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Patios, firepits, kitchens proving popular

Outdoor living with a touch of class

By John Kubal The Brookings Register BROOKINGS – When balmy, sunny, summer-like days come to South Dakota – be they early or late – residents are ready to as soon as possible put winter’s cabin-fever days behind them and get outside.

For some that means shifting social activities – such as cooking, eating

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and entertaining – outdoors to a patio or deck and bringing to them a touch of class.

Charcoal, propane, sliced-in-half 55-gallon oil-drum grills, burgers, beer on ice in a cooler, paper plates and plastic utensils: Those were just a few of the basic elements for cooking outside during the longer and warmer days of spring and summer. But now you’ve come a

long way, baby.

Outdoor living can be enhanced by landscaping a yard, with such improvements as: hardscaping (man-made features used in landscaping architecture, such as paths or walls, as contrasted with vegetation); sodding; seeding; irrigation; pavers; patios; fire pits; and sitting walls.

Additionally, a completely equipped kitchen can be brought to the patio, deck and three-seasons porch.

“A lot of people are doing fire pits now,” said Kerry Antonsen, owner and operator of Kerry’s Landscaping & Irrigation in Brookings.

“When you put a fire pit in, it pretty much a lot of times takes up most of your patio. A lot of people now will do the patio with a sitting wall and they’ll just buy the gas fire pit or just burn wood; so you can move

Kerry’s Landscaping & Irrigation outdoor living residential projects can be seen throughout the Brookings area.

Courtesy photos

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it out of the way and put a table in and not just have a fire pit.

“A lot of people are putting outdoor kitchens in: They’ll put a sink in there, a refrigerator and a lot of times they build the grill right into the patio kitchen area. Some people want to put granite counter tops down.”

Kevin Hanson, of Lowe’s in Brookings, shows off some of the accessories the store has that can bring a touch of class to outdoor living.

Photo by John Kubal

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Landscape, irrigation professionals

Kerry’s brings a wealth of experience to both commercial and residential landscaping. Antonsen, a Platte native, went to school to be a machinist, worked at Twin City Fansfor 18 years: He “started as a machinist and left there as a plant manager.” While there he had worked parttime and on weekends installing sprinkler systems.

And he hired his first employee, Jerry Steinke.

“I told him

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I didn’t know if I had enough work to keep him busy but was willing to try if he was. We started using his pickup and my Ditch Witch pipe puller for each job. Jerry worked for me until his passing in March 2017.”

Kerry’s business went from parttime in 1995 to full-time in 2001.

From one truck and one trailer, he slowly built up the business, adding employees, trucks and equipment.

Today he has about 13 employees, four skids, a couple dump trucks and 10 to 12 pickups. His company prides itself on being “Brookings Landscape and Irrigation Professionals.”

Kerry’s professionalism can be seen on a variety of commercial landscaping and irrigation jobs: the South Dakota State University Alumni Association Center; the South Dakota State University pres-

Strong on design work Several of Kerry’s staff have strong ties to SDSU. Antonsen’s son Tucker is also part of the business.

He graduated from SDSU with a

landscaping degree. Three other SDSU landscape graduates do design work. Rickey Peterson is lead designer and installer for all residential projects.

“We do designs which nobody else is doing; because that’s what they went to school for,” Antonsen explained. “That’s one of our stronger qualities.”

When it comes to building patios, he opts for pavers over stamped

“

fix. You never get that with pavers.

“If you get some settling with a paver, we can cut it out and put in a new one.”

He’s had jobs where pavers were used in a three-seasons porch.

“They didn’t want tile. They wanted the outside of the three seasons to match the inside.”

Regular attendees to the annual Brookings Home Show in years past may have seen examples of

A lot of people are putting outdoor kitchens in: They’ll put a sink in there, a refrigerator and lot of times they build the grill right into the patio kitchen area.

“

ident’s new house; the SDSU stadium; McCrory Gardens; and the Brookings Health System.

