Gardening can be both a passion and a pleasure. To keep it that way, you need to garden smart, which includes putting safety first. You may think that no place could be safer than your serene and peaceful garden. But more gardeners than you might think suffer health issues from their outdoor plant work. Avoid preventable problems with these five garden safety tips.
1. Cover up – Sun rays are essential to plant growth, but too much sun and/or excess heat isn’t good for any gardener. Plan ahead and manage the amount of sunshine you get. First, cover up to avoid too many rays. Wear a comfortable, wide-brimmed hat, long-sleeved tops and long pants. In addition, cream on broad-spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen and wear good sunglasses.
2. Schedule work time – Sun rays can be especially damaging during the heat of the day. So you want to schedule your outdoor work time to avoid the noon-to-two o’clock hours. Drink lots of water as you work and if you start feeling hot, take a break until evening. Sunstroke is a real thing and an avoidable one for a gardener.
3. Invest in good gloves – Your hands do the bulk of the gardening work, so don’t leave them out there on their own. Buy yourself a good set of gardening gloves to protect your digits from blisters and bug bites as well as soil dangers. Remember,your soil contains lots of things other than clean dirt. It has both bacteria and fungi that are native to the soil and also materials you have added, like fertilizers and pesticides. These can turn cuts into infections fast.
4. Change activities often – You maybe in great shape, but still, repeating the same motion over and over doesn’t make for a happy body. And many central gardening activities tend to be repetitious. So when you are digging, raking or hedge clipping, take a break. This goes for any repetitive activity. Do something different for a time or just take a break. Rotating tasks every 15 minutes is a good rule of thumb.
5. Treat tools with respect – Lawnmowers,weed whackers and anything motorized can really do you harm. To be safe, you need to know what you are doing, understand the dangers and keep your tools in tip-top condition. Save some tasks for the experts. For example, trimming tall trees or rototilling might look doable, but these chores are also dangerous. It may be time to call in an expert.
