Ergonomically Correct Garden Tools - Your Back Will Thank You:

In most endeavors, a pon will opt for the easi, most fortable manner by which to acplish his cen task. An paing a magnificent sunset , shimmng delicately over a lake, will use the b quality 's br made of camel hair, not a se painter's 3" w, synthetily brled br. In the kitchen, why chop vegetables ul your hands are in consrable pain when there is a food cor waiting to do the job, freeing you from the tedium, and the additional k pain that es from sding interminably at the kitchen counter, wondng to yourself if your recipe really ns a full cup of finely diced celery? And why would b use a manual typewriter that has absolutely no features to boast ab, er than causing carpal tunnel syndr or muscle spasms, that e from the repetitive motion of striking the keys with force when, in the er room, sits a state-of-the- puter with all the bells and whles, capable of doing practily everyng for you but actually pose the text that you w? I do not nk I could begin to be sufficiently ficient (more like bumbg) if I had to worry ab setting margins and spacing, and trying to figure where to put that *%@# "e" inadvertently missing in cheese [sic] witt droying semblance to per space cement.

The same ng is true with gardeg. You do not use a shovel when a much lier wei spade will do. And you do not spend an r, bent over a fer bed, witt causing grievous pain to your k and sld, when you could be using an ergonomily de kneeler pad specifily crafted to keep your knees on speaking terms with the r of your b.

Any gardr, beginner or fional, ns a basic set of tools. As is the case with job or pastime requig specialized tools or paraphernalia, to garden you must amass for yourself a set of good quality tools which will not fall ap with the sli vocation. Plus, you it to yourself to obtain the most fortable tools win your budget. It is better to buy just a few of the basics before you st salivating at the si of "dener" garden tools. At s point, more is not necarily better. Pick wisely.

The first category of ergonomily de garden tools includes SPADES, TROWELS, CULTIVATORS, and SHOVELS. A SPADE is u for digging or cutting the ground. It has a sharp-edged metal blade and a g handle. A TROWEL is basily a small spade, u for lifting pls or soil. A CULTIVATOR is u to prepare the soil for a garden.

A STANDARD or GARDEN TROWEL, a very vatile hand tool, do m jobs such as digging and shaping holes, holing or leveg soil, and close-up wing. A TRANSPLANT TROWEL, with its narrow den, is the al tool for digging deep and/or narrow holes for ng sgs. It is also excellent for removing root balls easily, with no damage to the pl or neighbog areas. S transng trls have measurements marked on the trl so the gardr dig to the corr depth for ng ss. An extremely vatile tool, the CULTIVATOR , with its three egated ngs, is perf for m tasks. It be u to loosen and prepare soil, extract immature ws, amend the soil with post or fertilizer, and to aerate the soil to make watng more efficient. A g-handled ROUND POINT SHOVEL make or break your garden. You acplish ng and everyng with s kind of shovel. It is al for turg ground or scooping soil, as well as for creating ng holes, filg in holes, and for cing away dirt loose by aner tool.

The next group of gardeg tools includes PRUNERS, SHEARS, and LOPPERS. HAND PRUNERS are quite useful. They are perfly suited for removing dead or damaged branc from e bes and shrubs, and they cut through n branc. Other uses include cutting k perennials, and colling herbs and f. I have found, from ponal expence, to keep the blades clean and sharpe, or else you will find yourself with an armful of mangled e stems, hanging half on and half off the b. Not a pretty si. I'm very territorial ab my e prun and really do not like shag them with . If the pruner fits...

There are various styles of SHEARS available. Grally speaking, srs are large clipping or cutting instruments shaped like scissors. GRASS SHEARS are de to get into areas difficult to be trimmed by the lawn mr, such as around tree trunks and fer b, and to trim the lawn's edges. HEDGE SHEARS and grass srs are alike, but the hedge srs have ger blades. This tool is good when trimming hedges and shrubs. In the Fall, it es in quite handy when cutting k perennials and also when clipping off dead fer ds.

LOPPERS have g handles in order to prune k or cut off branc from a tree or er such wo pls. They are able to cut through branc up to 2 inched in diameter.

Aner import grouping of garden tools is made up of WEEDERS and EDGERS. WEEDERS do just that; they dig up ws. A wer conss of a g metal handle ending in finger like jions or scrap that have been sharpe to facilitate piercing the eh and pulg up g, straggg ws up and away by cutting them off be the surface. It rather looks like a BBQ fork. EDGERS are u to keep fer b and bes maintai in their per contours. Basily, an edger will help deeate the garden bord by looseg up grass impinging onto swalks, stepping stones, fer b, and around the circular space surrounding the diameter of a tree.

There are two basic types of RAKES: the BOW RAKE and the LEAF RAKE. The BOW RAKE is a basic in garden. Solidly built with sturdy steel tines, it is u to move and smo soil. It is also useful for drawing up rai fer or vegetable b or mounding soil around pls. It is indispensable to "catch and toss" garden debris. LEAF RAKES have flexible stic or aluminum tines. It is not as vy as the bow rake but is perf for gathng scattered leafs, grass clippings, and so forth. B rakes have g handles so no bending is involved.

