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Why I Now Wear Gardening Gloves
no glove no garden
Do you wear gloves while gardening? When I first started gardening beyond my own backyard I always had a least one pair of gardening gloves with me. I carry a second pair because in my travels from garden to garden, somehow I always lost at least one glove, usually the right one. As I am right handed and possibly extremely so this loss was quickly noticed and I would pull out the other pair, always keeping the lone left one. Over the years I acquired a considerable collection of lone left gloves.
The, about five years back, I stop wearing the gloves, I had them and they were in my garden kit but I simply did not put them on, unless I was working on a new site, especially one that had never been a garden.
Why, I did not know what I might find so the gloves provided some protection. As I designed and worked in garden after garden, I must have lost sight of that. I enjoy the feel of the soil, the touch of plants and even an ant running across the back of my hand awakens my connection to what I am doing.
I forgot that soil ,while miraculous stuff, is still soil and even when organic it can have things living in it that you do not want to introduce to an open cut. It is very easy to get a small cut, nick or scrape while lost in the moment and these can be infected.
I was recently reminded of what can happen when gardening unprotected. This year, for the first time, in about four years, I decided to grow my own cucumbers. I like cucumbers and they make a great sandwich, but the ones from the supermarket, just do not cut it.
I have planted them for others over that time but did not harvest them. It was about six days ago when I noticed a slight warmth on my left wrist, there was no obvious injury so I basically ignored it. Then two days ago, I noticed a similar sensation on my right wrist, however, this time there was a bit of red and some small bumps, a rash was my thought.
The first step was to compare the wrists, both had a similar look and feel, not severe but present. So what had I been doing?
Talking this over with my wife, always a great idea, she said cucumbers you have been picking cucumbers and indeed, the cucumber harvest was underway. I had also been tying up the vines and on both incidents came into contact wit the cucumber leaves.
Now, intellectually, I knew that a rash was possible from handling cucumber leaves, but that never translated into wearing gloves. Well, that has changed. The gloves, four pairs of them are in the garden shed, right beside the cucumber bed. A fifth pair is in the kitchen, in the garden gadget drawer, or junk drawer as my wife prefers to call it.
From now on I will be wearing gloves when gardening the rash is a mild reminder of why I need to wear them, it could have been worse.
cucumber on vine
sandwich
Flip Video
Do you wear gloves while gardening?
Comments
- Author
A great tip, thanks.
I wear gloves in the garden because usually, after washing all those scrumptious veggies, we begin to prepare them for dinner or canning in the kitchen. After working outside in the soil, it takes a long time to get the stains off the fingers and hands, and since we love to entertain, it really is a turn off for people to see stains on the hands of those who have prepared the food.
But for those who insist on working without gloves, here is a trick to keep soil from building up under the nails. Get a bar of soap, (I use Ivory) and scrape your nails across the bar so the soap builds up under the nail tips. That way, the dirt can't collect! Neat, Huh? Course you will still get stains, but the nails will be clean!
- Author
I have not heard that, where are you located, what country?
Gloves? A friend told me that I must wear gloves for many reasons but in particular because of little worm eggs that get into your digestive tract. Is this true??
- Author
A very good reason to wear gloves when gardening, thanks for dropping by.
I never wear gloves when I garden, I find I have a harder time working with my hands. However, this year I have a baby and I will definitely wear gloves because even though I wash my hands I'd still be afraid of what he could get in his mouth when he chews on my hands, which he does frequently now that he's teething.
Your welcome!
- Author
Good information thanks for the input.
Be sure to get your tetanus booster every 10 years also. The tetanus bacteria can live in the soil for decades and is a common one in any area that has ever been used by bovine or in compost made with bovine bi-products!
I love the feel of freshly composted and screened soil that has been warmed in the sun. I love roses and every year when I cut them back I make (what I call) my required blood sacrifice due to the thorns. Gloves make the process a little less injurious. Overall I keep them handy but do not always wear them. I buy my gloves by the bunch and they are ambidexterous, so I don't end up with a bunch of left gloves. I hated that problem with my ear rings. Two ears, one ear ring.
- Author
I like the feel of the soil and the plants and gloves limit this but I am not fond of rashes, so...
Bob, I am an avid gardener but never wear gloves. I know you should and your story highlights this. I have some prickly pear cactus and often wind up with those nasty little thorns in my hands, and swear that I'll wear gloves next time. Maybe I will.
- Author
You are welcome, thanks for dropping by.
I always forget to put them until my hands get sore! Thanks for the reminder.
- Author
Thanks for dropping by.
Very good information. I never thought of the dangers of this before.
- Author
It is dangerous to assume Nature is benign. Thanks for dropping by.
This reminded me that a while ago I read something about the discovery of penicillin. The very first person to be treated with penicillin was a man who had scratched his face on a rose bush. The scratch had turned so septic that he had lost an eye before treatment began. The poor guy started to get better but the penicillin ran out and he ended up dying anyway (that's why you need to finish a course of antibiotics). But just goes to show that the garden can be a dangerous place!
- Author
good reason, thanks for dropping by.
I wear gloves to protect my $35 manicure. :)
- Author
You are welcome and thank you for dropping by.
I wear gloves because I have very sensitive skin and break out really easy. Thanks for info about the cukes.
- Author
Thank you both for dropping by, no glove, no garden
very good hub nice info thanks
gotta have garden gloves if you want to have useable hands
- Author
Insect bites are another reason for gloves.Thanks for dropping by.
- Author
Cucumber leaves can cause a mild rash.
It can be hard to find a good fitting and affordable garden glove, look for a hub on the subject.
Thank you both for dropping by.
I've been wearing leather gloves ever since I got stung while deadheading marigolds with my bare hand. I don't wear them while planting, though, except to hold the trowel handle when digging the hole.
I always wear gloves to garden and I grow cucumbers. Is there something I should know about cucumber leaves?
Bob, this is a great reminder. I pulled pine cones from beneath my bristol cone, as I mentioned in a previous hub of yours. The gloves were ill fitting and leather and began to rub against my little finger, creating a rip in the skin. SO I took off the gloves. What resulted was a hand pierced with pine cone pricklings. So... how do you find gloves that fit correctly?
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