After a few years of pulling weeds, scooping out new homes for fragile seedlings by hand and just enjoying the satisfaction of running the soil through my fingers, I own the roughened knuckles of an elderly farmer. During prime gardening season, my hands are dry and red, and at times, the dirt seems to reside inside my skin, in the way a mechanic can t ever wash away the traces of oil and grime. I m hiding my hands behind my back as I type this.
Gloves help, of course.
But I m among that stubborn number of gardeners who need to feel the dirt. But really, we gardeners have no excuse these days. The gardeners hand-care industry has run amok. At every turn, there are companies who want to hold our hands, to caress them, to protect them from the savagery that is gardening. Gardeners hand lotions, soaps and salves have come a bumper crop.