Gardener’s Hands 101: Protection & Cleaning Tips

If you enjoy gardening and puttering around in the yard, you know how quickly dirt seems to accumulate under the fingernails and in every crack and crevice in the skin. Wearing gloves when gardening does help but dirt still seems to find its way in.

Sometimes all it takes is an easy washup to get rid of the grime, but more often than not it takes a bit of work to get your hands and fingernails dirt free.

Here are tips for protecting hands when gardening (and why you want to), removing garden stains and a few skin moisturizing tips (after all that washing and scrubbing, your hands will need it).

Gardener’s Hands 101

The first line of defense is protecting the hands by wearing gloves. Many prefer gardening without gloves, if that’s you–you may want to reconsider. Not only do you want to make sure your tetanus shots are up-to-date, you don’t know what kind of parasites are living in the soil that you’re up to your elbows in (this is one reason why some gardeners get so miserable about neighborhood cats lurking around their gardens). Garden gloves will help protect your hands from dirt–but also your health.

• Tip: If you find garden gloves too clumsy to work with, you can try using latex or surgical gloves, they fit the hand nicely and are less bulky around the fingers. Sprinkle a little talcum powder or cornstarch on your hands before putting them on to help with sweaty hands and glove removal. The gloves can be used over and over again until they rip or tear.
• If you’re happy wearing standard garden gloves, consider slipping hands into a pair of surgical gloves before putting on your regular gloves (now you have two layers), this does an excellent job of keeping out dirt.

If you’re happiest digging around with your bare hands, make sure to wash hands well as soon as you’re done (including underneath your fingernails) and avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes until hands are clean. And of course–don’t pick up any food items to eat until hands have been washed. If you’re pregnant, it’s safest to wear gloves.

Don’t forget to wash your garden gloves regularly.

Lather Up

Before putting on gloves, try lathering them up with lotions, lards and moisturizers to make washup easier (the idea is that the dirt will be trapped by the heavy oils and will wash off with the moisturizer).

Some ideas:

• Crisco (or other soft lard)
• Vaseline
• Skin lotions & moisturizers

If you find your hands are too greasy to wash off neatly, rub hands with a bit of cornmeal or oatmeal to help strip hands of grease.

• Tip: A popular old-timers tip is to run your fingernails through a bar of soap to provide a barrier to dirt underneath the nails. Another favorite is to dip fingertips into Vaseline so the Vaseline will provide the barrier. Do this before putting on gloves.

Hand Cleaner Scrubs & Stain Removers:

Make an easy, all-natural scrub with two tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil and three tablespoons of sugar. Rub gently into skin for a couple minutes then rinse off.

• Stain removal paste: mix oatmeal and milk, rub into hands for a few minutes then wash off.
• Other exfoliators found in the pantry can be used, try baking soda, salt, sugar or cornmeal mixed with a bit of water, rub into hands to remove dirt.
• Heavy duty stain remover: Dissolve a denture tablet in warm water then soak hands.
• Berry & fruit stains: Soak hands in household vinegar or cider vinegar. You can also try drizzling fresh lemon juice over stains.
• Heavy duty stain remover: Effective for grass stains, dip hands into hydrogen peroxide then wash clean after a couple minutes.

Scrubbing Tools:

• Nail brush
• Toothbrush
• Luffa Sponge

Drizzle liquid soap over bristles before scrubbing underneath fingernails. They can also be used to lightly scrub hands but be careful not to break or scrape skin.

• Tip: Make a garden scrub bag by filling an empty mesh bag (from veggies) or a leg of panty hose with leftover soap pieces. Tie shut and hang by the garden tap so you can lather up and exfoliate with the bag while you’re outside.

Moisturizers: Skin After Care

Our hands can get quite dry from gardening since we’re washing them so often. Here are some ideas for moisturizing them with items from the pantry:

• Olive oil (also see this Floral Infused Olive Oil)
• Rosemary Hand Scrub (also an exfoliator)
• Baby oil
• Also see Homemade Chapped Balm Recipe

If your cuticles are taking a hit, try massaging a bit of warm olive oil into them.

Gardener’s Hand Care: Assorted Recipes

Gardener’s Homemade Pumice Cleaner:

4 oz mason’s sand
1 oz pumice powder
glycerin

• Mix ingredients together with enough glycerin to moisten. Store in a glass jar (sealed tight while being stored). Use 1 tablespoon to rub into hands and remove stains.
• For a fresh citrus smell, try adding a bit of fresh orange or lemon juice.

Gardener’s Powder Cleaner & Exfoliator:

• Mix equal parts: Baking Soda, Dry Milk Powder, Lavender Buds
• Keep in an airtight container and shake before use. Pour a bit on wet hands and rub into skin for a few minutes, should lift garden and dirt stains.

Gardener’s Hand Cleaner Soak:

Warm water
2 TBS milk
2 TBS olive oil

• Fill a bowl with warm water then add the milk and olive oil. After washing hands to remove surface dirt, soak hands in the warm soak for about 20 minutes. Stains should lift.

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