Garden Gloves – How To Protect Your Hands In The Garden

14 Sep.,2023

 

Do you wear garden gloves when doing some yard work? Face it… working in a garden involves working with rocks, dust, dirt and thorny plants.

All of these items can cause injuries and scratches to the hands of gardeners. Not to mention the bugs, spiders and other pests which can cause problems.

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Gardening gloves can go a long way to protect hands from such hazards. It also increases your dexterity making your more productive while enjoying a safe and fun activity.

If not for injuries, while cleaning your spring gardens or fall waste, dirt sticks to your bare fingers which can help bring on some allergies or simply make your skin go dry.

Generally, the soil wicks your hands of moisture and good work gloves prevent catching that  moisture into your palms. They also keep hands warm and dry along with providing UV protection.

Also, using gardening gloves is essential for picking up small twigs, pinching soil for gardening purposes or while working with tools for a better grip.

Gloves are just another “gardening tool” to help avoid cuts, painful blisters, wounded fingertips and broken fingernails, but help make gardening an enjoyable experience.

As with every other special tool or gear you buy for the garden, there is lot of thinking that goes into buying a good pair of gardening gloves.

This mainly depends on the your likes and the purpose for which the gloves are going to be used. There are special gloves tailored for various jobs.

For example, some are designed for delicate jobs, some for abrasive jobs and others for wet or dry jobs. Whatever may be the criteria, a good pair of gloves must provide flexibility and effortless digging or pruning ability to a gardener’s hands along with its primary motive of providing protection.

What Are Good Gloves? Things To Consider!

Types Of Garden Gloves

Gloves are made up of many different fabrics. They can be made from natural fibers or from synthetics and hides.

  • Nitrile coated gloves
  • Goatskin leather gloves
  • Waterproof gloves
  • Men’s gloves
  • Women’s gloves

Cotton Garden Gloves The Most Common

The most common gloves are made from cotton since they are sturdy and heavy cotton gloves can be employed for most  general gardening tasks.

They are lightweight, snug fit and easy to hand dry and also keep dirt away from hands. The combination of cotton and gloves is available which overcome some shortcomings of cotton gloves.

Cotton gloves cannot provide enough protection from chemicals and thorns. For this purpose, synthetic leather and cotton mix gloves are used. However, these gloves also get wet in spite of the advantages they provide over cotton gloves.

For A Firm Grip Look For Grip Dots

If you are looking for a firm grip, gloves which have rubber grip dots on palms and fingers are what you should be looking at.

For A Firm Grip Look For Grip Dots

Cotton gloves with a latex covering are different and help further by providing for moisture wicking but, still allow ventilation while pulling out some weeds, heavy planting, or using tools.

Leather Garden Gloves For Tough Work!

For pruning or sawing activities, it is best to use strong and durable gloves made out of goatskin or synthetic leather. They are best for muddy and pond jobs which require lot of soil to stick to your hands.

Leather gloves provide protection from thorny bushes but cannot keep moisture away. Synthetic materials like nylon are used for making gloves as a moisture repellent.

Moreover, when pruning knock out roses for example, special gloves are designed from synthetic fibers and they are long sleeves for protecting arms  from thorns and are often puncture resistant. Gloves with nitrile coating work great at this.

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Gloves Worn When Handling Chemicals!

For working with chemicals like fertilizers or with plants which are poisonous to an extent, latex gloves, nitrile or neoprene gloves are advised for usage.

Gloves Worn When Handling Rocks & Concrete!

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Your hands are precious, so keep them free from dirt, cuts and debris. Easier said than done right? Especially if you do rock and/or concrete work when building a pond or fountain for example.

Here you will find a guide to some of the best gloves for rock an concrete work to not only keep them young and alive, but protect them from any harsh chemicals as well!

Glove Sizes Find The Proper Fit

Whatever be the type of gloves, they must fit snugly for them to be effective.

Gloves which are of improper size will not serve their purpose of protection. If they are too small for your hands, there are chances of developing blisters which is equally dangerous.

Hence, the best gardening gloves should be of perfect size, they should not be too restrictive or too loose to your hands.

Gloves are sized differently for men and women.  They are also shaped different for both genders. The sizes will vary considerably depending on the brand and style you choose.

