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Question re use of compost

grahammorgan1015grahammorgan1015 Posts: 1
in The potting shed
I have recently been using multipurpose and John Innes compost for various applications in the garden and have handled the compost with bare hands as I believe Monty Don does on his programme but notice that the bags have a safety notice on them which says you should wear gloves to handle the soil.
What are the thoughts on this?
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Posts

  • FlyDragonFlyDragon Posts: 834
    Sometimes I wear gloves, sometimes I don’t. 

    I had a tetanus jab in 2018 though!

    Tetanus is present in most soil and can be very dangerous if it gets into the bloodstream through even a small cut. 
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    It would never occur to me to wear gloves for anything in the garden - unless it's likely to hurt like a bramble or nettle - but, in our ultra sick society that wants to dot every 'i' and cross every 't' for insurance reasons, they do it just in case in my opinion.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I think that sort of information is useful. That way employers have to ensure their employees are using safe working practices ... the rest of us can make up our own minds about the risks we take.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Since finding a 6 inch nail in a bag of compost, I can see that gloves would be useful.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Some weeding has to be done with bare hands, particularly when you want to pick grass out of the middle of a plant. If the compost bag has been open for a while, I might use gloves in case there's a slug inside -yuk!
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • Mary370Mary370 Posts: 2,003
    I bought my gloves when I bought thorny roses, only use them for pruning.  Nail brush, warm water and soap cleans nails perfectly
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Did you know people that humans can catch lungworm from slugs, the same as dogs can
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Like other, I only wear gloves when tackling brambles etc. Can't even weear them when the ramblers get their annual sort out. How can you tie string when you're wearing gloves? Can't be *rsed taking them off and putting them back on every 10 seconds.
    If I was bothered about catching X , Y or Z, I'd give up gardening and take up sodoku

    Devon.
  • KiliKili Posts: 1,104
    Hostafan1 said:
    Like other, I only wear gloves when tackling brambles etc. Can't even weear them when the ramblers get their annual sort out. How can you tie string when you're wearing gloves? Can't be *rsed taking them off and putting them back on every 10 seconds.
    If I was bothered about catching X , Y or Z, I'd give up gardening and take up sodoku

     :D I'm with you on this one Hostafan1. As kids we didn't wear gloves when playing in the dirt. Life's a gamble and you may catch something, maybe not, there are all sorts of bacteria present on all surfaces we touch most are harmless.

    There's just one nasty little virus we are all trying to avoid right now focus on that one, your compost is highly unlikely to do you any harm.

    'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.

    George Bernard Shaw'

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Kili said:
    Hostafan1 said:
    Like other, I only wear gloves when tackling brambles etc. Can't even weear them when the ramblers get their annual sort out. How can you tie string when you're wearing gloves? Can't be *rsed taking them off and putting them back on every 10 seconds.
    If I was bothered about catching X , Y or Z, I'd give up gardening and take up sodoku

     :D I'm with you on this one Hostafan1. As kids we didn't wear gloves when playing in the dirt. Life's a gamble and you may catch something, maybe not, there are all sorts of bacteria present on all surfaces we touch most are harmless.

    There's just one nasty little virus we are all trying to avoid right now focus on that one, your compost is highly unlikely to do you any harm.
    Agree ... just make sure your tetanus jabs are up to date ..... oh, and avoid the cat carp ........ 🙄 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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