Farming clothes comparison

[Gardadore]

I always wear closed shoes and long pants in the garden due to ticks and other creepy crawly things. One year our local Shoprite grocery store was selling the tops and bottoms that medical personnel wear. The pants are lightweight with good pockets and ties. Very cheap and comfortable when bending a lot. Not usually cheap online. K mart also had cheap elastic waste pants with decent pockets. Now need to search further. May check out Walmart or Salvation Army. Also like to wear a large cooking apron over everything. Bought one years ago in New Zealand with a large pocket across the front. Holds my hand clipper, velcro to tie up plants and scissors. Agree tomatoes don’t care what you look like! Comfort, price and practicality are my guidelines!!

[worth1]

I've got enough Carhartt jackets and coats to last a lifetime.
I don't wear any of them.
All have some BS company name on them.
I need to get one of those embroidery picks and remove all that stuff.
Plus they aren't very warm and I have warm stuff from Alaska.

[GoDawgs]

Garden status is where t-shirts go to eventually die. For summer I have some old or stained t-shirts that I have cut the sleeves off of. This is one drying from it's last washing. After one last go in the garden it will be respectfully laid to rest in the trash can.

[worth1]

I used to wear Georgia giant logging boots to school many years ago.
You could get them with or without hobnails
.

[bower]

We do have a season here when insects are not so bad and you could go out in shorts and holey t shirt without getting bitten or stung. The problem is, it's a short and variable time. Blackfly season is early, then hiatus with a few casual mosquitoes, but now it gets to be wasp season and I deeply regret being underclothed for that.
So my basic criteria for garden clothes is old, lightweight, but no holes. Hence the mending agenda.
I just hate being bit.
Edited to add, the wasps sting through my clothes anyway, but still I feel better about having a layer over me.

[habitat-gardener]

…And speaking of pants, US Army battle dress uniform (bdu) are the best pants I have ever owned. Knees are double fabric, no zippers to break, and in the event of a water landing they may be used as a floatation device. (seriously)

I just got some BDU pants from the local Buy Nothing group! Lots of pockets, but the fabric feels a bit stiff. Looking forward to trying them out as garden pants for fall and winter.

My favorite bit of garden gear is sleeves from Farmers Defense. I can wear any t-shirt plus these sleeves for sun protection (also protection from plant hairs and sap). They stay up, unlike the sleeves from REI that I tried before I found these.

[habitat-gardener]

Garden status is where t-shirts go to eventually die. For summer I have some old or stained t-shirts that I have cut the sleeves off of. This is one drying from it's last washing. After one last go in the garden it will be respectfully laid to rest in the trash can.

What!? You don’t have a compost bin??

[GoDawgs]

And speaking of pants, US Army battle dress uniform (bdu) are the best pants I have ever owned. Knees are double fabric, no zippers to break, and in the event of a water landing they may be used as a floatation device. (seriously)

BDU pants were the toughest pants I ever had. The biggest problem I had with them when I was in service was that they sure were hot to wear here in the Georgia summers! They'd come in handy now for winter gardening here but alas, I outgrew them many years ago and gave them away.

[worth1]

The Marines aren't allowed to wear BDUs out in public off base.
It's always perplexed me to see the army do it.
I've never worn them in public partially or otherwise.
Although I did have a set I wore duck and goose hunting.

[GoDawgs]

The Marines aren't allowed to wear BDUs out in public off base.
It's always perplexed me to see the army do it.
I've never worn them in public partially or otherwise.
Although I did have a set I wore duck and goose hunting.

So what do they do when they live off post and have to go home at the end of the day. Change clothes before getting into their car?

[worth1]

The Marines aren't allowed to wear BDUs out in public off base.
It's always perplexed me to see the army do it.
I've never worn them in public partially or otherwise.
Although I did have a set I wore duck and goose hunting.

So what do they do when they live off post and have to go home at the end of the day. Change clothes before getting into their car?

Depending on base they have a locker the keep clothes in.
Some bases allow you to drive home but you better not get out of the car for anything unless it's an emergency.
Low on gas isn't an emergency.

Another guy and I volunteered to sell raffle tickets for the Special Olympics in southern California.
We would put our green trousers and khaki blouse on and sell them off base.
This was considered acceptable as long as you didn't act a fool or disgrace the uniform or the Marines.
We sold many hundreds or thousands of dollars of tickets.
It's the only way they would let us off base to sell tickets.
We did this for Lord only knows how long and the only two guys in our unit to do it.
It was basically being off duty for a long time.

