easy planting

Please does anyone know of any gadget that can be used to plant plants? I have a very bad back and cannot bend, so while seeds and potatoes are OK (use piece of piping) and I use a no dig method, brassicas are incredibly painful to plant and I have a few beds I would like to plant now but fear it may be impossible. Oh dear! I thought something on the lines of a "helping hand" only shaped differently at the bottom, or any way of holding the plant and lowering it to the soil. Please has anyone got any suggestions. I have raised beds - only about 6", on an allotment.

 

Welcome jaci, I am sure someone has a great tip for you.

 

Hi jaci, I don't dig at all on my plot either (except to harvest). I use a bulb planter now, wish I'd discovered it last year! If you grow in the 2 1/4-inch (6mm) jiffies, they just plop in, nice and deep if you want to plant e.g. brassica and toms up to their bottom leaves.
http://www.crocus.co.uk/toolsandstuff/results/?ContentType=Product_Card&ClassID=2000006139&CategoryID=192

I also grow in plugs at home, http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2037
then make holes with a foot dibber (make one of your own with a long piece of dowel and a cross-piece low down) into which the plugs can drop from a great height!

Have you come across these links on gardening tools for limited mobility - may be useful?
http://www.gardentoolsforallseasons.com/disabled%20gardening.php
http://www.essentialaids.com/erol.html#22943x0&&http%3A%252F%252Fwww.google.co.uk%252Fsearch%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dgardening+tools+disabled%26btnG%3DGoogle+Search%26meta%3Dcr%253Dcountry UK%257CcountryGB
http://www.allotments-uk.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=303

Good luck

[ 17. June 2006, 07:07 PM: Message edited by: supersprout ]

 

Another first class member name 'supersprout', welcome! My patterdale terrier is called Sprout. :D

 

Aww thank you bananaman, wish I had a superhero avatar too but the nearest I can get is Poison Ivy :rolleyes: :D