“We also do a lot of residential,” Antonsen said. “We run one crew that just does patios – hardscaping – sitting walls. We’ve also got an irrigation crew and two landscaping crews. And I run a full-time repair guy.”

Finally, Kerry’s can install an “underground dog fence” for those who own a pooch that won’t stay on the porch or in the yard.

“We’ve got a lot of experience,” he added. “We’re pretty well known for our quality in any and all projects we undertake.”

concrete “Stamped concrete, it’s pretty slick,” he said. “In the winter time, when it rains on it, it’s very slick.

And because it’s concrete, it cracks.

And when it cracks, there’s no easy

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Kerry’s capabilities. “In the middle of the Swiftel Center, we set up a complete landscaping job, with retaining walls, pergolas, all that stuff,” Antonsen explained.

As to the building season for Ker-

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The above outdoor furniture sets are available at Lowes in Brookings.

Photo by John Kubal

ry’s, he said, “April 1 is usually about the best time we get started. We hope to make it to Thanksgiving. Sometimes we get into December; sometimes we’re done the first part of November.” Throughout the seasons, Antonsen appreciates the role Kerry’s has played in both the commercial and residential sectors of the Brookings area.

“Over the years we have met a lot of new faces,” he said. “We are grateful for the relationships we have made with local businesses and contractors. The city of Brookings and surrounding communities are growing and it’s great to be part of it all and see where things are headed.”

Wide range of costs When it comes to equipping a patio or other outdoor area for entertaining, there are a lot of options.

“You can cook pretty much anywhere,” said Kevin Hanson, of Lowe’s in Brookings. “They’re enjoying their yard; they’re loving where they live, enjoying what they do with their cooking.

“A lot of people are starting to buy the beef that’s natural versus buying the stuff at the store. Not the old go to the store and buy some burgers.”

And Lowe’s offers a complete line of accessories that make outdoor dining more enjoyable: glass tabletops, tile tabletops, chairs with weatherproof cushions, gazebos ranging in price from $300 to $500.

On the higher side, Hanson notes that a $4,500 price tag can get you “a modular kitchen that’s just for the outdoors enthusiast, with your shelving and prep area.” This setup would complement any of the outdoor grills, such as a $4,000 stainless-steel 4-burner or a built–in $3,500 grill Bottom line: anything a cook-chef could whip up in a well-equipped standard, indoor kitchen can now be done outdoors: “You can do your cookies, your pizzas out there, just about everything,” Hanson explained.

Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.

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grilling the perfect

burger

Though burgers are a relatively simple food, there is more to great grilled burgers than simply firing up the grill and dropping down a patty. · Choose fresh ground beef that has a decent percentage of fat. Spend a little more to get freshly ground meat that has not been frozen. · Don’t overwork the burgers with a lot of handling. This will warm up the fat in the burger, and could make the meat rubbery. · Reconsider adding a lot of herbs, spicesto the burgers. Extra herbs and spices also require extra mixing, which can lead overhandling. · Push a dimple into the top of the burger, which will help prevent the burger from expanding upward and out while cooking. · Make sure the grill is hot. Burgers do well with high heat and cook relatively quickly. · Resist the urge to push down on the patty with your spatula. This will cause the juices to spill out and may result in a dry, tough burger. · Let burgers rest before serving. This lets the juices redistribute throughout and makes for a moist and tasty first bite.

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Medary Acres, Brookings: decades-long friendship

good for each other

By John Kubal The Brookings Register BROOKINGS – “We are rooting for spring.”

Motorists seeing that hand-made, non-digital message at 1100 Eighth St. S. since March knew that Medary Acres Greenhouses would be opening in mid-April – as it has for the past 65 years.

Brookings native Brian Darnall, a 1971 University of South Dakota graduate

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with a degree in business administration, worked there for four years in the early 1970s and bought the greenhouses in 1976.

He and Lynn married in 1984, while she was working there. The business has been a family venture since then, with daughter Sarah, 29, joining the business full-time in 2013.

“She’s our succession plan,” Lynn said, smiling.

