“As a long time gardener, I did not realize how inadequate and demanding existing garden tools were until I returned to my garden following a heart attack. My intention was to use gardening as part of my physical rehabilitation. Even though I had a lawn service to do the heavy work, I still maintained a large herb/ hot pepper garden, several good sized seasonal “color” gardens in front of the house, and more along the creek in the back–there was still a lot of work for a home gardener.

I discovered quickly that my old tools were not designed for senior citizens with physical limitations. In fact, as I looked at my garden tools in light of my new physical condition, I realized that the garden tools I was using were designed more for day labor than for my home gardening. I was left with two choices– either change my physical being or change my tools. I decided to change my tools, and that is where this adventure began.

Of all the human activities that require tools to get the job done, the one that requires the use of more body parts is gardening. If you’ve ever used a shovel, you know what I mean.

My question was simple–based on what I knew about the difficulties and efforts required to use present garden hand tools, why hasn’t ergonomics been applied to garden tools.