For digging, weeding, and planting, I use Mud gloves. They work better than most, but I still manage to get dirty fingernails sometimes.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Mud Gloves

Thanks Carol. I've always wondered about Mud gloves. I usually just get some inexpensive work gloves from the big box for that kind of stuff. I have a couple of nice pairs of kidskin gloves for pruning.

I use a brand called gripps. They are knit so stretch to fit my wide palm and short fingers and they have rubber covering the palm, the bottom and up over the end of the finger. Because the rubber covers the end of the finger they do a pretty good job of keeping my hands clean and they help with the grip for pulling weeds etc. not to mention that they offer a lot of protection when prunning.

I have those gloves (somewhat like Mudd) that are a combo of cotton and a rubbery substance. Easy to work with. I always buy some when I see them around.

Do you use gloves religiously? I always find that I put them on and in no time they are off and I'm pulling away.
My fingernails don't seem to want to stay clean for about 9 months out of the year.

Dry Hands & Dirty Nails
(aka Carol)

ahh, sisters!

I've been trying to keep them on all the time when I intentionally go out to garden. The problem is when I am all dressed up or not in garden garb and start pulling weeds or gardening anyway. On the way to the car. On the way to get the newspaper. Wandering around with coffee.

Lol, I do the same thing, take them off and on. Probably why I can't keep my fingernails clean. They do work very well if you keep them on though.

Carol

I love the Nitrile ones. There is a light weight one and a heavier one. I use them even for light pruning. I wish they made one with a longer cuff to protect my arms. I like that they breath and mold to my hands well so I leave them on more. They can take most thorns. I started using them when I was working for an Artist on a project weaving stainless steel cord. They are amazingly tough.

patricia

Dear DH&DN, I'm with you! People remark on how nice my hands look when I have a professional manicure, I tell them to look fast, there won't be another one until September... ;-))

I've been using the regular cotton ones that are in the supermarket. I had a truly terrible case of eczema on the backs of my hands from winter '07 until just a few months ago, and I must wear something, but they need to be soft and loose (so as not to cause friction on the skin). The supermarket ones are less than great, because they fit so badly and fray so quickly, but I can wash them, and they are the best I can find. Everything else I've looked at seems to be a synthetic (a bit hard on the skin) or leather (ditto). Any suggestions? Thanks.

Organic Tosca, goatskin gloves are softer than leather, maybe they could work for you...

Womanswork Gloves makes a really nice goatskin glove. It's a snug fit, so one might want to size up a size to get a looser fit.

Goatskin is very good for pruning roses, even better than leather.

Womanswork also makes a nice Bog Glove, which is a mud glove.

Here is a link that might be useful: Womanswork Glove

Could you use those white cotton glove liners under something else?

Organic tosca - try the grips - the back of the hand is polycotton knit so it fits well; very comfortable

http://www.seattlemarine.net/atlas_gloves/palm_coated_gloves.htm

Krista and Duchesse - two great ideas!. I actually do have some glove liners that I got to go under winter gloves (didn't end up actually using them, so here's their chance); and I have seen goatskin gloves in the Seeds of Change catalog, but just assumed they would be like regular leather. So MANY THANKS to both of you!!!

Goatskin. A general loose pair for regular garden work. A heavier one when I'm pruning.

I love the Atlas Nitrile Touch gloves. They are really thin and tight so they dont get in the way when I am trying to work. There is nothing more irritating than to not be able to feel what I am doing and having to take the gloves off and on. A friend recommended them to me and I found them online on an alpaca website of all places. I think I paid $10 for two pair shipping included. They last a long time too which is great and I throw them in the wash and they are as good as new.

Here is a link that might be useful: www.creekwaterproducts.com/uniqueitems.htm

The ones I picked up at Big Lots last year. They are perhaps pigskin suede (not thick and heavy and real leather) and one sprung a small hole in the stitching already. I don't know what I'll do when they're worn out because they are just right. They look awful after what I've put them through. That is no problem for me. Best gardening gloves yet, won't go back to cloth or others I've had.

West country gloves, http://www.westcountygardener.com/

Mine come from the local hardware, are thin leather on the palms and fingertips, cotton on the back. They're great if it's dry, which the last few years has been practically all the time. They're cheap, so when we wear them out we just go and buy more. I'll have to look into some of these alternatives when I go to the U.S. this summer, for potting and planting and other wet tasks.

I do my share of bare handed weeding, when I stroll into the garden not intending to work. But if I go out to work, the gloves are automatic, like the seatbelt when I get in the car. (I wish sunscreen were also a habit.) I do take them on and off for tasks like tying, and it doesn't bother me: that's what pockets are made for (gloves, front left pocket, pruners back left pocket, folding saw back right pocket, everything else wherever I can fit it). My nails get dirty anyway, but there are too many nasty things that can happen to those invaluable tools our hands while working to the garden for me not to protect them.

Melissa

Last fall I couldn't find my regular gardening gloves, and ended up using an old pair of lined leather dress gloves. It destroyed the gloves, but they were definitely better than nothing, especially for weeding.

I really like the ones with rubber palms and fingertips for planting, especially the ones that are washable.

I have been looking for a good source of reasonably-priced elbow-length gloves to use in pruning thorny bushes.

I think this is a great thread, and look forward to visiting all of the recommended sites!