Real gardeners don't use gloves: Give me your best handscrub/salve recipes! - Page 2

[Carley]

Originally Posted by Apricot

I use nitrile exam gloves. If they're good enough for IV starts, they're good enough for anything I do in the garden.

: Brilliant!

[PinkinPA]

Run your nails over abar of soap before gardening, it keeps the dirt out. For my hands, I just vaseline them before I go out.

[Hibou]

Not that I'm suggesting this, but this thread reminds me of my dad (a farmer) who used diesel fuel to get his hands clean before my little brother's graduation.

I'm loving all the suggestions, as I'm one of those women with permanently dirty looking hands all summer too.

Originally Posted by Astrogirl
I just wanted to tell you that as the mom with the nice hands, whenever I saw a woman with hands like yours, it immediately garnered my respect and admiration. I remember thinking "here's a woman who does stuff - stuff that i would like to do. How can i get to be friends with her?" and feeling embarrassed that I looked so wimpy and polished. Definitely be proud of your hands. It can tell you everything about a person.

Wow. I think I'll print this and put it on my fridge. :

[Monkey's Mum]

I don't wear gloves very often (usually just when I'm digging or raking). I use the "world's kindest nail brush" from Lee Valley tools and it works well.

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page...59&cat=2,42551

[AstridS]

I'm an archaeologist as well as a gardener. So I know all about dirty hands. The answer is: toothpaste.
I rinse my hands and my nails in toothpaste and then slander them in almond oil. An old archaeologist taught me this trick. Her hands are still soft and clean looking after many years at dig sites around the world.
If the cracks are really deep I apply lanolin before bedtime. It makes me smell like a sheep, but at least my hands are soft.

[journeymom]

I use Boraxo powdered hand soap and it really works. It's this grainy powder that scrubs your hands. It works every time. I don't mean to sound like an ad for the product, but this is what it says on the back of the can:

" Boraxo frees your hands from gardening gloves! Boraxo powdered hand soap removes dirt and soil from your hands. Its unique formula allows you to scrub your hands removing deep down dirt. Boraxo will remove most household and garden dirt."

It's no where near as harsh as dish washing liquid and my hands aren't as dried out, either. And it gets food smells off my hands, too.

The ingredients are sodium tetraborax decahydrate and 'fine toilet soap.'

Lanolin: try Lansinoh. It does not smell of anything. I first bought some when I was nursing my son, as it's meant for nursing mothers' sore nipples. I guess babies don't particularly like the taste or smell of sheep lanolin. I don't use it on my hands, I use it as a lip balm now (haven't nursed in eight years.), in fact my whole family uses it as a lip balm. But my sister does use it on her hands.

Again, I really don't mean to sound like I'm advertising the Boroxo, but it's the one thing I found that actually gets dirt and motor oil and food smells off my hands.


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Edited to say, that Lee Valley scrub brush looks really good. I used one to prep my hands when I visited my premature niece in the NICU.

[Jane]

I've used lava soap, too - it has pumice sand in it to abrade the dirt away. I know there are homemade scrubs that use salt or sugar and oil. I wonder if you could use salt and regular dish soap?

[Carley]

Originally Posted by Monkey's Mum

I don't wear gloves very often (usually just when I'm digging or raking). I use the "world's kindest nail brush" from Lee Valley tools and it works well.

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page...59&cat=2,42551

Whoa... that is exactly what I need! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Monkey's Mum]

I love lee valley! They have such cool garden stuff, but I always have to be very careful when I look through the catalog as I start to drool and my credit card appears in my hand

[*Jessica*]

Originally Posted by Owen'nZoe

I always have better luck cleaning my hands if I wash my hair first. The combination of the shampoo and running your fingers through your hair gets most of the dirt out, and then you can finish up with a nail brush.

:

Originally Posted by AstridS

I'm an archaeologist as well as a gardener. So I know all about dirty hands. The answer is: toothpaste.
I rinse my hands and my nails in toothpaste and then slander them in almond oil. An old archaeologist taught me this trick. Her hands are still soft and clean looking after many years at dig sites around the world.
If the cracks are really deep I apply lanolin before bedtime. It makes me smell like a sheep, but at least my hands are soft.

That I have to try! Toothpaste, who knew?! (And I'm super jealous of your job!)

[Jojo F.]

Wash with oil, or sugar and oil Butter is freaking awsome too Oh yes, lanolin at night feels sooooo good.

[lightheart]

pulling up an older thread here, and I don't know if this was suggested or not but I tried it yesterday and it did work!! Veggie Wash... mine is in a spray bottle and it is sold to wash your fruits and veggies...

