FUNNY, CYNTHIA!!! Sorry, my feet are clean, but only because after 65 years on these feet I now wear custom orthotics for walking and dirt digging. :( HOWEVER, I happen to have a photo of the socks I wore outside today inside of my walking shoes while I was filling my new raised beds in my "Retirement Garden". Note the dirt dots on the topside of the sock that drifted through the holes in my shoes. These poor pathetic things will never be truly clean again.

I DO have permadirt under my fingernails, though, for I cannot resist touching dirt every chance I get. :)

Rebecca

p.s. 409 ROSES, CYNTHIA!!!! I planted 12, dug up 3 and replanted them (poor babies) and I thought I was ready to expire. Well... then there was the 5 raised beds I built and am now filling, and lining them with plastic, and I guess I have been busy, too. But NOT 409 rose planting busy!!!! You are something!!

You are just too funny, what a nice way to go to bed. Now I must say I have really never thought too photograph the worst. What was I thinking I'll strive too do better.

My worst was likely not dirt but heat. In one of those years of a hundred every day, with work that would not wait. So I broke down and splurged on a baby pool. That I would sink into clothes and all. Wow that felt good. Kept me cool all day. That and the wet towel I wore on my head. Sane will maybe not.

Hey Rebecca thats what my socks look like. My poor floors have not been washed in about 6 weeks. Gonna have to break down soon stay in and do what I gotta do.

Patty, You are brilliant!!! I had that same experience the last time I redid the back yard. It was 100 degree heat and I had to keep on going because I wanted to get it done! I wish I would have thought of the baby pool or even soaking my clothes in water. I just kept on plugging along... Dumb!!

I'm with you on the floors as well. I hate to admit this, but I had to hunt to find a clean tile in the kitchen to take my sock photo on... How pathetic is that. :) Thankfully, I have a very understanding husband who knows that dirt means more to me than diamonds or gold. And, although he likes a tidy house, he knows that when the project is done, he will have it clean again. Right now it is all I can do to do the cooking. My sweet man does the dishes. :)

Rebecca

p.s. I think you are VERY sane!!

That is so awesome! Cynthia, you should have asked your daughter to rub those glorious feet while she was down there. lol And Rebecca, those socks may not ever be quite the same. haha Thanks for the laughs. It's so freakin' hot here right now that I can only stand to be out for a few minutes before I feel like I'm under a magnifying glass.

...I sympathise... empathise, and everything else along the way...

..and thanks for the laugh here...

OK, I really can't show a photo here (my dogs have no way to push the shutter button) but I will say that I put on some pretty sandals to wear to work the other morning - and luckily I chanced to really look down at my toenails before I stepped out the door. Yikes! It's not just the fingernails that get that dirt embedded look that's so hard to scrub clean.

And I'd only admit this to another gardener, LOL!

I love this post! In the natural medicine world they tell us that working in dirt makes us feel better as dirt contains actual natural anti-depressants. And they also tell us to go barefoot & connect with the earth whenever we can. Kids that play in dirt grow up healthier. So I am so with you all on this one -- always loved to dig in the dirt.

I'm with Rebecca, I can't garden without socks and sturdy lace up shoes, so my feet stay clean. My socks are another matter. When I do the whites, I have to spray each of the socks with stain remover, but yeah, they never look the same again.

Love this thread! My feet look pretty much the same but I didn't plant 409 roses, wow you are awesome!

Don't worry Cynthia you are not alone, I will post pics for you later today. I have to go to town right this minute. I get them because I don't wear socks all the time :) I love Pilates to BTW. I just do the videos from home though :)

I meant to say 409 roses wow, how are you still with us? I think I would be happy in the afterlife after that! I hope you got a good tub soak after that! No kid interruptions :)

Toooooo funny. Love this. My daughter complains about mine and tells me I really need to start back getting pedicures. I garden in flip flops so my feet look identical. Lol. I put on tennis shoes when I have to dig a decent size hole but all other times it's my good ol comfy sanuk flip flops. Thanks for a funny start to my day. Judy

I don't have permadirt because I'm a surgeon and I have to scrub the dirt off all the time. I have plenty of protective wears though that are heavily soiled.

I too wear socks (black ones so the "dirt" doesn't show) and shoes and gloves along with long sleeves and long pants in the garden. I am covered up from head to toe so I don't get mosquito bit (they LOVE me) and to keep out the thorns (had one embedded in my thumb for a long period of time and don't want to go through that again).