Laughing, she added, “If we ever get old, she’s the

succession plan.”

Medary Acres is comprised of three acres. Covering those acres is an inventory that includes: 11,000 hanging baskets, 1,340 varieties of plants to choose from, annuals, perennials, flowers, fruits and vegetables.

To care for all of those living things, the Darnall family is augmented by about 30 employees: 18 full-time and a dozen parttime.

The Darnalls start in January to get ready for the season opening, which runs from the mid-April opening through mid-June. The full-time staff members start working in mid-February, about Valentine’s Day. Timing is everything.

Ready when they’re ready “Everything has to be done at the same time, within a couple, three weeks it seems like,” Brian explained.

“So everything’s started and everything’s the right size when people want it.

“They want big, beautiful hanging baskets on Mother’s Day; but they want their tomato plants just right toward the end of May. Everything’s got to be timed so it’s ready when they’re ready.”

“Sarah does all the seedings,” Lynn explained.

“There’ll be four different seedings of tomatoes, so that they’re ready May 1, May 15, May 30 and June 15.”

In addition to timing, weather plays a crucial role.

“A lot depends on the weather. We never plan a grand opening,” Brian said, adding with a laugh, “because invariably it will snow. Then we’d have to eat all the cookies ourselves, because nobody would come.”

“The season is usually about two months,” Lynn ex-

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plained. “Closing just depends on the weather again. Basically, when we close there is nothing left.”

Asked for the secret of their business success, Brian and Lynn cited two vital elements: quality and good staff, with both complementing each other.

“Of course there is always the price thing,” Brian said. But, he added about their customers, “They’re willing to pay if they’re getting a good value. And we’ve always concentrated on quality. You can’t have one year where you slack off and don’t pay attention.

“I’d rather throw stuff away than put it out there and mark it down, trying to get rid of some junky stuff.”

A team approach

The Darnalls, Lynn, Sarah and Brian, show off some of their horticultural handiwork at Medary Acres Greenhouses in Brookings.

Photo by John Kubal

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Focusing on the key role staff play in keeping quality high, Brian said, “We’ve got lots of people working here that know how to trim stuff up, how to keep it looking nice on the bench, know how to water, know how to fertilize, know what it takes to have a good quality plant. I know what a good quality plant looks like.”

“We have two employees that have been here over 40 years – not including us,” Lynn said. “We’ve been here way over 40 years.

“I would say we’re fairly successful. And it’s because of our plant products, but then our staff.

“Oh, my goodness. We very much have a team approach here. They come to us with ideas and pictures.

They go through catalogs and plant products,” Lynn added.

“If they suggest it, usually there’s a pretty good chance we implement it or we buy it. Because they’re priceless, with what they bring to the table.”

“They haunt greenhouses all summer,” Brian added, again smiling. “They buy stuff that they see somewhere else, that we may not have had and trial it in their own yard. There are some of these gals who have some of the most unbelievable yards and gardens. ”I do not have a monopoly on good ideas. They know that they’ve got free rein basically to do arrangements, to do whatever they think will be a good idea. I’m good with it and they know that,” Brian said.

Lynn also noted that their employees “love customers, love helping people design their gardens.”

Like her husband, Lynn is a Bookings native and has spent her life here, other than a summer when she lived in Denver.

Lynn graduated from Brookings High School and then attended South Dakota State University, studying horticulture before dropping out to work. She later returned as a “non-traditional student” and graduated in 1995 with a degree in political science and economics.

Sarah, 29, the heir apparent to Medary Acres, admits to not being interested “at all” in the family business when she was attending Brookings High School. She then attended the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis), initially majoring in journalism before deciding she “didn’t like it enough to make it a career.”

Then decision-time came following her freshman year after an offer from her parents to work at the “front sales counter” at the end of the semester. She accepted; it was a life-changing experience.

“I really liked it,” she said, adding, “Oh, whoa, this is

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Perennials Coneflowers

Midwest native coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) bloom throughout the summer.

