The Garden Shoe Upgrade
Back in 2010, for some reason, I lined up all my gardening shoes for this enticing group photo. The shoes mostly kept my feet dry and were strong enough for jumping on a shovel, but they weren’t exactly podiatrist-recommended, a factor I paid no attention to – until this year.
For more than a decade, my go-to gardening shoes have been these dirty old Crocs.
Or this other pair of dirty old Crocs – the iconic and ugliest Croc of them all. My gardening ensemble was completed by pants, a shirt and socks all soaked in Permethrin to protect against ticks. In this photo I had just parked at my other (adopted) garden, ready to go to work on it.
The quality of my shoes came under scrutiny recently because my right foot suddenly, for no known reason, showed all the symptoms of plantar fasciitis, an injury SO common I bet half of you have had it. My physical therapist suggested I try Hoka walking shoes, so I bought some and I’ll get to try them on a nice long walk when I’m finally pain-free again. (Meanwhile, I’m icing, stretching and massaging per his orders.)
For everyday, around-the-house-and-garden footwear, I stepped up from those thin old Crocs to Hoka’s Ora Recovery 3 Slider, which I captured for you this morning as I was heading out to the garden with that same anti-tick apparel. (I notice now that the pants are sloppily tucked into the always-dirty-looking socks and I think I spy a toe popping out of one of them.)
But back to the new shoes, look at all that support! And they slide on and off but stay on without any clinching of toes. I loved them instantly and went online to buy a pair in black that I could wear outside the house without embarrassment. (Though hey, at least they’re better looking than you-know-whats.)
They DO cost more than Crocs but when it comes to pain avoidance, my motto has become “What’s money for, anyway?”
Gardener’s Little Helper – the Rain Gauge
Last summer I bought this cheap, beautifully analog rain gauge, stuck it here in my front garden, and now I wonder why it took me so damn long to use one! Instead of wondering how long the overnight storm lasted and how much it might have helped, now the answer is right here and it’s far more locally precise than anything the Weather Service can tell me. You just have to remember to empty it after each observation.
And here are two of those observations, the one on the left recording over 3 inches sometime last week. The other shot is from August of last year when it registered over 5 and a half inches in my back garden. Whether it’s little or a lot of rain, it’s so useful to know.
One more thing – just remember to bring in a glass gauge like this for the winter. I didn’t do that for my first gauge, and this spring I found its shattered remains in the border.
Lordy, your outfits looks so reasonable…honestly! Im here in Hot-lanta ( Atlanta, GA) and I do trips to the thrift store for women’s polyester pull on pants, men’s oversized buttondown shirts knee socks and old nikes or chukka style boots….. I will NOT be brave enough to post photos here even If I could…..My husband always laughs ( gaffaws really) first and then comments “Where is the rest of the circus?” The nice thing is, when those teeny burrs ( are the culprits forget-me-nots?) get into my clothes.. just toss em …
Thx. I’ll start thinking of my outfit as perfectly reasonable.
Susan, thanks for sharing. That plantar shit is no fun. I came down with it many years ago and ended up with orthotics along with a regime of steroid shots. I have used Muck Shoes for years but they are just too hot in the summer so I am intrigued with these shoes you are “promoting”. Hope the pain goes away quickly.
Steroid shots? I haven’t heard that one.
Gym shorts, t-shirt and flip flops from May well into October (Hampton, VA). Thankfully no ticks. Yank off the shirt in back yard and hose off (male). Wife is now upgrading me to better footwear. 67-year-old ankles and knees need better support.
Wow! To me that’s like gardening nude.
Hope that fancy footwear does the trick and you are soon pain-free! I just recently bought that same, inexpensive rain gauge. And, just as you did, I wondered why the heck I never used one before! Now if Ma Nature would just give us more to measure, please. Its been mighty dry here in Western Maryland. And thanks for the tip/reminder to bring it inside this fall.
Plantar fasciatus sucks especially when you are a gardener. I suffered from it many years ago. Special boot, physio and a cortisone shot did not permanently remedy the problem. The next step was surgery with questionable results. I did some research online and found E-zorb a calcium supplement. Great reviews and so with nothing to lose I ordered some. I am happy to report that the problem has completely disappeared. It’s an American company so check it out.