I just wet my hands, washed with soap like usual then sprayed it on full strength working it into my cuticles and all around then rinsed and followed up with another regular soap wash. Under my nails didn't come real clean, a nail brush would of helped I think.

bottle says safely removes waxes, chemicals and soil. The ingredients listed are water, natural cleaners made from corn and coconut, citrus oil, sodium citrate (a natural derivative of citrus fruit) glycerin (from coconut oil) and grapefruit seed extract.

I will warn that it burns and stings in all the little cuts, I have a fresh blister from using the rake and that stung big time! My hands weren't ground in yucky so I don't know how it will work on the true farmers hands out there but may be worth a try if you have a bottle of it or maybe a friend has one and you can wash your hands with it when you go visit. (maybe bring them some fruits of your harvest in exchange. )

Another thing that it helped with was smell, I ad been playing in the compost and my hands had that odor, not of nice mellowed compost but of rotting compost, took that smell off.

I think I will try it on mine and the kids' feet this evening since they are ground in dirty.

[gardenqueenie]

I garden quite a lot, in fact have done it professionally. So I get the hands problem, some of which just goes with the territory.  However, recently I have noticed that if I keep a bucket of water with me when I am working and occasionally rinse my hands in it as I work, my hands don't get quite so stained (nor do the handles of my shovels get yucky when I am working with compost). Also, when I go inside I clean my fingernails with a brush, warm water & dish soap immediately, not letting the dirt dry under my nails. Having rinsed regularly outside the dirt is still wet and comes off my fingernails much more easily. If all else fails, I use Bon Ami scouring powder.

Bag balm is a good remedy for cracked hands. When I was a potter (ceramic), all the potters used it. Seemed to be the only thing that worked for us. It is for cow udders, but available in many places other than farm grange stores.  Look for a square green can on the store shelf.  It is a petroleum product, so if you don't like that, never mind. Hope this helps.   By the way,  I NEVER use gloves! :-)   

[justmama]

pumice stone.  It gets rid of the ground in dirt that won't come out of the cracks and creases of your hands and feet.

[g&a]

This thread cracks me up.  You obviously don't have thistles in your area...

[MonarchMom]

I use hand cream AND gloves! Otherwise the dirt dries out my skin and nails. I like to rub a thick cream into my finger tips and nails and then put on the nitril gloves. I work in an office and can't be showing up with dirt under my nails. Planting tiny seeds, or transplanting might be an exception... But 90% of gardening is in the soil with gloves.

[Lovesong]

Originally Posted by g&a 

This thread cracks me up.  You obviously don't have thistles in your area...

Or sneaky nettles hiding everywhere...grrr. Or hogweed. Or for that matter wild roses. There is a reason my garden gloves are real leather.

[SweetSilver]

Reviving this old thread is definitely useful, but since the OP hasn't been online in 2 years, I doubt she'll see this.

I like to garden barehanded at home, but having been a professional gardener, there is a definite practicality to gloves, even for tasks that I don't normally pull on the gloves for at home.

I like the bath soaks.  DH's hands have permanent ground-in dirt.  He does get cracked hands, and Bag Balm seems to be the only thing that helps.  Keeping fingernails short (really short) helps a little to prevent too much getting stuck in there.  Heavy-duty hand brushes and good enough, I say.

My hands have been depressingly clean this last year.  I am looking forward to the next 2 weeks to get those hands both in the dirt and in those gloves.  I have blackberries to weed out, a viciously thorny (and gorgeous) rose to transplant.  I do hate wearing the gloves as they make my hands hot and sweaty, so I do prefer to go without when I can.  Can't always!

 And even though it was meant for a fun title, I'd like to add that "Real Gardeners Couldn't Give A Rip if People Think They Aren't Real Gardeners For Wearing Gloves Because Gloves Are Damn Useful Because When You Come Home From Gardening For Others All Day, The First Thing You Want To Do Do When You Get Home Is Do Work In Your Own Garden And Your Hands Appreciate A Little Respect" 

[journeymom]

Lol! We are 'decluttering', a word so inadequate to describe this undertaking. I've been sorting dusty, rusty, filthy things in the garage.  Washing hands over and over, my hands were literally hurting. So now I wear either my work gloves or disposable medical-type gloves, as much as possible. 

We're moving in a few days.  I haven't had a decent back yard in 10 years.  I am SO excited!  This house we're moving to has a REAL backyard and there WILL be tomato plants in the ground in the next couple months.