Black-eyed Susans

The bright-gold flowers of Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia fulgida) stay in bloom more than a month beginning in August.

hydrangeas

Cloudlike panicle (H. paniculata) hydrangeas are especially recommended for the Midwest because of their cold tolerance.

Sedums

Sedums are easy to grow, stingy with water, and rich in texture and shape.

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kind of cool. I can maybe do this.

Let me think about this.”

She did and changed her major to business administration. She worked hard her sophomore year and got into the business school at U of M and graduated with a degree in business in 2011.

Sarah worked in Minneapolis for a year “at a fun job but it was stressful.” She also traveled a bit, to South America. In 2013 she came back to the family business and stayed.

She does, however, use her journalistic skills to manage the social media for the business.

The bottom line to the Darnalls’ family business: Medary Acres has been good to the Bookings community; the Brookings community has been good to the Darnalls.

“There is no better community than Brookings,” Lynn said. “Not

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only do we enjoy what we do, but we’re doing it in a community that has been so good to us.”

And she’s confident that beneficial relationship between the community and the family business will continue when their daughter takes the helm: “Sarah’s a really good employer. She’s a good businesswoman. I think she and her generation are going to take this to a whole different level than what our generation looked at.

“Her generation is really into understanding where food comes from, how it is treated as it’s grown. I think they’re really cognizant of taking care of the earth and what they’re eating. They just bring a whole new perspective to the table that’s going to be very exciting in the future.”

Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.

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Home automation becoming popular with homeowners

There’s an app for that

By John Kubal The Brookings Register BROOKINGS – Owner Keven Perry’s shirt logo says something about his company: “Perry Electric, Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc.” Add to that other work that his company does – such as plumbing; kitchen and bath remodeling; radon testing; and now “smart home automation” – and it becomes too much logo to fit on a shirt or in

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an ad.

So keep it simple and think “Perry’s”: the company’s new logo.

The Perry’s name is well matched to a company that has continued to evolve over the decades.

“We decided that we’d quit calling it Perry Electric,” Keven said. “For many years, that threw people off.”

“My dad, Loran Perry, started it in 1963,” he added, launching into a thumbnail history of the

company. “We were electricians only until 1985.

We added heat pumps and HVAC. In 2015 we added plumbing. Roger Duan is our master plumber.

January 1, 2018, we added ‘smart home automation.’”

“It’s user-friendly,” said Brandon Leen, Perry’s home automation specialist. “You don’t have to be a techie to use it. All you have to do to use it is be able to push buttons.”

“You have like 15 to 20

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apps to do what we’re talking about – or just one,” Keven said. “That’s what integration gets you. Everything he has just described is on that same screen.

“Whereas if you had a refrigerator app, a thermostat app, a door ring app, you have all these things you’ve got to jump through, he’s got it all integrated; and it all talks to each other.

“The biggest problem with this industry is the way it changes, its language. Nothing will talk to anything else. What Code4 (the home automation system Perry’s uses itself and installs for customers) has done is integrate all the languages so that it’s seamless.

“What we’re describing is a very involved system. We’re taking it to the max.” He noted that to install such a complete system could take as long as three days.

The system can be used from

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smart phone or computer, any Internet source. Leen continued with a scenario description of the workings of a complete security system as one example of the capabilities of the bigger overall system.

“We could put in window sensors, shadow sensors, door sensors,” he explained.

“We could put in different aspects, so that as soon as one of those sensors shakes, rattles or rolls, it will push a notification to your phone.

“Let’s say there’s an intrusion or something at the front door. In return you can pull up a picture on

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your phone and look at what’s happening at the front door. You can call the police.”

An alternative to that would be Keven Perry, owner of Perry’s in Brookings, shows off an example of monitoring a “smart home automation system,” offered in a variety of complete packages that his company can install.

Photo by John Kubal

that at the occurrence of an intrusion, inside and outdoor lights could be activated to illuminate the scene, or a sound-system alarm could be turned on.

