Simple vegetable gardening activities to do when injured
August 6, 2018
August 6, 2018
(Photo credit: Olga Yastremska)
A run of bad luck, followed by another accident has had me in bed recovering for the past three months. I was returning to normal from one injury and then had a silly accident that has sent me back to bed for another 2-4 weeks. Explaining my run of injuries to my employer and to my customers is getting embarrassing, and also very frustrating. I am not a sedentary person, I don’t like to sit still! I typically spend some time each day in my vegetable garden, even if it is just for a few minutes. This has not been possible lately and is off limits for the next 2-4 weeks thanks for my latest break.
The upside to my injuries is that by the time I am recovered winter will be almost finished and I will have spent it in bed! That is not so bad.
Almost three months out of action have forced me to learn a lesson I have not previously embraced:
It is ok, and necessary, to ask for help when you need it.
Simple right? It’s not been something I generally do but it has been nice to let go of many areas of my life that I have always held tight and tried to control.
My injuries have involved broken bones and surgery on my hip and now my toes. This post is based on what I have been able to do in the garden. It may not be applicable to your circumstances. I was able to do some of these things after a period of initial recovery passed. If you have an injury consult your doctor for advice, nothing written here is intended as medical advice.
Ensuring my garden is still growing while I was out of action has meant we have been able to harvest the vegetables planted earlier in the season. Using garden ingredients for meals is a huge bonus when it means a trip to the shops can be avoided, reducing the budget stress of higher than usual medical bills.
Here are some of the things you can do to help your garden stay on track while you recover.
Remember that plants are genetically programmed to survive. They will continue to grow and produce, or turn to seed and re-grow in the future when the conditions are more suited to their survival. Enjoy sharing the gardening activity with your children. Lower your expectations and revise your ideas on how long things “should” take to get done and you may begin to enjoy the slower pace as I have done.
I hope you recover from your injury and are back gardening again soon.
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