by Bob Niklewicz PT MG  

Whether you are a “Budding Gardener” or an “Old Sage”, the wonderful experiences we feel from the enjoyment of developing our garden should not be painful ones. In our passion to make our gardens look great, we often sacrifice our bodies to get that last weed pulled or to dig one more hole. Sadly, the next day we are often too sore to get out of bed or scratch our nose because of muscle aches and pain.                                   

It is my intent to share information about your body through the eyes of physical therapist / ergonomist / Master Gardener. My goals are to provide possible ways to reduce garden injuries and pain, and to keep you safely doing what you love to do in the yard. “It hurts good when I am done” should not be your excuse for not knowing some basic ergonomics that can help protect you from needing to skip days of play or work or using analgesic options.

Did you know you have 209 bones in your body? The word bone in Greek is “osteon.” It is commonly used as a prefix to refer to issues of the bones. Each bone has two ends and where they meet another bone, that area is is called a joint. In Greek, joint = “arthro.” If joints are overused they become inflamed. The Latin suffix for inflammation = “itis.” Each joint can suffer from wear and tear with inflammation pain and that is called arthritis. More specifically, it would be osteo-arthritis.

The most common joints involved are knees, hips, shoulders, elbows and wrists/fingers. These are the ones most often used for forceful activities. The diagram below is what is typically found at the joint that has been damaged.

The body also has over 600 muscles. The medical prefix for muscle is “myo”. Each muscle has a tough connector at each end called a tendon. If a muscle is inflamed it is called myositis.  The terms osteoarthritis and myositis often refer to  overuse of those joints and muscles. The good news is that with a little planning, using the right tool and knowledge, much of the pain from those conditions could be minimized while in the garden. 

The diagram of the Patellar tendon at the knee is commonly injured.

Spot Quiz: From what you have learned from the information above, what would you call it if the tendon was inflamed? The answer is patellar tendinitis. Tendonitis is also acceptable spelling.

These are just a couple of the things that keep your body moving and a couple of examples of what can go wrong, mechanically, to your body. Ergonomics is the science concerned with the design, use, and user education for reduction of injury while gardening or at a desk. Ergonomic awareness will help reduce the chances of injury yourself. 

Ergonomics is not a quick fix to all the problems of pain and soreness of an injured gardener. Ergonomics is something that will neither improve your endurance or your morale by just talking about it. It cannot reverse degenerative changes to the body or guarantee that you will not get hurt again. 

Ergonomics will give you a way to start looking for habits, postures, tools and activities that may be a source against muscle and joint discomfort. In the long run, smart ergonomic practices enhance the aftermath of a great day in the yard when enjoying a glass of your favorite iced beverage instead of applying that ice on what hurts. 

Ergonomic awareness in the garden will give you options to improve the efficiency of performing yard projects and promote safety. It can help reduce the problems of fatigue, joint and muscle soreness. 

Did you know? By the time you turn 70, your heart will have beat some two-and-a-half billion times (figuring on an average of 70 beats per minute.) No wonder we feel a little tired at the end of the day. Thank goodness for the powerhouse of life in our chests.

References: UW Extension-Gardening Exercises and Body Mechanics https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/sewmg/files/2016/07/LLGExercisesMechanicsHandout-Feb-2017.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiV3-Trjbv4AhXTD0QIHSeZAz8QFnoECAYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3zRO6pyGgkPQ5I9LXInyGR

ACE Physical Therapy & Sports medicine institute-Working on the garden and preventing injury https://www.ace-pt.org/ace-physical-therapy-and-sports-medicine-institute-working-in-the-garden-and-preventing-injury/

Photo credits: https://springloadedtechnology.com/guide-to-severe-knee-osteoarthritis/ ; fix-knee-pain.com

Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143.  Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.

Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.

 

 

 

 

by Melody Kendall

I was born and raised here in beautiful Napa Valley. My memory isn't what it used to be, but I am observing that climate change thing is real. When I was little we had sufficient rain in the winter, enough that I could play in the puddles and make mud pies on a regularly. Summer months were warm and sometimes hot, but lacked the pesky wind that seems so common now. The wind dries everything out and turns the grass brown much earlier than I remember. 

Another result of these major changes is the frequency of large fires that run rampant for days leaving destruction and devastation in their wake. Sure, we had fires during my youth. We even had one that came close to damaging our home, but my recollection doesn't include the huge fires we seem to be subjected to regularly now. Living outside the city limits, fire has always been a concern, but not something that happens every year. Now it seems that even city dwellers have to be ever watchful and aware of fire danger.

