Gardening is an enjoyable activity to get physically active, make your home beautiful, and grow your food. Although you need to spend a lot of time and effort there, everything will be worth it when the flowers bloom, and the fruits are ready to be harvested.
There’s nothing more gratifying than picking out fresh-grown produce from your garden. When gardening, you need to consider many things, including your safety, especially when handling chemicals and tools. More than 300,000 garden-related accidents are treated in emergency rooms each year, according to statistics. It is a must to take safety precautions in backyard gardening and protect yourself from any harm that may come your way.
The benefits of gardening might outweigh the risks, but it is still important to be careful and make sure you’re safe.
In this article, you’ll get a guide to safe gardening practices. With these gardening safety tips, you can save yourself from having a trip to the nearest hospital.
The Clothing
When gardening, you have to wear proper gardening attire, which means you need to wear your garden protective clothing, including your gardening gloves, boots, and hat. Your gardening clothes aren’t just clothes. They’re going to make you all comfy while working in your garden. They’re also a form of protection from the sun, from injuries, and harmful chemicals. Your gardening gloves, for instance, they’re your protective gear from sharp objects you might get in contact with or from toxic chemicals. You see, garden clothing is a necessity for gardeners. If you plan to get things done in your garden, then better put on your gardening clothes.
Avoid Long Exposure To Sunlight
When working in your garden, you need to take some time off from direct sunlight. It is never good to be exposed to the sun for a very long time. When digging on a sunny day, you have to take a short break and take cover in the nearest tree or some shaded area. Not only will you get dehydrated, but you also get some severe illnesses such as sunstroke, sunburn, and skin cancer if you’re continuously exposed to the sun. It is alright to take breaks, get a drink and enjoy the beauty of nature under a shade of a tree.
Avoid Continuous Activities
Before stepping foot in your garden and working, make sure you get a decent warm-up. Why, you may ask? Gardening is a physical activity. It would help if you warmed your muscles up before getting into some heavy work.
When getting into position, avoid continuous gardening for a prolonged time. It would help if you’re taking breaks in between work for your body to relax and be ready for another work.
Prolonging heavy works such as digging or raking might not be the best idea, especially for older people and those with health concerns.
If you do one gardening task for too long, you can get repetitive strain injury, muscle strain, blisters, and other injuries. Remember, exerting too much effort and energy will negatively affect your body.
Avoid Toxic Substances
When using chemicals and other substances for your plants, consider taking precautions. Although chemicals found in soils or others used for gardening are considered safe, prolonged exposure and careless handling might result in severe health risks.
Never wipe your eyes or face with your hands while using chemicals in your garden. Pesticides should always be handled with extra care. Follow the directions in handling and storing such chemicals to avoid health risks.
And when you are to dispose of it, make sure to follow the Hazardous Waste regulations in your area for your community’s safety. Also, make sure that your kids have no access to these chemicals.
Swallowing these toxic chemicals can poison both kids and adults.
The Right Tools
It’s best to think of safety first when gardening, and so you need tools and equipment for safe working in your garden.
Using tools and equipment also comes with precautions. Especially for power tools, you need to read the instructions to understand how your power tools work before using them.
Also, consider the condition of your area, whether it’s suitable for using electrical devices in your garden. If you’re using a mower, make sure to remove all things that might block and cause some issues when mowing.
Always keep your kids away when using sharp tools in gardening to avoid any severe injuries.
Clean Yourself Up After Gardening
Among all health risks, garden-related health issues come when you stay dirty after a day in your garden. It is important to clean up, wash your hands or take a shower after spending a day digging, pruning, planting, and beautifying your garden.
With the use of chemicals to plants, it’s necessary to wash off possible remnants on your body, for it may cause some serious health issues. It’s also not good to stay soiled throughout the day.
Bacteria from the soil may also cause other serious health risks if they remain on your skin for a long time. Immediately get cleaned after gardening; it’s a great practice of proper hygiene.
In conclusion, as a gardener, one should ensure that safety and health come first when making and maintaining a garden.
The gardening safety tips are very important and should be understood and practiced by gardeners, newbies, and regular gardeners alike. With this guide, there’s a great assurance that health and safety for gardeners are guaranteed. for more Articles, visit our website www.homebounties.com/
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https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/gardening-safety
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