Accessible Gardening. 15 Jan 2024.

This is  work in progress.  My thoughts change all the time.  This is the first of what might be a number of posts.

Time takes its toll, and stuff happens.  Gardening is still one of life's great joys, with innumerable benefits.  But you can't garden if you are too limited in function, and don't have an accessible garden, and don't have ways to accommodate those limitations .  There are lots of ways to make it much, much easier to garden, without sacrificing quantity, quality, flavor, beauty, or variety.  It just takes a different way of thinking.

First - what are the major limitations?

Physical - hard work, height - high or low, energy required, strength required.  There are lots of ways to put the plants at a height that works best for the gardener. There are lots of ways to make a garden less physically difficult, while helping plants grow better.

Financial - if something is not affordable, it's out of range.  If every plant is pre-grown and sold potted, it gets expensive.  Seeds can be expensive.  There are many ways to save costs, while having better suited plants, a healthier garden, and a lot of fun.

Saboteurs  - People, small pests, big pests. Deer, slugs, feral cats, moles, birds, insects.  There are lots.  There are ways of dealing with some, but sometimes choices have to be made.

Climate and weather   - watering plants can require a lot of effort, especially during the hottest, sunniest months when the most growth happens and the effects of missing a watering can ruin months of effort.  Overwintering plants requires a different kind of effort.

Time - You can only do what you can do.  Using time in a thoughtful manner can make a big difference.

Information - If you don't know how to do it, then it may not grow.  There is a lot of false information out there.   A lot of garden lore is lost now, as older generations die off.  Some old methods can be so empowering, save money, bring the most suitable plants into the garden, and bring a lot of joy.

What else? -  I'll add  more as I think of it.

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Physical Challenges.

Addressing physical challenges is the most obvious  way to make gardening more accessible.

The best position for garden tasks is within a foot or two or three, of the hands.   For gardening in the soil (vegetables, flowers) that can be accomplished using raised beds or containers.  Not just the six-inch high raised beds, but two or three feet high.  That's why I built some of mine using cement blocks - inexpensive, can be built a few blocks a day, can fill a bucket at a time.  As time passes, the bed reaches the desired size.  It doesn't have to be done in a week, or two weeks, or three.

(more to follow, and probably some edits.  This is very much a work in progress, and I don't know where it's headed).