an anti naked gardener.

[reubenT]

Looking through the naked gardening info on the web,  I ran into the opposite.  http://www.diynetwork.com/made-and-remade/learn-it/world-naked-gardening-day

No. 1    bugs will bite whether you got clothes on or not.    Sure being naked does give them a bit more to work on,  and something to get trapped under which can be an issue.  Ever get a bee under yer shirt?  Or ants in yer pants. 

No. 2   is really irrelevant,  don't think being naked makes us enough more vulnerable to sharp tools to be concerned about it. I even run a  chainsaw naked,  no big deal,  I have to watch where that bar is anyway and be in complete control.  But I suppose a person without my experience and physical skill and strength might be more vulnerable. 

No. 3  Thorns are like to get ya no matter what ya wear.   Might want some armor on if yer going to intentionally charge through a thorn thicket,  but regular gardening I don't think it matters.   I've even picked my way through a thorn thicket naked,  get an occasional scratch but no big deal.   

No. 4    Just get rid of poison ivy if ya got a problem.  Spray it with vinegar.   I'm not allergic to it so I just ignore it like any other weed.

No. 5   Spend more time in the garden naked and sunburn won't be an issue.   And the extra Vit, D will help yer health.

No. 6    What in the world does leaning over have to do with discomfort while naked?    If it's uncomfortable naked it will be just as much so clothed. (if not slightly more so)  That one makes no sense whatsoever.    I use knee pads when I have to kneel very much. 

No. 7  Footwear is for foot work,  wear it if needed,  but the rest of ya can stay naked,  that doesn't make naked gardening less inviting at all. 

No. 8  gloves are for protecting the hands,  use em when needed.   Another one that's irrelevant.

No. 9   I use a straw hat to keep a cool head,  or at least keep it from overheating quite as fast in the hot sun.   Another irrelevant one.   

If that's the best anyone can come up with against naked gardening.     The arguments against it wouldn't hold up in court when balanced against the benefits. 

[ric]

just makes the author look a complete idiot.


though it is surprising how many people coment that using tools naked is dangerous,  last one i had i was using a bench mounted pillar drill to drill 5mm holes in some wood and was told it was dangerous to do it naked..by someone who im 1009% sure has never used one.

ive had it a couple of times with hedge trimmers, i usually respond with something like "you just got to know where your tool is at all times"

i also use a chainsaw naked, ordinary clothes wont make a blind bit of differance if you do summit stupid anyway.  mostly the proper gear is too damn hot and therefore arguably likely to cause accidents through lack of concentration.  mostlyon pruning i use a pole saw anyway for the extra reach so the chain is well away anyway

[Greenbare Woods]

I wear a straw hat to keep my bare head and nose from getting sunburned.   Other than that naked is better in the garden and everywhere else. 

[eyesup]

The article sounds like someone inventing reasons for her oppositions. The reasons that involve the wearing of clothing seem to be related to fashion expression.

Cute hats, colorful gloves, wellies. If you just like wearing things, then wear them. Don't imagine your reasons are more than simply your reasons.

If you are prone to sunburn no matter how long you have been outside, then wear sunblock!

Maybe she owns a piece of a gardening outfitting operation.

Duane

[JOhnGw]

I have known loose clothing catch in tools where naked skin would not have done so and skin tight clothing is no protection at all.

[ric]

im convinced that large blackberry and rose thorns will slide over bare skin but catch in clothing

[eyesup]

There are many plants in the desert that can be painful to interact with. From Cacti to many trees and shrubs that survive by having defensive features.

One that I Always avoid is the Catclaw Accacia. It's eponymous name says it all. These thorns (ha ha) 'scuse me claws do not slip or slide on anything. I have accidentally brushed these small branches and been appropriately chastised with wounds that do in fact look like a cat and I had a disagreement. I have had rips in clothing because these thorns do not come off the tree.

The point is, is that just because there are cactus or catclaw (scroll down a bit) I don't huddle in my home or inside a protective cocoon worn outdoors to shield me. I do not try to push my way through a stand of trees that can make me look like the looser in a Looney Toons 'toon.

I use common sense and can more fully enjoy my unprotected hikes. I am not a gardener, I have a brown thumb, but I would think that part of the joy in gardening is the also tactile aspect. If you are wrapped up in a pod of your own, where's the interaction happening?

Puzzling!

Duane

[Davie]

It seems to me to be a matter of common sense. When I attack a rose bush I wear thick leather gardening gloves. If I decide to attack nettles I'll at least wear covered shoes rather than sandals. I've some horrid trees down the bottom of the garden but they provide privacy. When I attack them, and I need a ladder to get right at the top, I wear long trousers and a long sleeved top as I know the wretched thing will irritate my skin otherwise.

