I have a good tip for lifting stuff that I was lucky enough to see done on a much bigger scale when my Dad was lifting heavy and irregular stuff in the line of his work. I've found that it works very well indeed on things (of a much smaller size of course) like long-tom pots full of soil and so on. It is often the grip on things that is the problem, not actual weight that makes them difficult. The idea is to make a firm harness around the item that won't slip. It must be made out of something very strong, like long leather dog leads, or the detachable straps from sholder bags, or any other stuff (maybe belts?) that have a strong clasp. You can then attach a handle or two to grasp it, lifing it at your side or in front depending on your problems lifting.
If you take, for example, the long-toms that I had to move, I put a dog lead, cliped on to itself about three quaters of the way up the pot (it has to be just over half way up at least, so that the pot won't tip over when it is lifted!) I then clipped a shopping bag handle on either side, with the handle long enough to connect above the plants so not to damage them. I could then lift it in the way you would lift a bucket, steadying and stearing it a little against my legs as I went.
For a bigger, heavier pot, enlisted help to use the same method to get it up a flight of steps. It was especially awkward since the pot had no rim at all to grip. It was very easy for me and a friend to lift it after I put the dog lead around it, and then attached four improvised handles. My friend lifted the two (he has a bad back too, but he found it easy) and I lifted the third and fourth. I wouldn't risk lifting a very heavy pot with just two handles or like one would lift a bucket, in case it did overballence.
I have lifted a bigger pot myself (on a good day) which required that I tie twine around the trunk of the plant too, and twist the handles arround the twine so that both the pot and the trunk were kept upright as I lifted it. It worked very well.
It is very important to take lots of time thinking out the best way to attatch a harnes to a pot or any other object, so that it won't tip about as you lift it, causeing it to overballence, and potentially you with it! It is best not to rush as you are doing the tieing up or fixing of the harness either, being well worth the time and effort when you find you can lift something after all, and see other people's faces when you say "oh yes, I lifted those myself, no problem".
The trolleys for lifting pots are very good, but only to a point, since most cover a limited range of shapes and dimensions. I find that it is best to tie things in place with those two, rather than risk them falling at an awkward moment.
@Dinah, thanks for those tips, hadn't thought of pot harnesses! I usually use our sack trolley and tie the pot to that, getting OH to do the lifting bit. Doesn't help that our garden is on a slope with lots of steps.
Yes, gadening on a slope is a whole school of work by itself. I love the idea of terracing because my lawn has a serious slope down the side of it (though of course, even terracing has the problem of more steps to climb) but I couldn't do the work myself and I imagine it would be very expencive to get done. I do dream of the Meditarainian towns where the fruit trees grow on a lower terrace to each path, so to make it easier to pick the fruit - wow, that would be something! The mountain side we live on faces north unfortunately, and the north coastal winds are too strong to be strolling along with a basket picking oranges! But no harm in dreaming.
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