However, I was out there deep cleaning the bbq this weekend (the boyfriend stated it was just fine and not dirty). I got off of the grills, bottom, sides and top 12 years of ash, grease and grime. Can you say YUCK?! I scrubbed and scrubbed for over two hours. I didn't wear gloves for this so now my fingernails and the skin around them are a black yuck and repeated washings have not gotten it all out. I have gardener's hands without being in the garden! However, I have a practically brand new BBQ to use this year. That sucker is getting deep cleaned annually. I am not going through that again!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who gardens in their socks (rarely shoes, I can't be bothered to put them on every time I go outside). I would be scared to go barefoot in the rose garden though, I've stepped on one too many stray thorns. Ouch!

I rarely wear socks or gloves when working in the yard so I do frequently have that permadirt look on my feet and hands. Even with the exfoliating wash I keep in the shower, it can take days to unstain my feet and hands. My husband has always laughed at my keeping a plastic fork in the shower and by the sink, but it works wonders to clean the dirt from under and around my fingernails and toenails while I wash up :)

Bleach added to water in a glass soak fingers for a minute or so. Takes that crime and dirt right off. It also gets under the nails.

Oh my!!! I do not even know if I should post. I wear everything necessary to keep my feet from becoming dirty. We do not wear shoes in our home, the floors are pretty clean, but I will not even walk barefoot in the house. I always wear a house slipper. A sandy beach... pilates class... about the only place where my feet go bare.

Towanda, we have to rig something up so you can be outside in your dirt in the summer Arizona sun... How about a Coolibar lightweight hoodie sweat suit watered down like Patty does to start. Next comea a little battery operated personal fan attached to your head with a halo to blow on your face and cool the air that you breathe... After that is all rigged up you could get a Versi-Brella beach umbrella to snap on a belt around your waist and you would be good to go!!! There now, wasn't that easy? Probably better not try to move too far in that getup, though. You might be a little top heavy with the halo and all.

Oh, man, I think I've been out in the sun too long today!!! :) Probably should just ignore this post...

Rebecca

Dessertgarden funny you should mention that. Maybe it came from my mom who knows. Another two sayings I heard often. You can be dirt poor but you can still be clean and cleanliness is next to godliness. From the time my mom passed till maybe ten years ago. You could have eaten on any surface in my house and rest assured that it was as clean as a plate. No one entered wearing shoes. If my kids got outside without shoes. They were handed a soapy rag and cleaned those feet before entering.

I think I just reached the age where the energy only goes so far. Sorry Mom!

Towanda those wet towels preferably white and very light weight seriously work. In Arizona thou you'll need to rewet every five minutes. o-)

Oh and a nice sweat band to keep the towel in place.

Cynthia if you gotta go some place special in sandals. That bleach will work on footies also. Been there as well.

What a hoot! I'm so glad to know I am not alone out there, lol! Feet...yes, usually barefoot and dirty. Hands and nails...gloveless and dirt caked. Knees...likewise grimy. Yep, I'm a gardened!

My wife gets so so mad at me when I leave my bigfoot prints in the bathtub...Yes a lot times I garden in my barefeet... he he

This thread is awesome! It depends on my garden activity but I have different garden shoes depending on my anticipated level of filthiness. I have my garden stroll shoes, general garden work shoes, and finally my mud infused why-do-I-even-wear-shoes-they're-so-dirty rose hole digging shoes. With all, however, my feet get filthy.

If only there were a bidet for feet that I could install in the mudroom!

Best way to combat ' permadirt' is to get a pumice bar...they have like the brick type it looks like a sponge but it's a pumice brick...rub on your wet feet poof, squeaky clean w next to no effort at all!!!

Terrific stories, folks! How wonderful to hear that I'm not alone in permadirt, whether it's on hands, feet, or garden clothes! I like to think of the dirt as a rose gardening badge of honor, even if the garden store sales clerks taking cash from my grimy hands don't seem to think so. The strategies for dealing with permadirt are fantastic and I really appreciate the notion of no effort at all (which suits my lazy gardener mentality): pumice, bleach and water, stain remover, selective garden footwear, swimming, socks - they're all good. Gotta try the plastic fork in the shower idea, maybe dipped in a little bleach. All the cooling suggestions are much appreciated too - even here in the plains it's supposed to be 100 or so for the next week or so. I appreciate the kind thought for a foot massage towandaaz, but a) what really needs a massage is my back, and b) never in a million years would my teenager touch those feet anyway. Fragrancenutter, you have our admiration for being able to scrub up well enough to do surgery and still having a gorgeous rose garden.