It doesn't have to be thick clothing, an old track suit top does well or an old shirt. It's horses for courses

Davie 

[nuduke]

im convinced that large blackberry and rose thorns will slide over bare skin but catch in clothing

Well, if the deep scratches on my arm from a recent pruning session are anything to go by, this doesn't apply to roses!

John

[milfmog]

im convinced that large blackberry and rose thorns will slide over bare skin but catch in clothing

Well, if the deep scratches on my arm from a recent pruning session are anything to go by, this doesn't apply to roses!

Maybe English brambles are different; there are very few occasions that I don't have some scarring on my legs from close encounters with brambles and similar

Have fun,


Ian.

[JOhnGw]

im convinced that large blackberry and rose thorns will slide over bare skin but catch in clothing

Well, if the deep scratches on my arm from a recent pruning session are anything to go by, this doesn't apply to roses!

Maybe English brambles are different; there are very few occasions that I don't have some scarring on my legs from close encounters with brambles and similar

Have fun,


Ian.

I think the difference is that roses are woody stems with defensive thorns while brambles are softer and use their thorns for climbing.

[eyesup]

Without regard to their developmental purpose, they all are painful but part of the chance you take in going out into nature's domain.

Duane

[jbeegoode]

Without regard to their developmental purpose, they all are painful but part of the chance you take in going out into nature's domain.

Duane

After walking around in this prickery desert environment naked, my senses are up. I know where the boundaries are. I have more awareness and innate knowledge of my environment. I put on a shirt and pants and I'm getting caught right and left. There is no awareness and boundary in clothes. You are caught. That's how you know. I get scratched up more from wearing clothing out there than without and my clothes get ruined.

I wear gloves to pull weeds. I wear boots to shove a shovel into the soil.

I think that the plants appreciate a careful nude person, instead of a cold bull in a china closet. Its like talking to plants, there is a subtle communication and they are less disturbed. Sometimes you want to threaten certain plants to get results, so you put on armor and grab the clippers.
Jbee

[eyesup]

I know what you mean. This is where I came up with the name eyesup. I used to pay so much attention to where I was walking and stepping on, I found out I was not paying attention to what was in ahead of me. You know, EYESUP dummy!

Over time I have become more at ease and now look at the whole desert and enjoy it because I can see how it works as a ecosystem.

I think that the plants appreciate a careful nude person, instead of a cold bull in a china closet. Its like talking to plants, there is a subtle communication and they are less disturbed. Sometimes you want to threaten certain plants to get results, so you put on armor and grab the clippers.

Is the relationship between a snake handler and the snake similar to my relationship with a Jumping Cholla? 

I will try next time to talk to the cholla to discourage it's embrace.

Duane

[jbeegoode]

I know what you mean. This is where I came up with the name eyesup. I used to pay so much attention to where I was walking and stepping on, I found out I was not paying attention to what was in ahead of me. You know, EYESUP dummy!

Over time I have become more at ease and now look at the whole desert and enjoy it because I can see how it works as a ecosystem.

I think that the plants appreciate a careful nude person, instead of a cold bull in a china closet. Its like talking to plants, there is a subtle communication and they are less disturbed. Sometimes you want to threaten certain plants to get results, so you put on armor and grab the clippers.

Is the relationship between a snake handler and the snake similar to my relationship with a Jumping Cholla? 

I will try next time to talk to the cholla to discourage it's embrace.

Duane

I have found the Jumping Cholla to be highly cantankerous. I keep my distance as best that I can. I sweep the damn balls away off of my trail and they return. Small animals, like packrats, or cactus wrens, use them as defensive barriers. I once reached down to move one ball of prickers and it reared up as my hand approached. About talking to plants, I have certainly had strong words with members of that species. You all saw the video on the Pickin' Saguaros trip report thread? https://thefreerangenaturist.org/2016/08/03/pickin-saguaro-buds/

They just have a mean aggressive nature that seems to work for them. They just can't seem to help themselves. It is down right compulsive. Then they leave those unseen landmines, like the one that laid me up for several weeks last fall.
Those balls have to be swept off of a body, like a good master's stroke getting good air on a golf ball, swift and quick, no divot, and absolutely no topping. They have no respect, just opportunism. I have attempted negotiation with them, firm and respectful, threatening them with a backhoe to get submission. My goal, live and let live. Then a couple of years later, I've got problems with their sneaky small single barbs littering my territory! AND they fight to the bitter end during removal. Throwing off balls of pain, curling around, with kidney and rabbit punches, and rising up from the dead years later, as they poke through the trash bag.

With them, it doesn't matter if you are dressed or not, they'll get those pokers in one way or another, even waiting unseen until you try to take off your pants. They pop off skin with a stroke better than a layer, or two, of cloth. Clothing actually helps their tenacious grip.
Jbee