Gardening and back pain

[Mitzi M]

That was cool Dr. J!

Another way I know of making your gardening back-friendly is to build raised beds that come up to about waist height. Why not? A lot of us have to make/import our own soil anyway, and the more the better. Beds raised 30" or more off the ground offer some protection against pigs, slugs, fungi and other critters.

The trick, I think , is to get the right materials. Redwood is cheap-esque but even that will rot in the Puna rain. What I love for boxes is trex (or other manufactured lumber). It's made of recycled plastic with sawdust fused together with epoxy, and can look really good. It comes with a 25 year warranty - pretty impressive! Here's the catch - it's expensive. My thought is that for the labor of making a great planter it's worth the extra money to have it last a long time. I have designed planters of this same height for folks in wheelchairs too. Here where we get the rain, I think higher is better for planters (and backs!)[].


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