In addition to gloves, I consider long sleeves gardening essentials. A good pair of garden gloves protect the skin and nails on your hands and fingers.  Otherwise, bacteria in the soil and garden material can cause health problems if allowed to penetrate your skin.  This happens faster and more often than you imagine.

Most garden gloves, however, do not protect much past the wrist area.  Without long sleeves to protect my arms, I end up with scratches, scrapes, and contact dermatitis. That’s why I consider both my gardening essentials.

My skin is extra sensitive; contact dermatitis is a common occurrence for me. I have kept some of the long-sleeved, lightweight T-shirts and sweaters that my sons have outgrown for this purpose.

The long sleeves on these shirts work well. Most of the time. I just have to remember to quit pushing up my sleeves when I get warm!  That’s the problem I have when the weather warms up too quickly in spring.  That seems to happen often here in Ottawa, Ontario.  I rarely get a chance to finish my spring cleanups in long-sleeve weather.  It’s a tough problem to have, I know, but I do love the cooler weather for garden work.