Questions Asked & Answered
Learn Our Process, Common Ergonomics Terminology, and a few ‘Rules’
Product Recommendation Questions
No, I don’t. I recommend products I own (and like) or would purchase for myself. My recommendations may not fit your situation at all, but at least they provide you a sorted starting point. I do not seek, nor will not make, recommendations from paid endorsements. In addition to my recommendations, I highly suggest you watch any videos presented on Amazon’s listing page. You will intuitively know which one is right for you.
The tiers are nothing more than price points. Tier 1 always represents the least expensive of the five items I’m recommending and flows higher. Obviously, there are less and more expensive items on the market. The tiers only apply to the specific products I research and recommend.
In some categories, the tiers will feel like apples-to-apples comparisons, others will be an array of options within the category and their price points.
If a price is not listed on the single product card, it means it’s currently out of stock at Amazon. You can always save it to a list, drop it in your cart, or create a reminder on the product page. The prices are fetched automatically and subject to change – higher or lower – and might alter where a product customarily ranks on the tier table.
The listing has nothing to do with any political stance. With ever changing supply chains, geopolitics, and weather interruptions, it’s always good to know how far a product has to travel before it gets in our hands. I assume most of Smooth Gardening’s readers live in the United States, so American manufacturers are listed whenever possible.
Ergonomic/adaptive/accessible gardening products are rarely made in the US. Many garden tool manufacturers are headquarted in the US but all production is elsewhere. As I research, it is interesting to see the “Buy American” versus “Made in America” advertising. Whether this changes with ‘re-shoring’, ‘friend-shoring’, or ‘near-shoring’ remains to be seen.
Regardless of where a tool is made, pick the best one for you and dismiss the rest. It’s your body, your garden, and your peace of mind that ultimately counts.
We are all familiar with the “The Top 3” and “The Top 10” headlines and listicles seeking our attention.
Gardeners know that grouping a particular plant variety in odd numbers is naturally eye-pleasing. Five products offer a good balance, providing enough variety without overwhelming the viewer or making them forget the initial ones in a longer list.
Check the price, follow your gut, and you’re likely going to be satisfied.
Fun
Accuracy
Integrity
Relevance
Simplicity
FAIRS: Which can be great events to see developments in agricultural/horticultural techniques, gorge on ‘fair-food’, access community groups, catch up with friends, and watch some wholesome entertainment (and/or watch your county’s cautionary tales act out on the midway).
Terminology
Ergonomics focuses on optimizing design for a specific ‘average’ user group to improve efficiency and reduce strain within a particular situation or task. It is applied narrowly to specific tasks, tools, or workstations.
There are three main, interrelated subtypes (domains) of ergonomics as defined by the International Ergonomics & Human Factors Association. All three domains cover a holistic approach to ensuring human well-being and optimal system performance across various situations:
Physical ergonomics: Lifting, carrying, workplace layouts, repetitive movements, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), posture, and workstation design.
Cognitive ergonomics: Human-computer interaction (HCI), training and interface design, situational awareness, decision making processes, performance reliability, mental workload, and stress.
Organizational ergonomics (Macro-ergonomics): Participatory design processes, organizational structure and policies, quality management and culture, communication and teamwork, team resource management (TRM), work design, and scheduling (shift work).
Universal Design aims to create products and environments that are usable by all people regardless of:
Age
Size
Ability
Disability
All four, inter-related factors are considered in the base design.
Inclusivity and accessibility are considered from the outset, aiming for a single design that requires no future adaptation to benefit the largest audience possible.
Universal Design is a broader, more philosophical approach that can be applied to entire buildings, public spaces, and general consumer products.
Both are human-centered approaches placing human needs, abilities, and limitations at the center of product and environment design to enhance user comfort, safety, and performance.
Both are multidisciplinary approaches including:
Anthropometry: The systematic study and measurement of the physcial dimensions, size, and proportions of the human body at rest and in motion.
Psychology
Engineering
These disciplines collaborate to inform design decisions with the shared principles of ‘low physical effort’ and ‘size and space approach’.
These 9 factors put strain on the body and can lead to injuries like musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs):
1. Vibration
2. Repetitive motion
3. Awkward postures
4. Forceful exertions
5. Frequent or heavy lifting
6. Contact stress (direct pressure on a tool handle or other hard surfaces)
7. Extended static positions (standing or sitting for extended periods without changing posture)
8. Poorly adjusted workstations (chair/seat, desk/worktable/raised planting beds that are not the right height for the user)
9. Environmental factors (poor lighting, extreme temps, slippery surfaces, allergens, noxious chemicals)
Gardening ‘Rules’
The rule advises against gardening between 11am and 2pm during the summer months. This is when the sun is the highest, its rays are most intense, and the temperatures are the hottest. The rule helps avoid risks like dehydration, heatstroke, and sunburn.
It also helps the plants by preventing water evaporation from the soil, leaf scorching, and heat stress.
It depends on the context.
70/30 Planting Rule:
A guideline for creating successful and balanced gardens.
*Dr. Doug Tallamy (entomologist at University of Delaware): Plant 70% native plants to support local insects and birds with the reamining 30% as non-native, non-invasive plants.
*Piet Oudolf (Dutch Landscape Designer – Leader of the ‘New Perrenial’ movement): Plant 70% ‘long-lasting’ structure plants (long-lived perennials, shrubs, and grasses that provide consistent visual interest, shape, and structure even when not in bloom through autumn and winter) and the remaining 30% with ‘seasonal filler’ structure plants.
*For Cottage Garden Style: 70% of the space for reliable plants that are planted in repeating groups of three, five, or seven plants to create a cohesive base. 30% of the space for sporadically spaced experimental plants for delightful surprises.
70/30 Planting for Vegetable Gardens:
70% vegetables, 30% flowers to attract pollinators
70/30 Soil Composition (for proper drainage and nutrient content):
70% screened topsoil/sand, 30% compost
70/30 Lifespan Planting:
70% perennials, 30% annuals
70/30 ‘Soft’ v ‘Hard’
70% Softscape (plants), 30% Hardscape (paths, patios, structures)