How safe is your homestead really?
I'm Liz Zorab and this is Byther Farm and today I want to talk to you about health
and safety on our homesteads.
From the middle of April onwards we'll be running
courses here at Byther Farm and the first two will be presented by Huw
Richards of HuwsNursery and myself. And so in preparation for that I've started
having a serious look around our homestead and doing a risk assessment
in terms of just how safe is it for people to be wandering around with the
kind of stuff and the junk that we've got lying around and I was quite shocked!
So I've been walking around, hopefully with a fresh set of eyes, looking at
everything that's a potential trip hazard, like this hosepipe, and containers
that I've, well I've put down and I just haven't put away. To be honest, I'm not even sure
why I have it. I have a lot of containers some of which were inherited when we
bought the house and this is just a little metal planter. But there are loads
of things like this, which need picking up, deciding whether we're going to keep
them and if not get into the recycling center, and if we are going to keep them
they need putting away somewhere sensible.
Because I know on the course days we'll be in this garden at some point, I need
to make sure every cane has got a safety topper on it,
that there are as a minimal number of trip hazards possible, that I don't just
have little trowels and forks to hold things in place. I've made sure
they're safe and even these have got little canes here I need to make sure
they've got safety toppers on them. I need to make sure that my tools aren't
where I usually keep them, dumped on the floor. At least if they're pushed into
the ground there's a less chance of slipping on them.
If you're interested in
finding out a bit more about the courses, I'll leave links to some information in
the description box below.
And so all round I just need to go through and
make sure it's safe and one of the other things I need to do is look at the
pallets because we have a huge number of pallets here. We use them for fencing and
we use pallet collars and pieces of pallet to make raised beds with.
And it's fine because I'm used to the chaos here and also if I injure
myself that's my fault. But I need to make sure that I comply with all the
things I need to comply with. So bits of wood with nails in them will need to be
moved right out of the way. The ducks will be shut in their enclosure and not
just for the day. I think by the middle of April there will be enough plants
forming flower buds and things that I don't want the ducks eating them, so that's
fine, they'll be shut away. And we'll need to make sure that things like the
chickens are not totally free-ranging, keep them securely away as well. To some
extent people will need to use their common sense, they're coming on courses
on a smallholding, it's a homestead in the making, it's an
ever-evolving thing here. And people know that because they see on the
videos how it is constantly changing and that constantly I've got tools,
I've got pallets, I've got stuff going on. But even so, I need to take sensible
precautions have a good look around. Well I have been so surprised at the number
of pallets that have got nails sticking out the side of them, which for me it's fine,
I know they're there and I actually turn them all in so the nails don't stick out of
a pallet, they stick facing in towards the pallets. But I do want to go around
and make sure all of those are tidy, that people aren't going to hurt themselves
on them. So to that end yesterday Mr and I started to clear up what is effectively
the pallet yard. It's supposed to be a parking space or two, but I filled it up with
pallets. So we started to clear that and get that sorted out and I also had a
really good idea!
I've had a thought! Well we've got two pieces like this and we've got this very long piece.
Is this suitable table material? If that went across there, and another at the other end. We probably need to cut
something to support it in the middle.
Okay so we need to stack this somewhere out the way.
I think that's a good height for a table. Yes that makes sense.
So why don't we put those at the back there.
Look! If the ends are on this, the middle one could be sitting on that. That might do it!
So where are we going to put this? I don't know. Shall we take it round a put it against those ones for now? Okay.
I have been potting up plants that are propagating themselves, ones that have
self sown or layered themselves naturally. And I've been potting those up
ready for sale. So I've got some over here, I've got some bergamot which is
monarda and chives these are tayberries and loganberries.
But I don't just want them sitting in a plastic container on a pile of pallets.
This is messy, chaotic, a bit wobbly and therefore, unsafe. So with that very long
panel of wood that I saw and the two uprights for the ends and a slightly
shorter upright for the centre, I think I can create a really nice table on which
to keep the plants. It means they'll be easily accessible but also quite safe
and not on a pile of pallets with nails sticking out. I'm going to put
it, I think, along this fence, along here, so then I can also secure it to the
fence for added stability. That means we need to clear all of this lot, I need to
clear out that lot and I'm not sure how much junk
becomes acquired in such a short space of time! All of those need to get sorted
out and put away and to be honest I haven't got that long to get myself organized.
So I'm glad we made a start yesterday, I'm hoping that we can get the
most of this pile of pallets move today. So I had better stop chattering
away and get on with some of this.
And so wherever you are in the world and
whatever you've got planned for today, I hope it's a good one and I also hope
you'll join me again next time!