by Carol Wallace

Created on: April 26, 2009

It's time to face facts. A huge number of us who are out there on our hands and knees planting bulbs and getting ready for winter are aging baby boomers. We may look young, think young and even feel young but our knees are creaking when we get up, and our joints protests a bit more every time we get back down.

My favorite bulb-planting tool is not the usual bulb planter, but a mattock a tool with an 18" handle and a head that has an ax blade on one side and a forked piece on the other. Not only does it aerate soil, dig and pry up rocks it is an excellent lever for me, getting me off the ground and back onto my feet, I used to like small hand tools, but the older I get, the more those longer handled ones make sense.

For one thing, they extend my reach. Rather than having to crawl through the garden, painful inch by inch, I can sit in one relatively comfortable position and garden for as far as the length of my arm and tool combined. I use a kneeling pad most of the time, but am starting to consider knee pads which I can strap right on far more convenient than having one more item to drag along as I garden.

More and more, though, I find that I am creating raised beds in my yard. Then I don't have to kneel at all.
Instead I can sit comfortably on the edge and pull weeds and even plant. A raised bed about a foot to 18" high with a wide edge for sitting is ideal for both my plants and me. They like the good drainage this gives them and I can fill them with really super soil and compost, so fluffy that I can often weed without any tools at all. And I can garden siting down like a lady of leisure.

The trick to a raised bed is to build it to the correct size for you. The right size is determined by measuring how far you can comfortably reach using your favorite long-handled tool. Make your garden twice that width and you can work on both sides of it without having to stretch, and you can do it from that comfortable, seated position.

Checkout any tools you plan to use to make sure they work comfortably for you. Many companies are now selling ergonomically correct tools that are easier on your back than older models. Even if you are short, a long, long handle is better for you when it comes to tools used standing up. And rather than old fashioned hoes that require an awkward pushing motion through the soil, try some of the new "pull" weeders, such as the Circle Hoe or the Winged Weeder.

Make sure the grips are comfortable, too. If you have trouble with stiffening hands and

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