Raised Bed Gardening For Seniors
Gardening is no doubt a superior activity for everyone. There are so many benefits to engaging in any form of gardening, whether it is growing food and flowers in containers, backyard gardening, or even keeping livestock one will always derive great pleasure (and indeed sometimes pain) in the process.
Most gardening activities involve lots of bending, walking and different wrist activities. Some more tedious than others. As we grow old our bodies are not as versatile and require extra special care to avoid injuries. Choosing the right gardening techniques for seniors is important to ensure they do not encounter unnecessary strain and stress to their bodies.
Raised bed gardening is the technique where planters or garden beds are significantly raised from the ground. They can either be as high as waist level or require minimum bending which then enables the senior gardeners to access the garden space while standing or even seated.
Here are some examples of raised garden beds suitable for seniors:-
Wooden Raised Bed
A wooden raised garden bed should be built using the right wood such as cedar. This can be built to be as high as 1 - 2ft and you can choose to line it with dam liner to protect it further. You can grow a variety of edibles and non edibles in this type of garden, and why not create a couple in your front yard or balcony and add some sitting space for guests. It can make for a great conversation starter or just to show off your gardening skills !
Aluminium Raised Bed
This is another great choice of material for a raised garden bed which can be used for gardening for seniors. It can be used to grow both edibles and non-edibles.
There are many other materials that can be used such as concrete, plastic and so forth. The beauty of raised bed gardening is that you can utilize materials that are readily available to you, and one garden can be maximized to grow a variety of vegetables and flowers which are beneficial to each other. This can aid in pest control, effective space management as well as providing a safe gardening space.