It is advised that you wear the gloves prior to buying. Make a fist with the glove on and check if pinching or picking soil is possible.

For buying online, the guide provided by manufacturers can help while checking your size. If not, measure the size by keeping hand flat and measuring around knuckles (thumb not included). Some generalized sizing

  • Small – 6.5 to 7.25 inches
  • Medium- 7.5 to 7.75 inches
  • Large- 8 to 8.75 inches
  • X large – 9 – 9.75 inches
  • XX Large- 10- 10.75 inches
  • XXX Large – 11 to 11.75 inches.

It is also advised, that people with smaller hands should use children’s gloves for a better fitting and grip.

Other Features Of Good Garden Gloves:

  • Flexibility
  • Ease of washing / machine washable
  • Durable

Depending on your budget select extra features like

  • Padded palms to give extra comfort
  • Velcro for wrist
  • Hooks for attaching to your clothes
  • Fingertips made out of a single piece of fabric to provide ease of picking small things
  • Cloth for wiping dirt, sweat or debris from face
  • Fingers and fingertips filled with gel to prevent blisters on fingers.

How To Buy Gloves For Gardening

Water Resistant Materials – When buying garden gloves look for ones made from water resistant materials.

Waterproof gloves ensure that you don’t get blisters and also make it easy while you work with water and soil.

Leather gloves with waterproofing are lightweight and should be considered because they allow breathing space for your hands.

Extend Past Your Wrist – Garden gloves should be such selected that extend past your wrist. This prevents collection of dirt at the edges of the glove as well as prevents the dirt from entering into the gloves defeating its purpose of protection.

For working thorny or poisonous plants, one must use full sleeve gloves for extra protection.

Getting A Grip – Grip is very important and gloves which do not have skid pads on palms or fingers you may want to pass up.

They should have strong grip for working with edgy tools and provide friction while using shovels or pruning tools.

The Perfect Fit – As we discussed earlier, gloves which fit perfectly are like a blessing for gardeners. They provide protection from hazards, avoid blistering and also make gardening comfortable for you.

Easy Care – The modern gloves unlike old ones are made up of thin materials and are easy to wash by hand or in washers.

Tips On Caring For Gardening Gloves

Quality gloves should last for quite a while, but even if they get damaged, you can often repair them and reuse instead of buying new ones directly. Following measures can be followed for making them last long.

Brush Off Dirt – Brushing off the dirt from glove each time after you use them maintains usual wear and tear and also prevents hardening of gloves post usage.

Wash Gloves – Washing gloves with hands once in a while can bring back their softness and also remove dirt which sometimes brushing cannot remove. Some gloves can crack if not washed or if the dirt is not cleared every time.

Store Gloves Flat – Gardening gloves should be unfurled properly so that they lay flat in your drawers or storage areas. They should be prevented from crushing and pinned together.

Store Gloves Away From Pest – Use of a peg or a pin should to keep spiders or any insects from entering your gloves while stored.

Keep A Spare Pair – It is advisable to keep a spare pair of gloves so that when one gets dirty, you can use the other one.

Make Your Own Gardener’s Hand Scrub!

Working out in the dirt is going to get some hands mighty dirty and in need of a good gardener’s hand scrub.

Even for those of you who wear gloves, it still seems like hands get dirty. This post from One Good Thing by Jillee has had over 1 million Pageviews – 800,000+ Pins; and 1,600+ Facebook Likes! See what you’ve been missing and get your hands clean as well!

Summary

As a matter of summary we will say that gardening gloves are very essential tools for gardeners, just as garden hoses are. Consider all factors like types of tasks, use, material and benefits provided before selecting a good pair.

Ideal gloves should be sturdy enough yet flexible and should provide protection from all hazards and thorns, chemicals etc. They should have a nice grip for picking small things, slippery twigs with impunity.

They should also have closed wrists and provide closures from stones, dirt and debris from entering gloves while you work with them.

Moreover, garden gloves won’t just protect you from possible harm but it also adds dexterity making your work easier, faster, safer, and worry-free.

We would suggest you use the new Nitrile Garden gloves which are thin but sturdy and perform all the functions of an expensive pair of gloves without costing you a fortune.

More thought needs to be given when selecting gardening gloves just as

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