Garden gloves

Flower & Garden Magazine, Oct-Nov, 1995 by Adele Kleine

I Love The Feel Of Soil On My hands - it keeps me in touch with the earth. With bare fingers I can judge soil tilth, explore the intricacies of crab-grass roots, check the size of baby carrots or feel for fingerling potatoes.

But no more. When tom fingernails, ingrained dirt, thorn scratches and a contact dermatitis from rue made my hands socially unacceptable, I knew it was time for gloves. By necessity, I wear gloves for practically all types of garden duties, and I have become a veritable duenna of garden gloves. Pretty gloves, useful gloves, cheap and expensive gloves - I know them all.

Ideally, garden gloves should be soft and pliable, easy to put on and take off, reasonably shaped to fit your hands but not constricting, suitable for the task, durable and washable. All are evaluated against their cost.

Leather gloves are the most expensive, but their suitability to hard work and their durability offset the extra cost. They are most comfortable after a breaking-in period, when they conform to the contours of your hands and are easy to put on. Leather gloves are best washed on the hand and air-dried. Goatskin is the finest leather; sheepskin and cowhide are strong, as is pigskin, which is the most available leather for work gloves.

Off-white goatskin gloves are soft and supple when infused with lanolin, fit like dress gloves and become as comfortable as old shoes. They seem elegant even when worn and dirty. Goatskin gloves are available in men's and women's sizes, shirred at the wrist (Smith & Hawken, $19.50). Wells Lamont goatskin drivers are fuller around the wrist and slip on easily. A heavier goatskin glove wears better and protects your arms with its gauntlet style. Make this glove your once-in-a-gardening-lifetime purchase (Smith & Hawken, $34).

Tough-but-lightweight sheepskin gloves with a double-stitched palm, thumb and forefinger in men's and women's sizes will stand up to years of wear (Walt Nicke Co., $24.50). From France, a combination of cowhide with a beige viscose cuff is treated to stay soft after wetting and provides full protection to the hand and arm. These sturdy, wearable gloves are available in red, green, yellow or blue (Gardener's Eden, $23.50).

Pigskin gloves that are unlined, heavy-duty and washable are available in a variety of sizes including children's sizes (Stokes Seed Co., children's $12.95; women's $16.95). Suede pig-skin rose gardener's gloves for women should be high on your wish list. They keep hands free of scratches and will not stiffen or crack (Gardener's Supply Co., $24.50). Pigskin gloves with shirred palms are contoured for better fit for men and women (Smith & Hawken, $19).

Womanswork pigskin gloves are sold in a number of catalogs (The Cook's Garden, $19; Pinetree Garden Seeds, $19.49; Shepherd's Garden Seeds, $17.95, men's heavier weight $18.95). The shaped, supple design protects hands from cuts and blisters, molds to the hand and wears well. I have never washed mine because I use them for dry jobs like raking, trimming and pruning, simply brushing the dirt off after each use.

Hush Puppies "Skins" gloves for men (Pinetree Garden Seeds, $11.98) are pigskin leather, tanned to be flexible and provide ventilation. The manufacturer claims they outwear cowhide gloves 3-to-1.

No one pair of gloves can serve all gardening purposes, so it is best to maintain a wardrobe of gloves for special uses. Bluettes, an all-purpose household glove, is waterproof enough for working around water garden plants and pools. For spraying fungicides in the greenhouse or on roses, one-time-only hospital gloves, while difficult to put on even with talcum powder, are disposable and prevent spray residue on the hands. A few pairs of cotton string gloves, reserved for painting patio accessories, absorb paint splashes while you work and are inexpensive enough to be discarded (Pinetree Garden Seeds, 899 each). They may also be used as liners under clumsy 14-inch rubber gauntlet gloves that fit almost to the elbow (Pinetree Garden Seeds, $3.98).

Soft brown cotton knit jersey gloves are made to fit like dress gloves for small hands. They are inexpensive, washable and can be dried gently in the dryer, but purchase them large enough to go on easily. These are not durable enough for hard gardening tasks, so buy them by the dozen (Johnny's Selected Seeds, $21 per dozen, $2.50 per pair).

HeatKeep work gloves have been developed for people working outside in cold climates. They are made with a new polyester insulation under a pigskin palm, thumb and index finger, to keep hands warm and comfortable (Gardener's Supply Co., $14.95).

Mud gloves are the answer to "must-do" gardening chores in wet weather. These are green cotton covered with a textured latex to provide a sure grip on wet surfaces and keep the hands dry. They can be ordered in men's and women's sizes (Gardener's Supply Co., $7.95). A thorn-resistant, French-made, white-and-green version (Smith & Hawken, $12) easily lasts through several gardening seasons. All are machine washable, but it is best to air-dry them.