{"id":171072,"date":"2026-03-27T05:47:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T11:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=171072"},"modified":"2026-03-27T06:57:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T12:57:55","slug":"how-i-manage-to-continue-gardening-as-an-old-man-with-a-bad-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/27\/how-i-manage-to-continue-gardening-as-an-old-man-with-a-bad-back\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Manage To Continue Gardening As An Old Man With A Bad Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

So far at least.<\/p>\n

After a recent post about my bad back there’s been some curiosity amongst my readers about how I keep gardening when I’m so gimped up with a combination of back and age-related issues. Apparently many of my readers are feeling similar aches and pains as they struggle to continue with their gardening addiction as they age. And some of you also have back problems. So several days ago I promised to reveal some strategies and devices I use to help me keep at it.<\/p>\n

I’ll begin with some of the problems I face and end with my favorite new back-saving device.<\/p>\n

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Some of my most significant challenges with garden work originate with the hardware in my back (7″ rods and screws) that severely limit my flexibility, in addition to causing pain when I try to bend them in directions they don’t want to go. My back issues have also caused nerve damage in my hips, legs and feet that makes it very difficult and painful to kneel down and get back up. If you don’t have raised beds, and I don’t, gardening without kneeling is a pretty neat trick if you can manage it.<\/p>\n

And if I work too long, or too fast, my legs get weak and wobbly. So I have chairs placed in strategic places, in sun and in shade depending on weather, and I work slow. But I plod along and I get it done, eventually.<\/p>\n

And believe it or not, I enjoy the hell out of it. It’s the Montana farmer in me I guess.<\/p>\n

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This is my almost 1200 square foot mostly vegetable garden as of two days ago. It always looks bare like this in early spring before I’ve planted much of anything new because the only perennials in my garden are a few herbs and a couple of rhubarb plants (behind my shed at right).<\/p>\n

It’s cluttered up with tools because of early spring projects. The orange flags you see are the result of yet another fiber optic cable being installed in my neighborhood. I’m not happy about it but that’s another story.<\/p>\n

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Tilling is the one gardening process I haven’t been able to come up with a strategy to make easier and less painful. But it’s necessary in order to work in garden waste from the previous year, old leaves and grass, mulch, compost and the like, all of which enrich the soil. It also loosens the soil, making it less compacted.<\/p>\n

Tilling is the first step I do in spring and thankfully I only till once per year these days. It’s so hard on me it takes me a couple of days to recover but the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when I’m done is immense.<\/p>\n

Some gardeners use a no-till strategy but I’m not one of them. At least I can till standing up but wrestling these guys around still isn’t easy.<\/p>\n

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Trellises are space savers and back savers. This is the cucumber trellis that I built two years ago. It ain’t pretty but it’s highly functional and I love it.\u00a0 Having cucumbers grow up instead of sprawling on the ground saves a lot of bending over and time spent on my hands and knees as I’m tending my vines and harvesting cucumbers.<\/p>\n

This trellis has been so helpful with my back I…<\/p>\n

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built another one this week for pole beans. It took me most of three days. I told you, I go slow.<\/p>\n

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These are some of the gardening tools in my collection. With a bad back, some are much more useful than others.<\/p>\n