[BlindTlk] Working in a Garden

Wed Oct 3 16:54:15 UTC 2018

That's tricky.  I plant the seeds or transplants in rows or a pattern I will 
hopefully be able to distinguish later, which helps with knowing what's a 
keeper and what should be pulled.  Mostly though I wait for the plants to 
get to maybe 6 to 8 inches tall.  Then they are big enough to more easily 
identify by touch.   The longer you garden the more practice you get and it 
does get easier.  The first couple of years I struggled with knowing what is 
what.  Things like onions, beans and tomato's are easier to identify, at 
least for me.  You also get used to the most common weeds and can feel more 
confident pulling them before they get too big.

I pull weeds by hand.   Well, unless they are truly large and I can't 
physically pull it.  Then I get a tool and place the blade by touch, then 
proceed like anyone would.  However using a hoe, walking down the rows and 
chopping weeds is not a workable weed strategy for me.

If you're really new to gardening, I'd suggest any sort of bean and squash 
either summer or winter varieties.  Those are easy things to grow, have a 
lot of varieties to choose from, do well in most climates and are fairly 
easy to distinguish by touch.  Onions are also easy to identify by touch, 
but a bit tougher to grow.  Tomato's are moderately easy to grow and are 
reasonably easy to identify once they get to be 6 to 8 inches tall or so.

Julie
On The Go with Guide-and-Service-Dogs.com
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also find my products in the Blind Mice Mega Mall
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-----Original Message----- 
From: Judy Jones via BlindTlk
Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2018 11:25 AM
To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List'
Cc: Judy Jones
Subject: Re: [BlindTlk] Working in a Garden

I love reading your thoughts.  My question has been, how to tel the young
plants from any weeds that are also growing?

Judy

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindTlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie
Johnson via BlindTlk
Sent: Wednesday, October 3, 2018 4:21 AM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Cc: Julie Johnson
Subject: Re: [BlindTlk] Working in a Garden

Yes, I garden both at home and in the community garden.  There are some
things that aren't practical, like using a hoe to chop weeds, but other than

that it's pretty much the same as for sighted people.  Learning what is a
weed and what is a vegetable/flower took some practice.   I prefer to set up

the garden so I don't walk through where the plants are.  The square foot
method works well.  I also have a few raised beds.  I plant some things in
the landscaping so they can vine on the fence or porch railings, much easier

than setting up trellis and then tearing it down at the end of the season.
My main garden area at home is only 4 feet wide and about 30 feet long,
which allows me to be able to walk around the outside of the plants and
reach in to pull weeds or collect vegetables without walking through where
the plants are.  The community garden space is a big rectangle of 15 feet by

30 feet, where I do have to walk through rows.  I have to be super careful
not to step on the plants, especially early in the season when they are
tiny.  It's doable, but not my preference.

I tried different labeling methods in the garden, but never did find
anything that worked well and lasted throughout the gardening season.  I
have a few things in flowerpots and those I just stick in a braille plastic
label right in the dirt.  For the rest of the garden I keep notes on the
computer to help me keep track of what is where, when it was planted and
anything else I want to remember.  I don't label seed packets.  I just use
Seeing AI or something similar.

Knowing when the vegetables are ripe can be done by touch.  It's not much
different than picking out produce in the grocery store.  You have to be
familiar with the vegetable to know what you should check, size, firmness,
ease of removing from the vine etc.  That all comes with practice.

It took a number of years before I could reliably get things to grow and
produce.  I'm not naturally gifted at growing things.  Now my general
strategy is to plant 10x more than I will want at the end, so after I kill
off most of it, I'm still left with a reasonable amount.

Happy gardening!
Julie
On The Go with Guide-and-Service-Dogs.com
http://www.guide-and-service-dogs.com
also find my products in the Blind Mice Mega Mall
<https://www.blindmicemegamall.com/bmm/shop/Directory_Departments?storeid=19
16046>
-----Original Message----- 
From: Ella Yu via BlindTlk
Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2018 7:18 PM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Cc: Ella Yu
Subject: [BlindTlk] Working in a Garden

Hi all,
I'm supposed to start working in a garden soon and I'm wondering
if it's possible for people who are completely blind.  I will
have assistance.
Thanks in advance.

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No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2012.0.2265 / Virus Database: 4365/15297 - Release Date: 07/04/18
Internal Virus Database is out of date. 