So, what to do?  Remember when you were learning to drive and you were encouraged to be a defensive driver, to be aware of your surroundings and plan for surprises? That's the example we would do well to follow. We all need to be defensive gardeners in this changing new world. Look at your home and the surrounding landscape and plan for surprises.  

According to UCANR publication "Home landscaping for Fire" our area has more than 1,445 structures destroyed by wildfire each year.  This publication also states that homeowners who take defensive gardening to heart and use careful pruning and landscaping techniques can minimize the spread of fire and have a better chance of saving their homes and structures. Grasses, brush, trees and other vegetation surrounding your home can become dangerous fuel sources for fire. So, create a defensive space around your home by removing, pruning or otherwise altering the vegetation in the landscape areas directly adjacent to your home.  

This defensive space need not look like a moonscape.  Careful planning and choices can result in a beautiful and fire safe area. Using a tiered concept, have the trees furthest from your structure, shrubs closer and bedding plants and lawn nearest. This vegetation arrangement can be described in terms of vertical vs. horizontal. Trees are the tallest and create ladders for the fire to climb and launch from. Most fires start on the surface and move to the vertical.  If you eliminate the vertical options the fire will not be able to reach this vertical launching pad. Trim all the branches on your taller trees 15 feet or more up off the ground. On the horizontal level increase the distance between shrubs and smaller trees so that the fire finds it hard to jump from one fuel source to another. How far to space these plants depends on how you balance your aesthetics with your desire to save your structure.

In a fire safe landscape there are two zones around your home: the home defense zone and the reduced fuel zone.  Number 1, the home defense zone, is a circle 30 feet equidistant from the outside walls of the structure.  Number 2, the reduced fuel zone, extends out from that 30 foot home defense zone to 100 feet out and beyond.  If your structure is on a windswept area or a slope allow for a larger defensive space.  

The objectives of the 30 foot home defense zone are many. Creating zones decreases the ability of the fire to leap from fuel source to fuel source. The plants in this zone should be low growing and have a high moisture content.  Avoid wood mulches and the wood pile has to be moved from its easily accessible winter location to a new fire safe summer storage location. Roof gutters that always gather debris need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Embers from a fire can sometimes float as far as a mile from the fire and any combustible materials look are exposed to those little missiles. If the fire reaches your property the radiant heat will cause flammable materials to ignite, so be ever vigilant. 

Consider fire resistant plants, note the "resistant" description.  Anything will burn if it gets hot enough so no plant is fireproof. Check the plant description. Many nurseries and informational materials have begun to include that notation when describing a plant that fulfills the fire resistant criteria. They are slow and low growing, open structured and have less resinous leaves and branches. The leaves have a high moisture content, little or no seasonal debris (leaves, fruit etc) and have open branching habits with fewer branches and leaves.  Deciduous trees are considered more fire resistant than evergreen trees because the leaves have a higher moisture content.  Remember that the placement and management of these plants is also key. 

Maintaining a healthy greenbelt of low growing groundcovers and/or lawns will provide a high moisture belt around your home.  Using a drip system to target the water needs would conserve water and somewhat mitigate the water usage concerns.  Low grown shrubs planted at least 10 feet from the house in similar height groups can create a pleasing and fire wise landscape.  Using mulch conserves water so for a firewise landscape use rock mulches or low growing ground cover to cover bare weedy soil.  In a fire situation wood mulches will smolder and be hard to extinguish.  For any walkways use decorative rocks, gravel or stepping stones to break up the landscape to create further fire wise options. Avoid planting near wood siding, under vents or eaves or under or near a deck and don't allow tree limbs to extend over the roofline. 

The reduced fuel zone is the area beyond the 30 foot home defense zone which extends an additional 70-100 feet out from the structure.  In this area the trees should be thinned from 10 to 20 feet apart between branches and if the trees are over 18 feet trim branches on the trunk up to 6-15 feet from the ground.  Remove any brush from around the base of all trees.  Because of their flammability shrubs should not be used as screens around structures, propane tanks or other flammable materials.  Only plant varieties of shrubs that are low growing, deciduous and non resinous and space them widely apart.  

Yearly maintenance and cleanup is a must. Any yard waste is a fire hazard. Keep your plants green with supplemental water, if necessary, during fire season and mow any grasses when green to reduce sparking by mowing blades.  All that debris under your deck needs to be cleared out and removed and trees and shrubs kept trimmed annually to ensure that fire safe spacing is maintained.   

Many people move to the country to experience the wide open spaces and the accompanying privacy. Vegetative screens and using fire resistant plants are fine, just make sure they are at least 100 feet from your home and are well outside your defensible space. If your parcel is larger than an acre, fire safe landscaping suggests that you treat the vegetation in a defensive manner all the way to the property line. Most city and county governments require regular mowing so be sure to check those regulations to be compliant.  

