It'a funny thing but most of us right handed gardeners dig
left-handed,i.e. our left foot goes on the spade and our left hand goes
down the shaft.Try digging right-handed and you will problably send the
clods all over the place when you lift them up; but it's well-worth
persevering to alternate the strain on your back and conserve your
energy.When you dig make sure that the blade is vertical which means
that the shaft is tilted slightly forward,put both hands on the handle
and one foot on the blade then push down; if the ground is hard you may
have to jump on the spade; pull back on the handle then push down until
the clod is free;bend the knees not the back then lift up by
straightening them( it helps if you look forward not down);turn the
clod or throw forward.At the end of the row do not go back to the start
but step back, change from left to right ( or vice versa) and proceed
back. When you have finished come indoors and lie flat on your face
with your legs together and arms by your side.Keeping your leg straight
raise it up for a few moments then lower it.Repeat with the other leg.
Clench your fists and raising the hips slightly push your hands
along your groins and rest your weight on them.Now raise both legs
simultaneously.If you have any minor displacements you will feel them
being lifted into place.
I am eighty years of age and this morning I dug a small part of the
garden for my onion sets,afterwards forking in some 6-X. (10 ft x 4'6
ins).I have cultivated this garden for over fifty years.Some of the TV
gardeners make me wince when they dig - others are good at mixing
concrete,and no doubt some bright young things will take over after me
and build more patios and fountains and pretty pebbles whilst eating
bought pizzas;meantime I'll stick to the soil and the incomparible
organic produce and live a bit longer.

In article ,
david wrote:
It'a funny thing but most of us right handed gardeners dig
left-handed,i.e. our left foot goes on the spade and our left hand goes
down the shaft. ...

Do we? Not in my observation.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 26/1/05 22:31, in article , "Nick
Maclaren" wrote:

In article ,
david wrote:
It'a funny thing but most of us right handed gardeners dig
left-handed,i.e. our left foot goes on the spade and our left hand goes
down the shaft. ...

Do we? Not in my observation.


I'm interested in this. I'm left handed for writing, dealing cards, sewing
and archery (on the rare occasions I attempt the last two) but right handed
for much else, such as ironing, throwing a ball, and either hand for e.g.
pouring from a jug or bottle, though the right hand might just predominate
there. But when I dig, my right foot goes onto the spade or fork - mostly.
When I open a seed packet, my left hand does the tearing and the right hand
grasps the packet and pours the seeds into my left hand. I then transfer
them to my right hand and sow them with my left. I've never thought of
myself as having a pattern for these things until now. Reading back, it
sounds rather tiring! And very peculiar!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

On 26 Jan 2005 22:31:25 GMT, Nick Maclaren wrote:

It'a funny thing but most of us right handed gardeners dig
left-handed,i.e. our left foot goes on the spade and our left hand goes
down the shaft. ...

Do we? Not in my observation.

He did say "most" and how many have you actually "observed" to make that
statement? ;-)

Well I'm left handed, very much so, and I push down with my right foot
and slide my right hand down the shaft, couldn't do it any other way so
maybe it's true.
--
Richard 26/01/2005 23:56:08

On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 21:00:25 +0000, david
wrote:

It'a funny thing but most of us right handed gardeners dig
left-handed,i.e. our left foot goes on the spade and our left hand goes
down the shaft.

Can't say as I've noticed that - but then again I can't say that I've
actually watched that many people digging and thought to note their
technique.
I even had to stand up and mime my own technique to check it - and
it's right hand down the shaft.

snip

When you have finished come indoors and lie flat on your face
with your legs together and arms by your side.Keeping your leg straight
raise it up for a few moments then lower it.Repeat with the other leg.
Clench your fists and raising the hips slightly push your hands
along your groins and rest your weight on them.Now raise both legs
simultaneously.If you have any minor displacements you will feel them
being lifted into place.

Probably good advice - and also seems to describe with uncanny
accuracy what happens to me after a shandy too many at the local pub
of a Sunday lunchtime.

I am eighty years of age and this morning I dug a small part of the
garden for my onion sets,afterwards forking in some 6-X. (10 ft x 4'6
ins).I have cultivated this garden for over fifty years.Some of the TV
gardeners make me wince when they dig - others are good at mixing
concrete,and no doubt some bright young things will take over after me
and build more patios and fountains and pretty pebbles whilst eating
bought pizzas;meantime I'll stick to the soil and the incomparible
organic produce and live a bit longer.

