Choosing the Right Gardening Glove to Use

Each year my son's ask me what they can get me for Mother's Day. I always respond, "gardening gloves." I tell them they do not have to be the expensive kind, just go to the dollar store and buy up five of the $1 cotton pair. That number will get me through one weeding season. I like to wear the less expensive kind when weeding my garden, because cotton gloves keep my hands cool in the hot weather and they fit well. However, they do not last long, and when they rip or tear or become too dirty to clean, I can just throw them away and grab another pair. Once my son saw several pairs of gloves hanging neatly on a pegboard inside my gardening shed and asked me why I always want gardening gloves for Mother's Day when I already had so many. I explained that these are specialty garden gloves, designed for specific gardening tasks.

Good gloves are a necessity for gardeners and having the right gloves for the right job plays a huge part with the care of your hands and getting the job done well. Here are the four basic types of specialty garden gloves I recommend.

All-purpose leather gloves

A good pair of all-purpose leather gloves will help protect your hands from thorns, briers, and from acquiring blisters when using garden tools in repeated tasks, such as hoeing. The downside to leather gloves is they make your hands hot and sweat more when the weather is warm. Also, if they get wet, they will become hard when they dry, making them too stiff to use again, so they do require some care.

Waterproof gloves

Every gardener should have a pair of waterproof gloves. These are usually rubber coated cotton gloves, with a snug elastic wristband to help keep liquids and soil out of the inside. They too can be hot on the hands and cause sweating, but they are necessary when dealing with wet soil, water, or liquid chemicals. Most brands are machine washable and can be dried on low heat, or you can hand wash and hang to dry.

Thorn gauntlets

Thorn gauntlets are great for the rose gardener. They help protect not only your hands, but also your arms, all the way up to your elbows. They are great when needing to prune shrubs and trees or carrying piles of debris to the composite pile or bagging yard waste.

Stretchy composites

Stretchy composites are snug fitting gloves that allow you to do precision work, making few mistakes. They will not protect your hands from thorns or briers, but most have padding in the palms and fingers to help protect them from blisters. I have found these to be the perfect gloves when transplanting my young seedlings.

There is no need to buy or receive expensive gardening gloves every year when all you need is a few good pair for those specialty jobs and a half dozen $1 pair for those pesky weeds.

More articles from this contributor:

How to Make Hand Painted Gardening Gloves

A Gardener's Check List for Weed Removal Tools

How to Take Care of Your Hand Garden Tools


Source: Master Gardener Classes