I'm afraid I could never consistently wear either lace-up shoes or full body coverings as many of you do, though it's the sensible thing to do to protect from mosquitoes and thorns, not to mention dirt. It just wouldn't work for me when I'm popping back in to deal with "Honey where's the..." and "Mom, I need..." comments, since I'd have to de-lace the shoes and strip off layers or risk shedding my dirt collection inside. Not that I remotely have the clean house many of you mention, and you have my admiration - I'm not even sure I'm all that sure the plates are clean enough to eat off if my kids do the washing, and no other surfaces are guaranteed safe at any moment without a quick touch-up. Like my garden, my house is reasonably tidy but tends toward a state of "organized chaos" if left to the devices of the other 3 residents. As dirty as my feet may be even with closed clogs, I would rather trust them to my floors than the shoes that have tracked through heaven knows what. Fortunately both my kids are shoes off at the door tendencies, so I only have to track down the muddy foot prints from my DH who is a shoes-on kind of guy most of the time.

Sandinmyshoesoregon (great use name), it's reassuring to hear that direct contact with dirt is actually healthy for us! I'd do it anyway, though not barefoot for the thorn reasons other rose gardeners have mentioned. I'd always thought the health benefits of gardening were the sun, the bending/weight bearing, fresh air, and the mental cleansing that come from the process. I'm happy to claim other benefits as well, though, and it sounds like a good excuse to get my kids digging in the dirt too.

BTW, I didn't mean to imply that the 409 roses (soon to be, um, 418 cuz there was this sale at Heirloom, and four other roses were back ordered with Long Ago...) were all planted at once. No, that would put me in the afterlife or a permanent hot tub for sure. I probably spread this out over about 6 weeks, making late April and all of May a bit of a blur on the weekends. I can manage about 50 roses a day on a good day, though, if they're just bands. My lower back is paying the price though, and I'm back to my semi-annual physical therapy now that the roses are in (bulb season is the other PT time).

OK, folks - down to business! I hear a lot of talk, but not much action on the permadirt front. So far Rebecca gets bragging rights for her supremely dirt-sculpted socks, but only Jim gets any bragging rights for actual permadirted skin! C'mon, are we going to let him get away with that? I hear reports of permadirt hands (Pat_bama, Patty), toenails (AnneCecelia - you can at least photograph the tops of your toes without the dogs' help), feet (Prettypetals, boncrow, Dave), knees and more (Seil), clothes/socks (mustbnuts, Buford, fragrancenutter, weberriver, Desertgarden), and unspecified body parts TBA (Alana). You know that a picture is worth a thousand words, though...

Hey, we're among garden friends. No one but the truly (ahem) sane logs into rose Gardenweb anyway, so let's see those photos - we're among friends. Show me the muddy (er, money)! Dig that dirt! Get down and dirty and show us the results.

Thanks for the laughs, BTW.

Cynthia

Just an FYI, if using this pumice block that I use you don't need bleach or anything! Just normal soap and water then just rub it back n forth over the dirt stains and it literally just comes off like it was never there to begin with!! Plus if you're really up for it you can use after soaking your fehttp://www.beautyencounter.com/buy/mr-pumice-pumi-bar-regular-size-assorted-color/695645003167/119849?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=froogle&utm_content=695645003167&CAWELAID=120178920000361354&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=22141606228&CATCI=pla-41477300408&catargetid=120178920000404223&cadevice=t&gclid=CK2D3duzmc0CFdgIgQodw74KLQet in warm water and really get all the rough callused skin off as well!

Ok I have no idea why the link went in the middle of what I wrote but I'm sure it was due to me not paying attention, ha.

Love it, LOVE IT ALL!!! Everyone's posts are terrific! Show and tell us MORE, PLEASE!!! Great thread, Cynthia!!

p.s. Cynthia, you are still Queen of Rose Planting!! I have never planted 409 roses in my lifetime, to say nothing about in a year!! :)

Mustbenuts, THAT is HILLARIOUS!!!!

fart shoes... he he Someone might think your being awful windy out there in your garden Mustbnuts...

Oh, boy, fart shoes and permadirt, what a righteous mess. However, at my age, I have permaliver...I mean permaliverspots, and I challenge anyone to out liverspot me. Who needs gloves? I have liverspot protection....but, once in a while a firm bristled toothbrush is helpful for dirty fingernails. Dollar stores stock a lot of those grainy things with the handles for rough heels. I think they would be good for permadirt. I've got the really rough pumice, but have used it for water rings in the toilet...yech.

Cynthia, you are indeed the Queen of Rose Planting and I bow to you. But I've long been curious about this: Where do you put all these roses? You must have acres of space! Can we see photos of the new roses (we want proof you are the Queen--ha). Diane

Oh.....you can get cheap, really rough pumice sticks in the bathroom cleaning supplies section of your supermarket. Diane

More fun posts everyone! Mustbnuts, the fart shoes are a HOOT (or is that, toot?) My garden clogs are closed in, so I suspect any foot farts they would produce would be the "silent but deadly" type, i.e. don't get your nose near my feet till I've had a chance to shower.

