Allotments 4 All
Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: kenkew on March 11, 2005, 17:18:03
-
As promised elsewhere, a word or two purely on plot safety instigated by broad comments under 'News'.
Newbies to the plot environmet might not realize how hazardouse it can be and what basic steps can be taken to minimize risks.
One starter from the other post was lids on water butts.
Have a think and add something.
-
Block the ends of runs of glass cloches.
When putting in canes, hold close to the bottom - not half way up, or they can split & stab you.
-
On the subject of short canes, put small drinks bottles over the end, as I once stabbed myself in the eye leaning over the row.
Methinks I was extremely lucky . . .
Update : Monty was talking about the same subject tonight, although he suggested used old red noses ha ha ha!
-
Have a basic first aid kit with you.
Antiseptic, wound wash, plasters, washing water, bandage, tweezers, cotton wool, eye bath and solution.
Possibly sting treatment spray and mobile phone.
-
And a flask of brandy?
Sorry!
-
One of the plots at my allotments has sheets of corrugated metal to make a compost heap - the corner is right next to the path and protrudes at a very dangerous level for small kids, also he sharp point is facing up the hill so there is a chance that kids or adults even could slip into it on a wet path. We have decided not to use that path at all as I consider it too dangerous.
Basically my point is check the perimiters of your plot and check there are no obstructions onto pathways.
Also beware of bits of wood with protruding nails !
(Sorry if these points are a bit obvious!)
-
Not obvious at all Ab'y...well pointed out. Most well run lotties are pretty keen on keeping what's 'your's' inside your fence.
My neighbours seem to just chuck everything they don't want over the fence. As it happens it's a corner plot so not too much of a danger. An eyesore tho with old tree prunings and broken plant pots. Me thinks I'll chuck it all back over into there plot seeing as how they won't be round again for at least a month.
Any more safety hints?
-
Stand your fork into the ground when not in use, don't leave it lying flat on the ground with the prongs facing upwards.
Don't leave bits of broken glass on your plot, I've dug out loads from my plot, luckily no cuts yet but I always wear a pair of good quality leather gloves.
Some of our plot holders have low level metal stakes marking the edges of their plot, the stakes have rough/sharp edges and some screws protruding (at some stage they had boards attached to the stakes, assume for raised beds), I caught and ripped my trouser leg on one yesterday. Someone else has bamboo canes about 30cm high marking the corners of their beds, so easy for children to fall onto.
-
Beware of the slapstick rake position.
It's such a classic but still it got me once hahahaha, stepped on the prongs and got hit on the side of the head by the handle.
Despite the tetanus controversy, I still believe in keeping the vaccination up to date.
-
Dehydration
It´s easy to get dehydrated while working, especially if it´s warm and you´re up there for some hours. Take up a large bottle of water and a flask of something hot. It´s also a good idea to have a high-calorie snack such as chocolate or Kendal mint cake for if you overdo it and feel wobbly. At such times, more serious accidents are more likely to happen! And if you´re working over lunch, remember to take sandwiches!
Watch out for others
If you can look about you as you enter or leave the sites, check to see if there is anyone else there, and if they are ok! Call to others as you arrive and leave so they know if you´re there. Be friendly!
On the mobile phones mentioned by kenkew, make sure you've got the number for the police, not just the emergency number, but the one you ring to report damage etc. And that it's charged up!!!!!
moonbells
-
One that got me and I still have the scars to prove it. Regardless of the weather, cover bare flesh when hacking back weedy nettle filled areas. Last summer I hacked back a huge nettle patch which was also filled with unknown weeds and not only was I stung very badly, but I was also sprayed with sap and plant juices (and got stung by a wasp to boot!). Was fine for 24hours, but then, when the slightly sore stung skin was exposed to sunlight - whoop - covered in HUGE blisters. Looked as though I had been very very very badly burnt. Felt poorly, skin was incredibly tender and of course, became infected (nice huh!). Ended up on antibiotics and antibiotic creams and resting. On my tummy (yes, I was scantly clad :() and up my left arm I still have brown scar tissue from the burns. Now I have baby wipes in the shed so I can keep my skin clean if I get any sap on me, plus I have several good pairs of gloves (thanks to Ava for my birthday! ;D)
-
Sorry to hear that EJ :o Plants can really give off some right irritating juices. A bloke I worked with inherited an overgrown plot and on a sunny day set about it. No shirt on and only shorts. Sometime after he started to get itchy and after a short time his whole body was becoming a mass of painful blisters. he had to go to casualty and they kept him in with burns. The plant was RUE. Some of his burns were very deep and he was in hospital for a week or so.