Do not forget to sel a WATER CAN, a HOSE with a HOSE REEL and NOZZLE, a ROLL GARDEN CART/SEAT and a KNEELER. A WATER CAN has a g sp, enabg you to water your f and shrubs from a short dance away while still sding. They do tend to feel quite vy - water weighs 8-1/3 lbs. per gal - so try to find a watng that is made of lier wei matals, such as aluminum or a sturdy stic, that is well constructed. A good quality HOSE is eal for your garden and your sanity, unl you are picularly fond of lugging that vy watng around to water your lawn. Do not pinch pennies on a e; buy the b quality e you find so you will not be spending your weekends giving first aid to all te holes and leaks that seem to announce themselves the minute you look away. A e made of rubber sld be your b bet. S are even reinforced from the ins with a matal me to flex with the e. You will n a NOZZLE of stic or metal; metal will definitely last ger and frustrate you l. A HOSE REEL will make your life so much simpler. How m times have you tripped over a e that has been carelly dropped in serpene gles all over the driveway? Try to buy a e that is of sufficient length to re from the spigot to the point furth away on your perty where you mi n water.

Last, but certainly not least, are the GARDEN STOOL and the KNEELER. Te two accories are de for te of us who are not quite as mobile as we once were. The GARDEN STOOL helps eliminate k and knee pain by viding a surface upon which to sit while doing gardeg chores that grally require sding in one ce and/or bending. The stool usually is equipped with wheels and a storage space for your tools, and even has a holder for your water bottle. There is aner type of gardeg stool resembg a round hassock but it is mounted on a spg mechanism that als the gardr to sit and re in all dirions witt having to get up to reposition the stool. Unfortunately, s second type of stool tends to be very expensive.

The KNEELER, a padded surface in the shape of a rigid swing seat, is de to take the ground's hardn away from your poor acg knees. A variation of the kneeler is as described above but with grab bars on either s of the cion to facilitate sding up when you have finished working in that p of your garden. B models ease prure on the knees, especially helpful for hritics.

Probably one of the most effive items, ergonomily speaking, is the ADD-ON HANDLE. It structurally modifies conveonally de garden tools in a manner that gives the tool an ergonomic grip. It be u with hand tools such as trls and spades, rakes, hoes, and brooms. An arm support cuff for increa control and leverage is also available. B the handle and the cuff are removable and be u on the tools meo above. There are also g re cultivators for te who must work from a seated position, picularly wheelchair us.

A few final ts:

• You must treat your b as a she. Bending incorrly is the same as taking a sledge hammer to your she. B are dructive.


• It is easy to make a quick move witt nking. I not count the number of times my doctor has fus at me for just that reason.


• When RAK or HOE, try to keep the tools close to your b. Keep your k strai. Use your arms and NEVER tw your trunk (my doctor's very bone of conteon - I still feel guilty when he catc me). If you are short, use g-handled tools in se with your hei. The same is true for tall individuals.


• Do not consr bending from the wa. This is where the KNEELER or the KNEELER WITH GRAB BARS e in miy handy. When WEED, use g-handled tools to ease the strain on your k, legs, and knees. Forget ab bending over to TROWEL; consr squatting or sitting on the ground.


• When SHOVEL or DIGG, step on the top of the blade as you vertily insert the d of the shovel in the ground. Lift only small loads, bending at the knees. Never involve your k when lifting. Again, avoid twing your trunk. This will bee your mra. Use as small of a shovel as possible to adequately plete your task. Again, match your shovel to your b size.


• Do not p your physi limits when lifting or carrying. Bend from the knees, but not your k and keep the load close to your b. Avoid twing or reacg. Sound familiar?


• Get as close as possible to your work. Do not force your re beyond your fort zone. More importly, do not stretch beyond your stable footing! On a ponal note, stretcg be deletous to your lth if you have not arranged your footing to your b advage. To preface s cautionary tale, due to having Degrative Disc Disease for m years, my chief mode of transportation is my trusty wheelchair. I also wear bilateral leg braces which give me s support when sding. A few summ ago, I t it would be nice to raid my e garden to dr up the dig room table as we were exping dinner gus that eveg. Nob else was at h. Like a fool, I went to my e garden, armed with my favorite prug srs, nking I would like to cut at least a dozen beautiful es (we have over 50 bes). I was weag rather baggy shorts that biled in the breeze. B my legs were ensconced in their braces. Espying a picularly deliful e, I reed forward toward the b. I t my feet were firmly pled atop the redwood chips surrounding the bes. Boy, was I wr! As I reed for the stem to be clipped, e foot went in an opposite dirion, pelg me toward all te tsands of deadly thorns. With extreme accuracy, I was thrust dirly onto the b. Corrion. I was impaled upon the e b, impriso by te menacing thorns in a bent-over, face-in-the-b position. Dod by my thorn-snagged shorts, I was literally immobilized. My neighbor and his brer came trotting acs the street to ungle me. Talk ab humiliation, not to meon the blood oozing from the zillion thorn holes on my b. I was the picture of sophication, not. I thanked them for their help and red-facedly slunk k into the se. I honly say that from that point on, I stop to consr all options before even apacg ng in my garden. I had definitely lear my lon and hope s tale will remind you to n ad whver your b mechanics are involved.

By the way, I never did get the es cut for that eveg. Sigh...