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Health, safety, comfort, convenience

One call does it all. We’re a onestop shop home services provider.

The main lesson Perry learned from Nexstar is that Perry’s “is not a ‘contractor’ anymore.

We are a ‘home service provider.’”

“This (Perry’s) is a natural offshoot of that,” he explained. “We’re home services providers.

We’re not (just) heating, cooling and electrical.

We do plumbing, home automation and remodeling. We can do entertainment, home theaters.

We remodel bathrooms and kitchens. We have a carpenter on staff. We can cable computers.

We can do all that stuff. That’s been done for years. This is the control side of it that Brandon’s heading up, this being able to do something with it.

“One call does it all. We’re a one-stop shop home services provider. It’s a natural offshoot of what Loran Perry started the company with.

“We’ve gotten away from industrial. We’ve gotten away from new houses, except we’ll put all the stuff in new houses. We can make the process unique; because most of your homes do not have any of this stuff. We can get it wired

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“

“

To get a feel for how such an overall home automation system would be installed and how it would work, Perry started on his own company’s buildings.

“We needed to learn what to do,” he explained. “I wanted to redo my cameras and my security anyway.”

Leen and a fellow company employee attended a weeklong course in Chicago and passed a seven-hour test that qualified them to install the Control4 Smart Home system.

“It’s not just fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants,” Leen said, speaking of the system, which Perry’s has fitted to its business philosophy.

Health, safety, comfort and convenience have always been the watchwords of the Perry’s business model.

“Everything we do is in that mode,” Keven explained. “We belong to a company that’s called Nexstar. They don’t do anything for you. They make us better businesspeople.”

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upfront, done, unique, ready to go.”

To give Brookings area residents a feel for what Perry’s can do by way of health, safety, comfort and convenience, the company will be hosting its first ever Info Tech Night in an open house from 5 to 8 p.m.

Monday, May 7, at its headquarters at 100 Main Ave. S. “We’re going to have everything from water quality to furnaces to air conditioners, landscaping, how to make better wi-fi,” Leen explained. “We’re going to have building contractors, local businesses, a Realtor.” Refreshments will be served. And it’s all free.

“Instead of having a service call and having to pay a bill to find out how, you can come here and we’ll show you,” Keven added.

Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.

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From left, Brandon Leen, Perry’s home automation specialist, and Keven Perry, owner of Perry’s, demonstrate how any smart phone, computer or Internet source can be used to activate a total smart- home automation system.

Photo by John Kubal

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DO YOU HAVE THE SKILLS?

DIY vs.

Contractor The National Association of Home Builders advised possible DIYers to consider a number of factors when deciding whether to do it themselves or to pay a professional.

Doing home improvement yourself sounds like a money saver, but you need to know what you’re taking on before you start. You might spend less on labor, but a project may take twice as long. You also may find yourself spending more money than you planned buying tools and materials, and any mistake you make is your responsibility.

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Consider the entirety of the work. Painting often doesn’t require much expertise; building a deck or another room is more complicated. Be realistic about what you can do.

DO YOU HAVE THE TOOLS?

Depending on the size of your project, tools can get specialized. Figure out what types of tools you need, what you have and what you can borrow from friends. Just make sure all of your savings isn’t taken up paying for tools.

MATERIAL COST

Contractors often buy in bulk, which means they pay less for materials. Price out what you need.

KEEP AN EYE ON THE REAL VALUE

A good remodel or addition can increase the value of your property and likely make resale easier. A bad remodel could decrease the value or require you to hire a contractor to fix problems.

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Getting back to creating Making things from scratch is sweeping nation

By Jodelle Greiner The Brookings Register

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BROOKINGS – Dylan Swanson spends hours at the Brookings Makerspace creating custom guitars.

He’s part of a movement sweeping the nation where people are making things from scratch, and Jennifer Quail thinks that’s a good thing.

“When you create something new that didn’t exist before, that’s making,” she said, no matter how simple or hightech it is.