-
Steel-toe capped boots!!!!!!!!!!
They may not be sexy but I wouldn't be without my pair. My niece and nephew say they make me look like some builder bloke called "bob" but the steel toes saved me from a fork in the foot last year.
CC
-
I recently got whacked at the side of the head with a rake my husband left lying about :'( Got very bad cut on hand last year when I was breaking an old teapot to make crocks. My mate had a brand new pair of secateurs and took the end of his finger off with them :'( :'( It's more dangerous than diy. My husband had a fight with a strimmer and lost. He never, ever used it again. He looked like Al Capone with a cut from one end of his fizog to the other. It all swelled up and he got black eyes as well. This was because he followed none of the safety rules as regards to tipping the strimmer and didn't wear a visor. If he'd gone round the garden picking out the obstructions first he would have been ok but oh no.
And the time he set fire to his trousers well ...... ;D
-
Come on now....you just can't leave it there...thats' cruel
Derek
-
I can't think of anything more painful than a slice up yer fizog. Maybe a whack on the goobies, but at least that's not long lasting.
-
the day my OH cut up his features with the strimmer he got a phone call asking him to stand in for someone too sick to play pool in a pub tournament. My OH agreed being the good soul that he is. His face was so bruised, cut and swollen and his eyes were black by tea time. He put his sunglasses on and went to this pub for the competition. Folk were giving him a wide berth cos he looked like the local mafia ;D They won :)
-
One of the most innocent and yet accident prone areas of the lottie are the paths.
The tend to get a little narrower each year through cultivation and erosion also 'uneven'. After a period of rain they become almost non negotiable. I have seen many a plot holder go base over apex by slipping off the edge, in fact done myself many times
Derek
-
Derek: I agree. Our lotties are on a slope, and so the drop between the grass level and the soil on the downward side is about 7-8" and so erosion is continually eating away at it.
I've had to put boards against the edge this year, filling in the gap with flints, and I'm hoping that the infalling soil plus the stones plus the couch grass will help re-set the bank in place. But I know what you mean about slipping sideways... ow!
moonbells
-
Co-incidence or what; This morning I got an eye full of soil (not saying how!) I had a heck of a job cleaning my eye and wished I had a mirror down the plot!
-
I have slipped a-over-t on the paths many a time, glad I am normally alone at the plot, only the crows to laugh at me, and always flicking soil into my eyeballs! What is it they close at the exact same nano second as the soil hits them, not before, oh no!
Another one I thought of, sunken water features. On our site, one of the plot holders has a dustbin sunk to ground level and full of water and pond weed. The grass grows around, and to be honest, if you aren't aware it was there you could quite easily end up in it! They did once have a little bit of 'fence' around it, but that has gone. Looks pretty, and is pretty dangerous!
-
One of our plot holders picked a very nasty ear infection-the whole of his face swelled up . The Doc reckoned he had put his dirty fingrer into said ear and caused the infection.
Makes a change from foot in the mouth I ;D ;Dsuppose!!
-
If you're allowed bonfires on your site, as we are, make sure you keep and eye on the wind direction, especially if you're near to houses, main roads etc. Make sure you have your fire away from sheds, fences, greenhouses, trees etc. if possible have a contained fire in a drum.
Don't use petrol/diesel, paraffin etc to "get it going" and take care about what goes on the fire, plastics give off toxic fumes, aerosols give off big bangs and wet or green stuff give off thick smoke.
-
Don't let your other half keep pieces of Land Rover on your lottie over the winter. They leak nasty liquids....
I doubt this will apply to most people!!!!! :D
-
And of course, keep a first aid kit handy but don't tell anyone else about it otherwise you'll end up using all your plasters on other people lol.
-
ohhhh the landrover parts apply to us
we have 2 a 30 odd year old series 3 and a 110
-
And after our lovely sunny day today it reminded me to take a bottle of sun cream and leave in the shed, especially if you have little helpers with you, and perhaps a sun hat too.
-
When I first took mine on and was clearing it I was biten I think by a horsefly, I then had a reaction to it the whole of my calf went rock hard and then swelling occured, you could see where it had bitten, I needed a course of anti-biotics, I have been stung by both bees and wasps but had no reaction. I have heard someone else on the site hit a wasps nest whilst clearing.
