Trying to get up off the floor with bad knees - question
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5 years ago
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graywings123
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Gardening with bad knees
Comments (9)Ezzirah, I don't have any first-hand advice for you since I don't have real joint issues yet--just the aches and creaking joints that comes a bit as you get older, but I have a friend who has had back surgery as well as knee and hip issues, and he has had to change some of his gardening practices accordingly. He plants tomatoes in molasses feed tubs (round muck buckets from Wal-Mart or TSC with rope handles are about the same size) that have been placed on top of a bench and a table so he can plant, weed, water and harvest while standing almost completely upright. (The tubs on the bench are a bit lower, obviously, than the ones on the picnic table. When working with those, he can pull up a lawn chair and sit down by the bench and work from a seated position.) Another way to raise some veggies without a lot of bending and stooping is to build a salad table. You can grow a lot in a salad table, and not just salad greens, but radishes and small round carrots like Thumbelina or Paris Market, for example, or even some smaller, more compact varieties of herbs. The first salad table I ever saw was in an article that featured info from the University of Maryland, so I will link some info from the U of M so you can see what one looks like. Some people with mobility issues build a larger, deeper version of a salad table that allows them to grow almost any plants they choose at roughly their waist level. These are box gardens placed on wooden posts used as legs to raise them up high enough that the gardener doesn't have to get down on the ground or bend over a lot. I am pretty sure you can see an example of one of these on the website of Gardener's Supply.I think it would be pretty easy to build your own. I grow lettuce in a cattle feed trough that we bought at TSC last year. It is raised a couple of feet off the ground, and the part that holds the soil is about 9 or 10" deep. I raised huge lettuce crops in it last spring, followed by bush lima beans in the summer. There's not much work involved once you have it filled with soil. I planted, watered and harvested, and rarely had to even pluck out any weeds since it is raised above the ground. This winter, I've pulled out 3 or 4 weeds that have sprouted in it, probably from windborne seed. A person could work a cattle trough garden by standing and bending over, or by pulling up a lawn chair and sitting. I hope to add another trough garden this year. Originally I was going to build a salad table, but then I saw the cattle trough and thought it would serve the same purpose. Window boxes can be used to grow edible plants too. I have window boxes on the 5 chicken coop windows and even my garden shed windows. They are great for herbs, edible flowers like nasturtiums or violets, and many kinds of greens, carrots, radishes or ornamental flowers. You even can grow very small dwarf tomato plants in them. If your knee issues make it too hard to get up and down from the ground, you can use the various types of elevated containers I mentioned to continue to garden while letting your knee heal from the surgery, if the surgery is necessary. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Univ of Maryland's Salad Table...See Morepatellofemoral syndrome, knee pain questions
Comments (4)Hi BugGirl.....I don't know if I have PS but I do get knee pain when I go overboard with my exercise routine. I used to be a runner and then when I tried to start up again last year I realized that wasn't going to happen due to my knees acting up. I am 50 and feeling like I'm just falling apart. I have been able to do a walk/jog combination on a regular basis which so far hasn't been a problem. After doing this for 4 consecutive days my left knee was starting to let me know to give it a rest so I did take the weekend off which did the trick. When I laid in bed and bent my knee I could feel a lump which must have been some swelling on the inside of the knee. I know that as we age our joints don't lubricate like they used to so that's what causes pain. Have you tried some MSM with glucosamine? I did this for a while and it seemed to help. I just stopped as I take so many vitamins and other things at this stage that I just never bothered to buy it again. This may help you. Also during your time of discomfort try putting some ice or a heating pad depending on it your preference. This works for all my other aching joints/muscles also. What about some Ben Gay or other type of joint rub. I use a product called BioFreeze which I got from my chiropractor. It's very cooling and really helps relieve my discomforts. Hope this helps a bit. I know it's not fun dealing with these problems. Another idea which I've used is a knee support wrap. Maybe if you wear this during the day for a while it will support your knee so it won't cause you the pain later on. These have all worked for me so hope something here will help you....Good luck......Linda/NJ...See MoreNeed help getting haze/film off dark laminate floors
Comments (26)Hi All, I have been reading these flooring issues and feeling your pain. Truly. I have spent HOURS reading about how to get the film off of my dark laminate flooring. So pretty when it's clean but oh so not pretty once anyone walks on it or the dogs leave paw prints when they come in front outside (I have two shih tzu's so we are not talking large dogs here). It was to the point where I wanted no one on the floors after they were cleaned so they would look nice. Ummmm... not very realistic or practical. Trust me when I tell you that I have tried everything, and purchased everything, that worked for others. I will tell you what finally worked for me- FINALLY. I bought some Windex with vinegar in it. I sprayed it on the floor and let it sit for five minutes. You have to do this in small sections so it takes a long time to complete. Once it's been on that section for five minutes you need to get down on your hands and knees and clean it with a soft rag (I used a flour dishtowel) with as much pressure you have in you. Then you need to dry it immediately. It seriously did remove the film. You might have to do this more than once if you have thicker film on your floors from products you have used. I was so nervous to walk on it after about a half hour of doing this, but guess what? No prints! Nothing. It looked just like it did before it was installed and before I used multiple products on it. I have the same flooring in the lower level and tried to take a shortcut, so I sprayed the Windex with vinegar on it, let it sit for five minutes, and mopped it off. I mean- this takes a lot less time and elbow grease. But, it didn't work. Shucks. I still have the lower level floor to do so I will take a before and after picture of it and post it. It worked on my family room floor beautifully. This lower level floors gets a lot more traffic so this should be interesting. However, getting that film off is key. That is what is leaving all of the footprints and dog prints and everything else. I could literally draw on my floors through the film. It was disgusting. Try it- you have nothing to lose but about $3.50 for the bottle of Windex with vinegar and some time and effort. I'm so happy it worked on at least one of the floors!! From now on I plan to clean these floors with a clean fiber cloth mop and the Windex and vinegar spray. This will not leave a film. If I have problems with that (I haven't tried it yet) I will use plain water. No more products on the floors- lesson learned (the hard way!). Patricia...See MoreBees Knees drying up
Comments (14)Yep looks very similar to a rose that I had given too much Epsom salts to as a foliar spray. I was doing weekly Epsom salts as a foliar spray with 1 tbsp to a gallon and spreading the gallon between 8 roses and the roses had tons of low nice growth and basal breaks, but the leaves started doing funky things so I stopped. I did spray a little late in the morning though. Did you give the Epsom salts as a drench or foliar spray? Just curious do you have ants? Sometimes an ant infestation can cause soil to become hydrophobic. Just wondering since you had said the roots were dry. I'm also curious if Epsom salts repel water as well if given too much?...See Moregirlnamedgalez8a
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