Plantar fasciitis is just the worst-foot inserts and stretching achilles tendons helped me. I used to like Crocs, until I learned the hard way that Crocs and Texas fire ants are not a good combination. I’ve switched to Timberland’s Mid Ankle Boots for gardening & they have been spectacular and surprisingly cool. Your Hoka shoes look like they would be great for pool time here-will have to check them out.
Wow. I’d never think mid-ankle Timberlands would be cool. Thx for the report.
Rain gauges. I learned the hard way to always empty them after rain. I found drowned bumble bees twice this year. (And, I’m upgrading to glass as well).
I switched this year to a shoe with traction and arch support. My feet don’t hurt. What a concept!
Hiking Boots!!! I am often gardening on a steep slope, but also have gardens on relatively flat ground. Once upon a time, when gardening wearing an old pair of tennis shoes, I accidentally stepped on the side of a large rock that I didn’t see because it had been completely overgrown with periwinkle. I blew out my ankle, and hopped into the house for an immediate ice pack. Even with lots of rehab, it took more than a year to fully recover from that injury. Ever since then, I have been wearing high top Gortex hiking boots. Love them — so sturdy, and keeps me totally stable and dry!
Sounds MUCH safer than old tennis shoes.
While your rain gauge is so doubt more stylish than mine, I have to put in a plug for CoCoRaHS (the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow network). The gauge itself is, like you said, delightfully analog. But the real fun begins when you log on to record your rain or snowfall. You can compare how much rain you and your neighbors received to really see how localized (or widespread) storms can be. You can use the interactive maps. You, or rather the website, can track your precipitation over time to see monthly and yearly totals. You can be a citizen scientist contributing data to be used by weather and climate researchers! It started in Colorado 25 years ago but now there are contributors from all 50 states and more.
https://cocorahs.org/
Thank you Heather for recommending CoCoRaHs. Much more accurate rain gauge and so much good info on their website. I was amazed at how just a mile or two makes such a difference in precipitation. CoCoRaHs started when a flash flood killed several people in Colorado and might have been prevented if they knew how much precip was falling upstream.
Thanks for the tip! Ordered a pair this am. Here on the western slopes of the Oregon Cascades we have a gauge much like yours that we use every season except summer. No rain here! Love it when it shows us a positive read in the Spring. Get that foot feeling well soon!
The only shoes I use unless I am hopping on a spade or walking on a lava flow are bare feet. You should see them. Toenail fungus is not a concern.
No, maybe we SHOULDN’T see them.
Thanks for writing this. I’ve experienced plantar fasciitis several times and it’s no fun. I know a lot was from my garden slogs or other garden shoes I tend to wear all too many places. So I’m checking out this new brand to see how it helps. Great topic.
Timely as I am looking for a new pair of garden shoes.
I snort laughed at your outfit. That logo on your socks? Know it well (likely thanks to you or another Ranter). We could be twins!
You snort-laughed at my outfit! Now I might snort-laugh.
Your feet are obviously way better than mine. I have to wear sturdy supportive leather shoes. The thought of wearing sandals is not appealing to me: dirt sifting through my socks, no thanks. Some months ago I bought a pair of men’s wide Keen Oxford, which were great until they weren’t. Now I’m testing a pair of Brooks leather sneakers in the house (so I can return them if they aren’t comfortable). Sigh…
I have had plantar fasciitis (and other foor maladies) for many years. The most comfortable supportive shoes I wear gardening are Merrell Siren mid height waterproof hiking shoes. They are lightweight and really comfortable for me (wide toes,flat feet, hammer toes, etc.). I also wear Asics gel running shoes, and occasionally I wear Sloggers clogs. They are far more comfortable and suppportive than Muck shoes/boots.
In the partially metric UK I have a rain gauge, standard item, which does decimal parts of inches. 0.3 of an inch?! I researched and China (sigh) has furnished me with a proper gauge in inches and fractions of inches.
A decimal of an inch does seem weird.
Ouch, foot pain is no fun at all! I have been wearing long sleeves with men’s basketball shorts (pockets!) and going barefoot in the garden. Today I stepped on a large slug and sincerely regretted the lack of footwear.
Yech! Been there.