Garden tips for July Garden tips for July (July 01, 2005)

Take care of your body as well as your plants

by Jack McKinnon

I strained my back pulling weeds last month. I should have known better. I have strained my back so many times I have lost count. With 30 years as a gardener it is not a big surprise.

This month, as well as giving you some tips on what to do and what to plant in your garden, I will give you some tips on taking care of your body when gardening. Injury prevention is truly the most important thing I can teach, even if I tend to forget once in a while.

1. Try to always bend your knees before you bend your back. Squat down to pull weeds. Learn to duck walk or better yet get down on your knees with one hand on the ground and the other one pulling. Kneepads are great for this or you can use a pad or old piece of carpet.

2. Think before lifting anything heavier than an apple. If it is bulky, get help lifting it or use a dolly or wheelbarrow to move it. Keep your torso vertical. Bending at the knees, lift with your leg muscles; they are much stronger than your arms or back.

3. When moving, try to align your shoulders with your hips and your knees. If you keep this line upright you will be supporting your weight correctly. It helps if you keep your head up, even if you are looking down.

4. Do some stretching before you garden. Try reaching for the sky with one hand and then the other. Stand with both hands hanging down and look all the way left and then all the way right. Do a gentle twisting at the waist back and forth. Remember to go easy. Slow is good.

5. Plant flowering plants like dahlias, ageratum, celosia, petunias, salvia, penstemon, alyssum, zinnia and marigolds. Be sure there is plenty of compost in your soil and after you put in your plants put a layer of mulch over the soil.

6. Ornamental grass can be planted this month. There are many varieties available in nurseries. Look up grasses in your garden book under the Latin names Arundo, Briza, Chasmanthium, Coix, Cortaderia, Festuca, Hakonechloa, Helictotrichon, Imperata, Milium, Miscanthus, Pennisetum, Phalaris and Stipa.

7. If you have roses, cut suckers (fast-growing branches coming from below the graft) and dead head (remove dead flowers). When the main flush of bloom is finished, fertilize and water.

8. Plant beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, green onions, leaf lettuce, peas, spinach and turnips. Again, as with the flowering beds, mix plenty of compost into your soil and mulch after planting.

9. Fertilize Cymbidium orchids with liquid fertilizer diluted to one-quarter strength every time you water.

10. It is barbecue season: Enjoy your garden with a party. There is nothing like a grill full of fresh vegetable kabobs along with your favorite meat or fish and it is so much more enjoyable if your back does not hurt.

Good gardening.

Jack McKinnon worked in the Sunset Magazine gardens for 12 years and has been a private garden coach for seven years. He can be reached at (650) 879-3261, or by e-mail at jcmckinnon@earthlink.net.

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