For years, I was a diehard organic hand-weeding gardener. Then we moved, and now I had 10 acres of gardens to weed, and lots of new weeds I had never seen in my suburban lot. These new weeds had thorns! And snakes hiding in them! After flinging a few snakes, I stopped my habit of sitting down while weeding. Instead, I stood up and bent over to yank the weeks. Didn't take long until my back was hurting bad, and my knees, and my hands. In fact my hands hurt so bad I couldn't sleep at night. Found out I not only had a carpal tunnel problem, I had nerve damage in my hands and my back. Surgery followed, and many many visits to the physical therapist. Now, I use a scuffle hoe with razor sharp edges, and a dandelion digger and a 50 lb. bag of Treflan (Preen). Each bed gets completely weeded once a year, then treated with Treflan, and only needs a bit of touch up now and then. I carry the long handled weeder with me like a walking stick, and force myself to use it instead of reaching down to yank weeds. Now that I've been here 3 years, the weeds are very much under control, because every year i add more mulch and compost. The "good" plants have spread enough to shut out weeds or grasses. It is hard to resist the impluse to lean over and yank a bit of crabgrass, but I never want the pain I had before. What I tell my daughters is, learn from my mistakes. Wear sunscreen, a hat, gloves, use your tools and bend and lift properly. They may not ever garden 4-6 hours a day like I do, but those are habits that preserve your body if you do want to garden until you are older than dirt.
