or something else? Will let you know if I see anything. What are you planning for your a/w planting, just out of my own interest 😊.

linda56

Hi I use to do the garden but all so finding it hard my husband has took over but after seeing comments that people bin doing little bits till can't do any more made me think I need to do the same so hopefully I will get out in garden at weekend 😊 thank you

Woofy

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/714685#Comment_714685

Hi. I still try to do bits in the garden. I have a few tools that I like to use. A Dutch hoe is useful if you can’t kneel down.

i also have a seat thing which I can use if I get tired. Raised beds are helpful. I do a little when weather permits, and I’m not in too much pain. I love being in the fresh and I am determined to keep pottering.

swimmer60

Before my HRS surgery I prepared some pots for tulips and daffs. Bought loads of bulbs and intend to plant them in two weeks time when I will be 6 weeks in. Might do some waist level or higher pruning, but I won't be doing any bending or kneeling till the Spring.

I've got a bloke, I've used for years, coming in to prune the trees and large shrubs. Haven't been able to use the long handled pruners for a long time, just too heavy! He's got a lot to do this year, partly the endless rain but also, the pain in my hip was so bad I really haven't been able to do much this Autumn.

I love gardening and wild life and have started to feed the birds again.

Iain2

Hi everyone, I love gardening and hopefully the warmer weather isn’t that far off. You can’t beat an early morning walk up the garden and, listening to the birds singing. We’ve a pretty large garden and it takes quite a bit of keeping in check. I’ve got along in the past with aching joints but, now I’ve been diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis it’s going to take a bit longer and more planning the days out a little better. We’ve got one greenhouse and, planning another one this year, I’m going to put in some raised beds just to make it easier for the old joints 😂I’ve got tomato seeds in , hopefully not to long for them. I also bought one of the folding garden stools for the greenhouse just to help out a bit. I’ll say to my wife me and arthur are going out to the garden. Is there anyone else looking forward to the challenge of the gardening season. I might have arthritis but; arthritis doesn’t have me.

swimmer60

The crocuses I planted in pots end November after op., are out! 😍 Heliobores are out too, I love them they flower so early. My tulips, also planted in pots, have survived being frozen and drowned but I just saw some signs of slug attack😡

LisaJane50

Hi everyone, my first post here and brought about from a frustrating morning in the garden. 10 days ago I thought I could conquer the world & over the previous 2-3 weeks I was doing many hours in the garden and managing more than I have in years. But over the course of a busy week (not in the garden) the various pain's have escalated and have now stopped me in my tracks as I gradually reduced what I was doing / what I was able to do. I found myself staring at a shrub that needed hard pruning before being taken out & willing it cut the twigs itself and put them in the garden bin for me! We inherited a very 'mature' garden when we moved in 8 years ago and have gradually been reclaiming parts and trying to make it easier to manage. We have raised beds for our veg but they still need a bit of leaning / stretching so I'm trying to work on my core stability to help with that. We're currently working our way down the other side of the back garden and still finding plants we never knew were there. I was using one of those kneelers that flip upside down to become a seat but I found that when I was weeding I was having to then stand up after a minute or so to move it along to the next bit. I bought some knee pads so I can keep shuffling along a few inches and they've been great but in the last few days I've not been able to lean forward very much at all so I've not been able to do anything at ground level to try and untangle everything. Very frustrating! I thought that tomorrow I might try and lean OVER my kneeler seat to take the pressure off my back & it will also mean that both hands are free and I'm not leaning on my wrist. Wish me luck!

I also wanted to respond about the potting table issue. I have a fold up table but it's as old as the hills! Metal legs and a formica top that has metal brackets for the legs. Very useful for when I want to be potting outside and not in the greenhouse. I also use a special sheet / cover thing that you popper together at the corners to make it into a flexible tray type thing and it has a hole in the middle with a detachable cover so that when you've finished potting you take off the cover of the hole and then hold the liner over a bucket to reate a sort of funnel to catch all the soil. It means you can use any garden table (or even my kitchen table…) as a potting bench. Hope this helps!

noddingtonpete

Hello @LisaJane50 and welcome to the Online Community. We are friendly and supportive and I hope that will be your experience as well.

Some good tips about gardening. Thank you. Yes sometimes the garden can be a bit daunting when you look at all that needs doing, ours seems to have exploded this last couple of weeks. I think it is a case of do a bit and often rather than taking on a major project.

I find old motorcycle jeans to be good because they have built in knee pads, but you can find cheap ones on the internet.

Hope the gardening goes well.

Best wishes

Peter

arnoldsbicep

There's a few things that have changed my life when it comes to gardening, one of these things are Easi Grip tools. Bought them not so long ago and they keep my wrists in a much more comfortable position when sorting my plants out.

https://www.abilitysuperstore.com/products/easi-grip-garden-trowel

I spoke to the lady on the phone and she also recommended one of these to me, I was a bit sceptical at first but I've never stopped using it since! Don't have to spend ages kneeling when you're rolling around the garden!

https://www.abilitysuperstore.com/products/rolling-garden-seat

Hope this helps as I highly recommend them :)

Poppyjane

Hello and welcome @arnoldsbicep to the online community

It is great to meet you especially when your first post offers recommendations to others. Advice about any tools whether for indoors or the garden or workshop/shed are always welcome because many of us living with arthritis need extra support when trying to do everyday tasks.

The VA website has some products available for the home and garden

shop@versusarthritis.org

If you need some gentle wind down exercises after your garden workout have you looked at the stretching videos

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2021/october/new-stretching-videos-to-help-keep-moving-and-manage-your-arthritis/

We look forward to hearing from you again

Best wishes

Poppyjane