How much or how little defensive landscaping you do is dependent on how much you are adverse to losing your home.  To do all you can to prepare and protect your home and landscape from fire is to design your home and landscape using fire safe materials.  Keep the surrounding area clear of fire fuel by planting only fire resistant varieties using the correct spacing. Keep your trees trimmed, all plants hydrated and healthy and clear any debris on a regular basis.

Your home is your castle and your safe place.  With the increased prevalence of fires we should all do what we can to reduce any fuel for fire on our properties by using these defensive landscaping methods. Pass this information on to your friends and neighbors.  

Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143.  Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.

Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.

Photo credits: Information link: UC ANR home landscaping for fire

https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8228.pdf

 

 

by Rainer Hoenicke

One of the public workshop topics by the Master Gardeners of Napa County's teaching garden, the Las Flores Learning Garden, explored the use of greywater for irrigation. The definitions of greywater differ from state to state. In California, water from washing machines/tubs, showers, baths, and bathroom sinks meets that definition. Water from kitchen sinks is not considered greywater in our state, although other states allow its use for irrigation. Any water having contact with feces is considered “blackwater” and needs to go to the sanitary sewer. However, you can flush your toilet with greywater. San Francisco, for example, has an ordinance in place now that requires use of harvested rain or greywater for flushing toilets and urinals in new development projects.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the average Californian uses between 80 and 100 gallons of water every day, as much as 60 percent of which can be used for outdoor irrigation.

Here are a few more fun facts about greywater:

• 13% of CA households use greywater from washing machines for irrigation
• An average household has about 90 gallons per day available for outside use – not counting the kitchen sink
• A homeowner on a quarter of acre of land could irrigate about half a climate-appropriate yard with greywater
• Plants irrigated with greywater in residential areas did fine. With only a slight increase in Boron, no salts accumulate in either the plants or the surrounding soil

Reusing greywater makes ecological sense. Treating water to drinking water standards and distributing it, takes a lot of energy and cost. In California, about 8% of the total energy generated is used for moving, distributing, and treating water. If we reuse greywater, our total water use goes down, and we can contribute to our net-zero carbon emission goal by 2030.

What do you need to know before you irrigate with greywater? First, you need a sub-surface distribution system to irrigate, since soil microorganisms are able to purify many of the impurities in greywater, such as soap residues. You also need to consider your climate and microclimate to determine how much water you need to irrigate. Other things you need to ask yourself are where you want to use greywater, what your lot characteristics are, such as slope, distance from origin to discharge, your soil types and percolation rate, if you want to use greywater in edible or strictly ornamental landscapes, how deep or shallow your groundwater table is, and how far your greywater irrigation system is from any active well. Additional questions you need to find answers to are: What are your city's or Napa County's regulations for greywater systems? Is it cheaper to find water use efficiencies than to install even the simplest re-use system? How cumbersome is a re-use system to maintain?

Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143.  Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.

Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.

Photo credits: CleanWaterComponents

To learn more about greywater use, please go to:

https://www.cityofnapa.org/DocumentCenter/View/7234/October-21-Presentation-Slides-PDF?bidId=

https://greywateraction.org/laundry-landscape/

https://www.rainharvest.com/create-an-oasis-with-greywater-by-art-ludwig.asp

 

 

 

 

by Jan Hughes

I, like many of you, have worked to add native plants to my mostly suburban landscape in order to attract more pollinators and to give shelter to more critters. I have enjoyed the process and watching new species appear.

However, I was not prepared when a swarm of honeybees took up residence in an old wine barrel on my patio, located close to our sliding door. As much as I love them, this was not the place for them to live!

Initially, I called a friend whose husband keeps a couple of hives on their property. He graciously came over to evaluate the situation. He could not help me as he did not have an empty hive to transfer these bees to and he was not sure how we could even get them out of the barrel with that tiny opening. He gave me several sources to explore which was very helpful.

I put out the SOS and eventually connected with another beekeeper who would come out that evening! (As you know, bees are like chickens in that they go back into the hive each night. So, we had to wait until dusk to have the best chance for getting them all confined.)

The beekeeper came that evening in inspect the swarm. He had an empty hive at home which he was anxious to fill. But, how to do this? He eventually taped up the hole and carefully moved the entire barrel to his truck. 

Once he got home, he placed the barrel in his yard close to his other bees, uncovered the hole and left them to acclimate….

Several days later he was able to transfer them to their new digs. He carefully cut a section of the barrel top off and was able to get to the comb inside.

Success! It seems it was a win-win for all of us!  I even got my barrel back and a jar of his homegrown honey out of the deal!

Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143.  Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.

Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.

Photo credits: Jan Hughes