Haven't made a start on my veg plot yet - the ground's still far too
claggy here. Have done some 'frost hoeing' though - which has helped
to knock back the creeping buttercup.
My improvised cloches quite literally upped and disappeared during one
of the nastier gales we had - though in return I gained a steel
dustbin lid ( minus a handle ) and a Countryside Alliance poster with
the word 'ARSE' written on in black marker.

So it's not all bad.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

In message , rwakeford
writes
On 26 Jan 2005 22:31:25 GMT, Nick Maclaren wrote:

It'a funny thing but most of us right handed gardeners dig
left-handed,i.e. our left foot goes on the spade and our left hand goes
down the shaft. ...

Do we? Not in my observation.

He did say "most" and how many have you actually "observed" to make that
statement? ;-)

Well I'm left handed, very much so, and I push down with my right foot
and slide my right hand down the shaft, couldn't do it any other way so
maybe it's true.

That is interesting. I am also mostly left-handed and use a spade in
the way you do. I use a knife and fork, sow seeds, play a guitar, play
golf (rarely), cricket (ditto) and use a computer mouse right-handed. I
rarely iron because Bas does it but when I do it is left-handed and I
also use my left hand for (most) writing, sewing, chopping and stirring
of food. Many years ago, I played rounders left-handed. Perhaps many
'left-handed' people are really ambidextrous?

I used to find that people of an older generation were intolerant of
lefties but none of my three kids have ever mentioned it and neither has
my husband, (except when he borrowed a left-handed golf club from a
friend).

I am sure many studies have been conducted about left-handedness but
life is too short to indulge in following their progress. However, I
have noticed that there seem to be many more left-handed people around
these days. Perhaps that is something to do with the penchant of some
teachers in the 1950's to make all children in their class write with
their right hand. (In my case, my mother went to the school and
complained bitterly, so that was the end of that!)
--
June Hughes

"david" wrote in message
...
It'a funny thing but most of us right handed gardeners dig
left-handed,i.e. our left foot goes on the spade and our left hand goes
down the shaft.

I dont. How many people did you survey to make this observation?

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

"June Hughes" wrote

huge snip
I am sure many studies have been conducted about left-handedness but
life is too short to indulge in following their progress. ,,,,,,,,,,,,
June Hughes

My partner is a 'leftie' so I am also interested in this, and June, life for
'lefties' might indeed be shorter: http://www.left-is-right.com/

Jenny

In article , david
nadoo.co.uk writes
It'a funny thing but most of us right handed gardeners dig
left-handed,i.e. our left foot goes on the spade and our left hand goes
down the shaft.
I switch between left and right depending on which side my gardener's
back is hurting least. If there's more than a small amount to be dug, I
switch to my Garden Master cultivator which requires both hands.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

In message , JennyC
writes

"June Hughes" wrote

huge snip
I am sure many studies have been conducted about left-handedness but
life is too short to indulge in following their progress. ,,,,,,,,,,,,
June Hughes

My partner is a 'leftie' so I am also interested in this, and June, life for
'lefties' might indeed be shorter: http://www.left-is-right.com/

That is an old chestnut, Jenny but thanks for the advice. As my parents
were both righties and only lived into their early '70s, I think, in my
case, any assumption about life-expectancy on the basis of being
left-handed is academic.
--
June Hughes

On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 23:58:18 +0000, June Hughes wrote:

That is interesting. I use a knife and fork, sow seeds, play a guitar,

All left handed for me.

golf (rarely), cricket (ditto) and use a computer mouse right-handed.

Yes, me too but those are the only three things I do right handed, all
else with the left.

I used to find that people of an older generation were intolerant of
lefties

Terrible. (I'm only 55 but, at my boarding school, they tried to make me
both eat and write the "Normal" way. After strong words from my parents
they left well alone. My left handed scissors always throw people when
they use them!

Perhaps that is something to do with the penchant of some teachers in
the 1950's to make all children in their class write with their right
hand.

Yes, left handedness and the devil went hand in hand. It's certainly far
more common now (left handedness I mean!)

