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jasmine123_gw

Indoor gardening system for the blind

jasmine123
19 years ago

Would anyone know of an indoor gardening system that could be used in a home for the blind? Most of the residents are in wheelchairs,so really, a handicapped accesible gardening system is what I am looking for. I found several on the web, but subsequent calls to them proved not sufficient. Thanks for your help.

Comments (8)

  • mikeandbarb
    19 years ago

    What type of garden are you looking for? One that you can touched or smell or both? The only thing that comes to my mind is a terrarium. I can't think of a plant that would have smell that would go good in a terrarium though.

  • Jardin_Esperance
    19 years ago

    Hello (excuse my english, i don't practice much these times)I do a bit of gardening with blind children, and we do use square raise beds, compartimented into smaller squares by little woodcuts, on which we adapt differents wood scales to mark the spaces for seeds... All these we made ourselves
    what kind of gardening are you wanting to do? How much space do you have, and why has it to be indoor?

  • ellen_
    19 years ago

    It would be helpful to know more about the residents and what they are looking to grow. Being blind myself, I start my own seeds, put out the transplants and work in the garden including harvesting. I also freeze about 40 quarts of sauce each year along with some pesto, garlic spread and peppers/onions.
    How involved a program are you referring to? Are you working at an agency that assists the visually impaired? Whether it's personal or professional, go with the person's abilities, which will generally be oriented to touch. Design the program, (what is wanted) around the person's interests, including the complexity of the project.
    Visual impairment doesn't leave out any gardening as long as the person wants to do the work and is mentally able to understand its complexities. For example, I grow about 12 types of sweet peppers each year and 15 types of hot ones. I label each packet in braille and write down on the computer its days to germination, plant height and number of days to becoming ripe. I just use the commercial products that are available and choose the ones that are easier to work with not having sight.

  • Yellow22
    19 years ago

    I would suggest that you place a project in front of you with somebody who is as caring as you, and close your eyes. They would act as you would but you would not as easily get through even though you've see all your life.
    I remember once a I had a teacher with maze, large nail head on a board and asked to take the path with your finger. I got to do it first and thought I could get far. Not far at all. That opened my eyes. Maybe you could have them use herbs and glue patches on there path. Make there own design. It could be a project that could be hung. It would make some intersting art.
    That would incle seeds, leaves, what ever. I like that idea and I may try it as a project with who I work with.

  • Yellow22
    19 years ago

    I really so much liked this teacher, I took a class lower level in high school, it's was a nurse math class, wasn't up on the level of trig or cal,but this was just the right math for me. She even drew blood and gave us are own tube. I'm sure today this would not happen in high school with out a written concent today, but I was able to pass that tube to my first. As weird as that sounds I have a feeling he still has it.
    She also let us go through who was going to be crowned at the prom list. I sifted through the list and papers and noticed a girl who I didn't like, evny, and announced she wasn't listed. Well not typical, a draw from the hat queen, but guess what she won that night. That was another valuable lesson I learned. I was so proud to be honest. It's was one of those wispers in life as good judgement. Beauty sometimes is all in the hand of the creater.

  • nandina
    19 years ago

    Jasmine,
    It is difficult to answer your question without knowing the facilities in your building. Do you have a solarium? Or, would all gardening have to be done under lights? If the later is true, how much space could be devoted to this project?
    It is apparent that a special design will be needed. Are you possibly located near any of the art/design colleges in MA? By contacting them you may find that one of the instructors would take on this type of project for a class assignment. It is a challenging project that may be of great interest to one of them. I have turned to such institutions for help/design ideas with great results. Knock on a few doors. There are many willing hands and minds out there that could help. I doubt that there is already a prebuilt kit available to fit your needs.

  • CrazyJohn
    19 years ago

    Indoor Gardening System for the blind??? NO SUCH THING!!!!

  • gurley157fs
    19 years ago

    jasmine123, don't give up. Contact Swan Lake Gardens in Sumter South Carolina. They have a special section for the blind 'Braille Trail for the sight impaired'. All of the plants have markers in braille and have been selected for texture and or fragrance. I'm not sure who the point of contact would be - they do have a website. If you have any difficulty with this feel free to send me an e-mail and I can try to check it out for you. Wonderful idea!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Swan Lake