A primer on adaptive gardening

Published 5:01 pm Monday, April 15, 2024

It’s finally arrived, folks, that most wonderful time of year when the ground wakes up and it’s full steam ahead for color, textures, sights and smells, and the work that goes with it. Sometimes, no matter how eager we are to get outside, it’s a bold reality that things have changed.

Perhaps “adaptive gardening” doesn’t interest you, but it may to a dear neighbor or relative. It could even be the person living in your own home. Life has a way of surprising us, and not always, it seems, in the direction we would like.

Adaptive gardening is described simply as using tools and techniques that fit the needs of people with varying physical abilities. So, let’s look at the first, and most common one — raised beds.

The more gardeners there are, the more innovative ideas there are that would have been quite uncommon in times past. Frequently the only thought regarding raised beds were those on the ground that elevated the bed only about 4 inches. Not high enough. A good garden bed, whether on the ground or elevated, should have enough soil to comfortably grow shorter carrots, such as the Danvers type, that will easily grow 6 inches in length. So, your soil depth, on average, should be between 8 and 12 inches. For tuberous plants, like potatoes, it can be several inches deeper.

The retail gardening market is seeing an influx of prefabricated raised beds, or kits. These come in both wood and plastic and their costs are about the same. The kits, for the most part, are easy to assemble and take down at the end of a season. Hopefully with the popularity of these beds increasing the price will become more affordable. We frequently make raised beds just using the soil then making dikes around an elevated area. This ensures that water, fertilizer, and compost materials stay where we need them to be.

Next, we move on to container gardening. If you are just growing plants as ornamentals, and like moving them outside for the summer months, please remember that dirt is heavy! If you move plants outside, don’t water them first. Dirt, with water, is more than double dirt alone for weight. Water them once outside.

Most, if not nearly all, vegetables can be grown in containers. Remember that nutrients will leach out of the soil faster in a container so regular fertilizing and/or top dressing of compost is a must. Containers can also be placed on elevated areas to make access easier.

This week we have just touched the surface of “adaptive gardening.” Aside from raised beds and containers, there are multiple gardening sites on the internet that offer adaptive gardening tools, and several local retailers offer adaptive tools, as well. These could be as simple as a garden seat on wheels (my favorite), an easy grip, three-prong cultivator, attachable extension rods, quick-release tools, cushioned handles, and grabbers for reaching or gripping, and special gloves designed to protect from arthritis.

So, we’re all ready to get out there and garden, even if it’s just to cut back last year’s growth on one or two plants at a time. Fresh mown lawns are filling the air with spring scent. And the bees, yes, the bees, are in full working mode.

If you stand still under our apricot tree that is awash in white flowers, you can hear the honeybees humming from blossom to blossom. But they aren’t the only ones, as the photo shows. Everybody was out in full force this week. Let’s give it a try!

Marketplace