Quail is the director of entrepreneur support at the Brookings Economic Development Corporation, which started the Makerspace about two years ago to help people like Swanson get hands-on.

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that they can validate an idea or concept and do a proof of concept for that.”

It can help someone create a product to improve or start a business, or just be a place for someone who loves to make stuff, she added.

Three people who create at the Brookings Makerspace are on the post-prom committee “so they are working on the props for this year,” Quail said.

Makerspaces are not one-sizefits-all, each is unique to the community where it resides, Quail said.

“

A makerspace could be defined as a community workshop to support innovations and entrepreneurs.

The Brookings Makerspace covers about 2,400 square feet and has lots of equipment that people

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might find too expensive or too big to keep where they live. There’s an industrial sewing machine, metal working area, paint booth, electronics bench, 3-D printing/scanning, laser engraver, kitchen area, and full wood shop. There’s even a training/classroom area.

“You can kind of think of them like a gym. You have a gym membership and there’s all kinds of different gym equipment that you can work out on,” Quail said, adding people who exercise pick and choose their equipment. “You’re

“

Swanson works nights at South Dakota State University and weekends at Cubby’s Sports Bar & Grill, so he doesn’t have the time to make the two-hour trip to his hometown of Plankinton and use his dad’s shop. He also doesn’t have the money to buy the equipment he needs.

“The initial cost is almost enough to make you not do it,” Swanson said.

So, he creates his guitars in the Makerspace at the Research Park, located on Research Park Way. He’s in good company. Quail said around 50 people work on their own projects at the Brookings Makerspace.

“A makerspace could be defined as a community workshop to support innovations and entrepreneurs,” Quail said. “The overall primary idea is to support economic development by providing specialized tools, equipment and space so

gonna get out of it what you put into it, so individuals need to be motivated self-starters.”

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Dylan Swanson of Brookings makes a custom guitar in the Makerspace at the Research Park.

Around 50 people work on a variety of projects in the Makerspace, said Jennifer Quail, director of entrepreneur support with the Brookings Economic Development Corporation.

Photo by Jodelle Greiner

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Lawrence Diggs is certainly one. He’s from Roslyn and drives more than 90 miles to use the Brookings Makerspace.

That’s because makerspaces are a rare breed, Quail said.

“There are numerous schools in South Dakota already that have makerspaces to some extent within their system … so you’re going to need to be a student in that district,” she said. “Ours here in Brookings is the only community-based one that we’re aware of in the state.”

It’s worth it for Diggs to drive.

“My ‘project’ is to explore new ways to make art,” Diggs said, adding he mostly uses the laser engraver/cutter to make engraved paper, handmade books, ceramic molds, complex templates, stencils and more.

He doesn’t keep himself to just one machine; “I use just about everything there,” Diggs said. “I use the makerspace to explore the limits of equipment that I can’t afford.”

Stretching his repertoire of machinery isn’t his only endeavor.

“Mostly I use it to meet new and interesting people. The most important asset of the Makerspace are the potential relationships with the unique people and ideas floating around the place,” Diggs said.

“The end product is ‘know how’ – I want to know how to do more than I know now with the equipment available at the Makerspace. Knowledge mostly for knowledge sake. I use this knowledge to help others who are trying to

start businesses, especially young people and disadvantaged people who are often not even aware that such equipment exists.”

And that’s another point of the Makerspace’s purpose, Quail said.

Sometimes one person’s project or expertise can enhance another person’s project “and now this grows into something that neither one of you would have thought of on your own,” she said.

The Brookings Makespace is open from 6 a.m. to midnight every day to fit most people’s schedules. It’s member-only, and the fee is $25 a month or you can pay $75 for three months. Members receive training and have key cards to access the Makerspace as they want.

“You do need to be 18 (years old) to be a member,” Quail said, but added members range in age from college students up to retired individuals.

The return to crafting and making things by hand is attractive to all ages and all walks of life from coast to coast, she said.

