Did you know gardening is a great way to maintain joint flexibility, range of motion, bone strength and quality of life? In this post I thought I’d continue on from Part I with some more tips and tools.

Plan to garden during the times of day that you feel best and considering doing some stretching or light walking to warm up before you get started. If you’re going to have to do some weeding, do it when the ground is wet. It is much easier and this is something I try to take advantage of. Last year I heard a master gardener talk about putting gluten of cornmeal down to yield 20-70% less weeds. He suggested to till it in at night, but I forgot to try this out this year.

I have a few small potted plants near my front door, but the rest of my plants are in the ground. Many spooonies find that container gardening or raised bed gardening is much easier for them. It may be something for you to try if you’re just easing into gardening or trying to make the activity more manageable. A window/flower box could be the perfect thing to brighten you day every time you come home.

One tool that I’m very excited to try (I just ordered one) is the Fiskars Uproot Lawn and Garden Weeder. It has the Arthritis Foundation’s Ease of Use Accreditation. It has great reviews on Amazon and I’ve been wanting to try a wedding tool that eliminates bending. I wanted to use this in the mulched areas around my house. I used to just spray them all with weed killer, but now that I’m pregnant I’m not getting near the weed killer or the dirt I’ve sprayed it into repetitively.

What’re your tips & tools for making gardening easier?

Hello, yellow!*

*Image Credit: from www.flickr.com by michaelstyne.