I don't wear them either...just keeps me from feeling the dirt...i tried but it's just not the same!!!
Not just dirty hands & feet, but what about clothes? Of course I wear my old "gardening" clothes for my serious garden projects, but when I pop out "just to have a look at things" I tend to forget what I'm wearing So for me, any light coloured trousers are a no no, for they are bound to get some degree of soil on them! My wardrobe does not include anything pure white, that would be an absolute disaster......
Oh dear me, Droopy! That is a grubby paw alright, bit I do not think that it is any grubbier than mine these days. They seem worse on days that I am weeding or planting. I have gloves, but do not use them often. I think that yopu outta wear those hands with pride. ;-)
Scientific research by GardenStew has just proved that dedicated gardener have dirty hands all season due to lack of gloves. Most also have dirty feet, and I have to confess that my clothes some days look like I've had a mud spa treatment. I think it's rather embarrassing to ask my husband to bring a dressing gown or very long T-shirt so I can leave the mud-caked clothes outside.
Droopy, one of the joys of living in the country is, if you are quick, there is no need for a dressing gown or long T-shirt. Just a quick dash from the patio into the house (and hope the minister didn't just come to visit).
A while ago a gardener on tv said something about potting compost containing acid and ammonia. According to him, this was the reason why a lot of gardeners get cracked & dry hands. Is this true? Has anyone ever heard this before?
No, GE, I haven't, but it makes sense. That said, I also get dry and cracked hands from playing in soil that has never even heard of potting compost.
Me too, that's why I wondered if it could really be down to just that compost. (I must add that this tv-gardener is never seen digging around in ordinary soil, he is forever planting away in fresh potting compost. Looks better on tv I guess, but maybe he's forgotten about the real soil.... )
You are in good company! I hate it when I run to the store and see my nails at the same time the person accepting my money does!
Gardenelf, Maybe the gardener is correct in the sense that fertilizers are/or contain ammonia as in it is used in place of nitrogen. All the farmers use anhydrous ammonia to green up the corn in the fields. I have used ammonia in my own homemade fertilizer, along with other ingredients and of course the pH of the soil would reflect either acid or alkaline.