-
Be very careful when helping someone cut netting! I was crouched on one end of a large roll of sheep netting at our allotment fence mending session a couple of weekends ago. I was crouched down because the North wind howling down the site made it too cold to stand up. My mate was cutting the netting about 10 feet away, and let it go when he got to the end. i looked up just in time to get it right between the eyes! I just thank everything that's good, that he had cut it right to to the 'squares'. If he'd cut it leaving the wire ends, I'd've got a 4inch spike of thick wire in each eye. As it is I have looked like a boxer ever since :o
Oh yes, the funny rake routine - been there, done that, hilarious!
uneven, slippery steps and paths - get my DH every time...
Love and Compost
Linda
-
Wow Linda, that could have been just horrendous! As it is, black eyes aren't great! You were very lucky indeed.
In the first aid kit, make sure you have antihistamine cream and liquid for all stings and bites.
-
:o Geez :o that could have been nasty, accidents do happen when you least expect them :o
Hope you feel better soon ;)
I had my tetanus injection yesterday, apparently it includes polio and diptheria as well, the aching in my upper arm I thought was due to yesterdays heavey digging but not so sure now ???
-
If you are in the situation, you have to cross a deep, narrow stream, just before opening the allotment gate, with a wheel barrow-wide bridge ( read 2 planks) dont'be lazy or want to be quick, but put down the wheel barrow, open the gate first and go back to get your full wheelbarrow with manure. The water can be veeeery cold.. ;D ;D
So always have some dry , clean clothes in shed/ car :-*
-
I agree LC. I too would be very careful in that situation ;D
-
Was knocked unconcious by the Health & Safety on Allotments Handbook which fell off the shelf as I came in the door :'(
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
-
Safety can be dangerous to you health?
-
Glass cold frames are also dangerous things.
My mother in law several years ago made a cold frame out of a single glazes interior door. one rainy day she was pottering around slipped under foot, fell putting her hand through the cold frame glass. She severed her wrist cutting through tendons and everything. as you can imagine blood pumping every where.She was rushed to hospital after loosing several pints of blood and has had several operations to repair nerves and tendans. Still has little sensation in her fingers and finds it hard to grip things.
If you are making things use old double glazing units at least they are toughened glass and at the very worst you may only break the top pain.
Be safe .
Alan
-
Seeing as everyone is out in full force on their lotties now I thought I'd revive this thread from last year, there's some important information about safety that some new allotment holders might like to read. It would be nice to add more to this thread if you think of something not mentioned already. :)
-
As someone mentioned the first aid kit, I can recommend the 12.99 ones you can get in toyrus and various places. They are green. I would also throw in some paracetamol. We keep one in both our cars.
-
i have a "no running" rule when my two girls (3 & 5) are with me.
They kept taking no notice of my "mind the bamboo canes" talks until i staged a very graphic demonstration with a bamboo cane and a honey dew melon (head or torso substitute). It worked wonders! got the same result when i showed them what would happen to their fingers (using a pencil) if they kept putting them on the hinge side of the doors! :o
Tabbycat
-
on the subject of ponds i would suggest a sign stating there is a pond on the plot so others can be made a ware of where it is and any cutting tools ie rose pruners eather dig them in point down r use a leather cover for when not in use please never leave them on the floor even for a second keep all chemicals well labled and high out of reach r on the floor in a locked box of some sort tools the same
-
I have a vicious little handtool that I call the Claw From Outer Space, not knowing its real name - it has three sharp bent prongs that are excellent for scraping up weeds between plants and on paths. I never ever put it down without digging its points in the soil because of my vivid imagination about what it could do to someone's feet if they trod on it heavily.
I have some railway sleepers propping up beds, and my daughter will not let her children near them because of their alleged ability to slay them instantly if they simply step on them, wearing shoes. She won't eat vegetables that grow near them. What do people think about using railway sleepers these days?
My brother-in-law took off part of his hand trying to get a lawn mower going. Ouch! He is a farmer, and used to dangerous machinery, so it just shows what one might do in a moment's absentmindedness.
The warning about the strimmer slashing your face is very useful. I am about to do a lot of strimming and will now be extra careful.
I have to admit that I had never considered keeping a first aid box at the site. I keep one in the car because of EU regulations, but generally go to the allotment on a bicycle. I suppose it would be a good idea.