Thanks for the extra tips on the pumice stones and places to access them, Nessdrizzle & Diane. I also wondered what fehttp was when I first read this (love the laugh though) - I kind of wondered if this was a substance produced by the fart shoes, and in fact it's surprisingly like the sounds they must produce.

Diane, permaliverspots would definitely qualify in this competition, as long as (ahem) we see PICTURES. I fear that we've been all talk and just shooting the breeze, which if we're wearing fart shoes is doubly frightening (just see what you've gotten us into with your tales, mustbnuts!) Show me the spots, show me the shoes (sound effects optional). Jim and Rebecca aren't the only brave ones in this crowd!

And yes Diane, I should follow my own advice and show you the garden pictures as you suggest, but I'll start a new thread for that. I keep waiting for things to get really impressive since I had so much surviving cane over the winter, but the spring flush has been so spread out it's not that impressive in any one spot. I don't really have acres - I'll bet the entire land is no more than one acre and that includes the house. Remember I'm in zone 5 though, and things stay small here...

Cynthia

Hi enjoyed this post and had to laugh as I began reading . Went to the hair salon in my flip flops today. As I was getting a hair wash she put up my feet in the chair. Oh no, my toenails were ringed in dirt! I tried to explain I'd been gardening, I will have to try the plastic fork in the shower!

I just can't let this thread die, so here it goes... My hands aren't exactly girly hands. I hope they don't make you shudder. I have dirt on my fingers and wear it proudly... COME ON DIRT DIGGERS OF AMERICA, UNITE!!!! Ooops, sorry, got carried away there for a minute.

ps. You have to tap on the photo to get it to enlarge to get the full effect. :)

p.p.s. My husband says he hopes we all have our tetanus shots up to date. :)

That reminds me I'm due for a tetanus shot... Thanks! lol

Rebecca, as DDAs we unite! haha Seriously, I'm on board for a tetanus shot as well. My husband went to Safeway (grocery store) and just got one at the pharmacy without a prescription. Who knew one could do that? It's on my list for this week.I think we should all make an effort to protect ourselves. I poked myself repairing a birdhouse with a rusty metal roof about 2 weeks ago and I freaked (I'm fine, thankfully).

Rebecca, that's also quite the outfit you'd have me wearing outside - very creative. Too funny. Today I jumped in the pool any time I got too hot and that worked well to keep the bathing suit on to keep cool with loose cotton over it. As for the feet, I'm a religious foot and hand scrubber still having to go to work and keep up appearances. There are days when a pedicure hides a lot of dirt.

Diane I have some liver spots too. I guess we're Spotted Foxes.

Way to go, Jim and Towanda!!! Skunk that Tetanus before it happens!! Towanda the pool would be the ideal cooler tank!! Next time I get overheated, I'll run screaming through the sprinklers. (Why is screaming always necessary when we do that?)

My husband is enjoying this thread, too. He said that pretty soon someone is going to put up a thread for Dirt Diggers Anonymous. For those who want to break the addiction... 12 step program is optional, but highly recommended!! Meetings would have to be held online, of course, which leads to another addiction... But one addiction at a time. :)

Rebecca

I have been debating on posting a video of my fart shoes, to show you the farts without socks and silence with socks. In any case, wanted to post this yesterday but my phone went through a 2 hour upgrade! Of course, I would have to figure out how to do a video with my phone and post it. Here are said shoes. I also garden at times in a pair of old Burkenstocks. I think I have had this pair since 1987. They do last a long time and are quite comfy if not too big for me.

Ahhhh, Mustbnuts, great shoes are like old friends... They never wear out!!!

Rebecca

Alright, now we're talking! Great job posting the hand permadirt, Rebecca! You've clearly done a good job with the pumice etc., but I can see the dirt in the creases on the fingernails. For me, those are the tough spots, particularly on my deadheading thumbs. I'll see I can get my daughter to take a picture of those too. Rebecca gets double bragging rights for the socks as well as fingers. Those of you with manicures and pedicures have my admiration (like Towanda), but I'm with Rebecca that I don't remotely have girly hands.

Ahh, mustbnuts - the infamous 'fart shoes' - a picture is worth a thousand words. We are clearly in the presence of great garden history here, and if those shoes could talk...well, maybe not, given their choice of 'vocabulary'. I'm impressed that your Berkinstocks aren't crusted in dirt inside and out. My garden Sloggers look a lot like your clogs, and the formerly bright florals are caked beneath a certain amount of garden dust even after running screaming through the sprinkler (yes, I yell too).

Thanks for the reminders to keep tetanus shots up to date, a handy thing with all the thorns and other unmentionables we experience in our gardens. Love the observations.
Cynthia