Black thumb... what's your secret

[bower]

Okay tomatovillains, please tell me, how to remove the black stain from your thumb and fingers after handling tomato plants.

Washing a couple sinks of dishes will get the worst garden dirt out of my fingerprints so I can make bread with a clean 'conscience'. This does not apply to tomato black!

[meadowyck]

wear gloves...

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by bower

Okay tomatovillains, please tell me, how to remove the black stain from your thumb and fingers after handling tomato plants.

Washing a couple sinks of dishes will get the worst garden dirt out of my fingerprints so I can make bread with a clean 'conscience'. This does not apply to tomato black!

Shake some powdered Comet or similar on the black areas which you wet first and then scrub.

Even better is to use a very ripe tomato and squish it around in both hands. It works even better if the tomato is on its way to being rotten. That's what we did on the old farm after being in the tomato fields and it works great.

[bower]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Shake some powdered Comet or similar on the black areas which you wet first and then scrub.

Even better is to use a very ripe tomato and squish it around in both hands. It works even better if the tomato is on its way to being rotten. That's what we did on the old farm after being in the tomato fields and it works great.

Thanks Carolyn! Now all I need is a very ripe tomato...

[jerryinfla]

Hummm, I guess maybe I've not handled enough tomato plants or my hands are too sweaty when I do handle them because the stains I get on my hands are greenish. I do get gunk under my fingernails though and keep a heavy nail brush and Lava soap by the sink in the garage. I scrub my hands and nails with the soap and brush vigorously before I head to the shower where I wash my hair massaging it with my finger tips. The routine works for the toughest gardening stains I get on my hands and under my fingernails.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by bower

Thanks Carolyn! Now all I need is a very ripe tomato...

Not a problem.

Go to the store and buy several beefsteak ones, bring home, poke holes in them, stuff the holes with some weed leaves, b/c they have lots of natural fungi and bacteria that will initiate the rotting process. You have to do that or store bought tomatoes will sit there and just look at you.

Jerry, can we say a greenish black, which I think is a more accurate description of the stains. I used to have 3 pair of sneakers. One what I called a dress pair, a second pair as backup to the first ones, and then the greenish black ones which were for the garden only. And when the greenish black ones starting falling apart I'd downgrade the second pair to the garden and buy new dress sneakers.

[jerryinfla]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Jerry, can we say a greenish black, which I think is a more accurate description of the stains. .

Greenish black it is. Black is what I get when I overhaul my chipper/shredder, log splitter, etc. and those stains are persistent -- only time and lots of scrubbing works with those stains.

[b54red]

I keep a bar of Lava soap at my shed sink and wash immediately after handling the plants. If you wait too long it is much harder to remove the stains.

[Got Worms?]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

...Even better is to use a very ripe tomato and squish it around in both hands. It works even better if the tomato is on its way to being rotten...

Thank you, Carolyn. I haven't laughed like that in a while. The advice sounds good; it's just the image that broke me up!
Charlie

[Delizzy]

I used to do some work with chemicals (photo mostly, or cleaning) and we had a cream we'd put on our hands before starting that protected the skin. It works well in the garden too. I haven't had a source for that partular one in a long time, but I found some stuff called glove in a bottle. Looks and smells like Elmer's glue, but does a good job of keeping stuff out of the cracks or prints in the skin.

Betsy

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by Delizzy

I used to do some work with chemicals (photo mostly, or cleaning) and we had a cream we'd put on our hands before starting that protected the skin. It works well in the garden too. I haven't had a source for that partular one in a long time, but I found some stuff called glove in a bottle. Looks and smells like Elmer's glue, but does a good job of keeping stuff out of the cracks or prints in the skin.

Betsy

See, this is why I hang around here. What a great tip.
Heres a source I jut found;http://www.jerrysartarama.com/discou...FYic7QodNSy6zw

[zabby17]

I have a gardener's scrub stuff in a tube that my aunt sent me from England. It has some kind of grit in it, but the texture is really nice and it scrubs even tomato greenish-black-ness off. It's lavender scented.

Kinda like Lava soap for girls, I guess. ;-p

Z, who nevertheless hopes to see photos of Jerry stuffing weeds into holes in a store-bought beefsteak tomato!

[kurt]

Friend of mine is a roofer and they all keep baby oil on hand for asphalt, bull adhesives and caulkings.I have tried it after working on my 66 Ford F100 truck.Put some on and work it in and remove with terry cloth rags then wash hands.

[jerryinfla]

Originally Posted by zabby17

Z, who nevertheless hopes to see photos of Jerry stuffing weeds into holes in a store-bought beefsteak tomato!

I don't remember the last time I bought tomatoes from a store but next time I do, if ever, I just might post some pics for your pleasure.

[zabby17]

Jerry,
I'd appreciate that!
(Of course you'd be buying them as hand cleaner, not for---heaven forbid---food!)

Ed'A