Sorry mods for going off topic but it is quite interesting - isn't it??

--
Richard 27/01/2005 09:51:52

In article ,
rwakeford wrote:
On 26 Jan 2005 22:31:25 GMT, Nick Maclaren wrote:

It'a funny thing but most of us right handed gardeners dig
left-handed,i.e. our left foot goes on the spade and our left hand goes
down the shaft. ...

Do we? Not in my observation.

He did say "most" and how many have you actually "observed" to make that
statement? ;-)

Probably as many as he had :-)

Anyway, his remark shows a misunderstanding of handedness. It is a
complicated phenomenon, but applies mostly to actions that need fine
motor control and/or fine visual control. It applies very little to
actions that need only gross motor control and little visual control,
such as digging.

I am extremely right-handed, and have serious difficulty operating a
screwdriver left-handed, yet have no trouble operating a wrench - in
fact, I probably do that left-handed from preference. I dig on the
right side from preference (with hand tools as well as long ones),
but can use the other side when it is more convenient. This is all
very normal.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 27/1/05 9:19 am, in article , "Nick
Maclaren" wrote:

snip

I am extremely right-handed, and have serious difficulty operating a
screwdriver left-handed, yet have no trouble operating a wrench - in
fact, I probably do that left-handed from preference. I dig on the
right side from preference (with hand tools as well as long ones),
but can use the other side when it is more convenient. This is all
very normal.


Our doctor, who is a very good amateur artist, is right handed but he makes
himself paint with the left hand, using the right for very fine detail only.
His belief is that this encourages use of more of his brain - that's an
encapsulation of a complicated subject but I daresay you get the drift!
And a word to all those lefties out there - if you're customers of Lloyds
Bank you can get a left handed cheque book and it's a real boon!
--

Sacha
(remove the weeds for email)

"Tumbleweed" wrote in message
...

"david" wrote in message
...
It'a funny thing but most of us right handed gardeners dig
left-handed,i.e. our left foot goes on the spade and our left hand goes
down the shaft.

I dont. How many people did you survey to make this observation?

--
Tumbleweed


This topic was raised late last year at our local, and out of a group of 14
right-handed gardeners, 9 dug using their left foot/hand, one used both left
and right, and 4 used their right foot/hand.
All agreed they'd never given it thought before, but it certainly made for a
lively evening.
vsop

On 27 Jan 2005 09:19:09 GMT, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:

~In article ,
~rwakeford wrote:
~On 26 Jan 2005 22:31:25 GMT, Nick Maclaren wrote:
~
~It'a funny thing but most of us right handed gardeners dig
~left-handed,i.e. our left foot goes on the spade and our left hand goes
~down the shaft. ...
~
~ Do we? Not in my observation.
~
~He did say "most" and how many have you actually "observed" to make that
~statement? ;-)
~
~Probably as many as he had :-)
~
~Anyway, his remark shows a misunderstanding of handedness. It is a
~complicated phenomenon, but applies mostly to actions that need fine
~motor control and/or fine visual control. It applies very little to
~actions that need only gross motor control and little visual control,
~such as digging.

I have whichever foot on the spade I think I've not used for 10
minutes or so, but usually it's the right hand at the top of the spade
and left hand down the shaft. My footedness (!) is to even out strain
and stop me getting nightmare sciatica again.

Hands - well, I always used to confuse people when playing badminton
as I'd switch playing hands if the shuttlecock was on the opposite
side to the hand with the racquet. Though nominally right, I've always
thought I was ambidextrous and I married a lefty, so it will be
interesting if we have kids to see what their handedness is.

Anyone know what the genetics of lefthandedness are?

~I am extremely right-handed, and have serious difficulty operating a
~screwdriver left-handed, yet have no trouble operating a wrench - in
~fact, I probably do that left-handed from preference. I dig on the
~right side from preference (with hand tools as well as long ones),
~but can use the other side when it is more convenient. This is all
~very normal.

Hand tools I think I use my right, simply from habit.

Given the advantages of writing roman script when a righty, and having
90-ish% of western folk a righty, is there a greater tendency to
lefthandedness in peoples who write R-L like Hebrew or Arabic? And
what about Chinese pictograms (Top-bottom??)

You've all got me curious now...


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

Please remove onmaps from replies, thanks!