Quail traces the beginning to 2005, the year that Make Magazine published for the first time and Etsy launched its website. More innovations followed to help entrepreneurs: the Square card reader and Kickstarter, for instance. The first Maker Fair was in San Francisco in 2006.

In May 2014, President Barack Obama initiated the Mayor’s Challenge, calling on mayors to commit to supporting manufacturing in their communities, and the White House hosted the first-ever White House Maker Faire.

“Making is the core of manufacturing so (it got people) really thinking about all people can be makers,” Quail said.

Brookings will host its third an-

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nual Maker Festival this year.

It’s a place for the makers to show what they can do, people in the community to see what their neighbors are making and to be a platform for creators to meet each other.

“We want to celebrate those people and their talents,” Quail said.

“It’s pretty amazing the stuff that they build and make in here.”

For more information, contact Quail at the BEDC at 605-697-8103 or Jennifer@brookingsedc.com or visit at 2301 Research Park Way, Suite 113.

Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.

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Home Projects That Offer a Great Return on Investment

When giving your home a facelift, make it count. Consider those upgrades and renovations that don’t just look good, but also are proven to increase the resale value of your home.

Garage Door National data from the 2018 Cost vs.

Value Report shows that the project that delivers the highest return on investment is a new upscale garage door. This is a good choice for those looking for better noise control, greater security, curb appeal and convenience.

Entry Door Replacement

Your home’s entry door is one of the first things prospective home buyers will notice, so it’s no surprise that upgrading yours could be a wise investment.

Steel or fiberglass are both good choices for materials when it comes to functionality, durability, energy efficiency, security and versatility.

Manufactured Stone Veneer In the number two slot for sound renovation investments, according to the same report, is manufactured stone veneer, which is a great way to add visual interest to your home exterior (or an interior room, for that matter). StatePoint

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Ergonomic gardening

Gardening is a popular activity that seems to be gaining even more supporters. Statistica reports that the number of people who gardened within the last 12 months in the United States rose from around 105 million in 2008 to 118 million in 2017.

Gardening can be relaxing yet physically demanding work.

Gardeners who find themselves battling aches and pains after spending time in the garden may need to make a greater effort to reduce injuries and improve comfort when tilling, weeding or installing new landscape features.

Ergonomic gardening techniques and tools can help gardeners reduce their risk of injury and make gardening more comfortable.

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Warm up Just as novice athletes wouldn’t dive right into a strenuous workout at the gym, nor should novice gardeners immediately pick up a shovel and jump into digging a hole for their new tree. Gardening requires bending, stooping, lifting, twisting, and other movements that work the entire body. Spending 10 or more minutes stretching, walk-

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ing and doing a few back and arm rotations can limber the body up for the physical activity to come.

Use proper form Think about the mechanics of lifting weights during a workout, as home and garden tasks may mimic movements made when exercising. The occupational therapists at Bend Spinal Care say that strain on the lower back can be

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reduced by positioning objects close to the body and its center of gravity when lifting them. Furthermore, people can contract their abdominal (core) muscles when lifting and bending to support the back. When lifting heavy objects, power should be derived from the legs and buttocks rather than the back.

Keep items close Keeping work closer to the body will reduce the need for stooping, leaning or reaching, which should cut down on pulled muscles. Long-handled tools can help minimize reaching. Use step ladders to reach high areas or get down on padded cushions to work closer to the ground. This alleviates strain to the neck from having to look up or down for extended periods of time. Raised garden beds can bring plants to a person’s level.

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The therapists at ProCare Physical Therapy say that working below shoulder level whenever possible can prevent shoulder strains; otherwise, perform tasks for no more than five minutes at a time.

Invest in new tools Cushioned grips and grip handles can prevent wrist fatigue, as can hand tools that keep wrists straight to improve strength and reduce repetitive motion injuries. Long-handled tools and push mowers should be as tall as the person using them. Seek out tools that keep the body in natural positions to maximize efficiency.

Even though gardening is viewed as a relaxing pastime, the work involved can be taxing on the body. Ergonomic tools and proper form can keep injuries at bay.

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