[rxkeith]

if i am working out in the garden, its usually in clothes that have been around awhile, sometimes clothes
that my wife would say, you're not going out wearing that are you? usually old shoes or boots, never the good stuff.
i have three pairs of jeans by duluth trading company. they seem pretty heavy duty. those are my winter pants. they
would be too warm to work in during the summer. i picked those up from st vinnies, cost $4.00/pr.
wasps and bees usually leave me alone in the garden as long as i use slow deliberate movements, and don't startle them.
plenty of bees around the beans when i.m picking. i just take my time.

my chicken killing clothes when we send the meat birds to freezer camp are pretty raggedy.


keith

[worth1]

@rxkeith
My dad had chicken killing clothes too.
I just had to pick the things.

[Tormato]

Garden status is where t-shirts go to eventually die. For summer I have some old or stained t-shirts that I have cut the sleeves off of. This is one drying from it's last washing. After one last go in the garden it will be respectfully laid to rest in the trash can.

That's 2nd to last year of wearing level, here.

Old light colored t-shirts (except white), old shorts, old ankle-cut socks, old sneakers (dry soil), old lugged-sole low hikers (wet soil), in warm weather.

Old waffle henley (with or without buttons) long sleeve shirt, old light to medium fabric cargo pants, same footwear, in cool weather. Darkest colors in coolest weather.

No denim, or other heavy stiff fabrics, for me.

It's that time of year, 96 today, possibly under 70 in about a week, when I'll be sorting through all of my clothing to see what will make it into the garden next year, and what I might wear from day to day, now. I likely have enough to last next year. Otherwise, it's "clearance" label time at WalMart, where t-shirts are $2, and shorts are $5.

Like others, I've seen the quality of footwear go way downhill. Finding anything decent, at a decent price, is nearly impossible.

[karstopography]

Shirtless if I feel the urge (nearest house or road is 150 meters away and screened by trees) and need to make some vitamin D. Worn out, torn and/or stained cotton Tshirts for most weather. Old, threadbare, elastic waist, string tied, generally synthetic material work out type shorts on the bottom half.

Footwear could be flip flops, barefoot, old crocs (wet soil), or occasionally old tennis/running shoes for heavy garden forking.

If clothes are especially dirty or sweaty, I strip them off right in the garage and they go directly into the washing machine out there. I’ve got a big, industrial type sink out there to wash off my dirty arms, hands, neck, face and legs. Dirty or stinky people, dogs, clothing, and footwear don’t get inside the house.

[habitat-gardener]

Standard gardening attire is any cotton t-shirt, long pants (dedicated gardening pants that have gardening stains), Farmers Defense sleeves, rattiest shoes (I find like-new athletic shoes at the local thrift shop for $3, and when they start to wear out or get holes, they become gardening shoes), and a Sunday Afternoons sun hat with big brim and neck coverage. I try to be out there only when it's below 80F (typically before 10 am in the summer, or before 8 am during a heat wave), or after the sun has left my garden area (around 7pm or so). Or if I have to be out longer, I take lots of breaks in the shade of the grape arbor. Long sleeves and long pants always -- at dawn and dusk because of mosquitoes, and otherwise for sun protection. I've also tried long-sleeve Ts and synthetic long sleeve shirts, but the t-shirt and gardening sleeves work best for me. If I get hot, I can cool down quickly by spraying the sleeves with the hose (that also works for the synthetic shirts but not for the cotton shirts!). Last year I was doing bug patrol after dark, but haven't found the time this year. I often wear basic knee pads, because otherwise I get holes in the knees, and then never get around to patching the pants.

In the winter, I have a dedicated gardening raincoat (don't care it if gets muddy) and a fantastic rain hat (Outdoor Research Seattle Sombrero). Same shoes -- usually I can find a time to go out to the garden when it's not pouring -- but with fleece socks to keep my feet warm if it's wet. As long as my head and feet are warm enough, I can garden for hours, even in a drizzle.

Oh, and gloves. Sometimes I start out with gloves and then they get put aside. The only gloves that have stayed on all day are the Foxgloves supplex/lycra gloves, which are also the only gloves that keep dirt from getting embedded under my fingernails. I do use gloves when I'm using tools or handling rebar in the heat of the day, but for picking tomatoes or watering the garden, the gloves come off. I also wear gloves for planting, adding compost, and usually for pruning (an extra layer of protection!).

[JRinPA]

For the boots, I bought a lifetime supply within the last few years. I have big feet, high arches, wide toe box. Very hard to find boots that fit. But I found some USA made military boots on clearance, ordered some. Perfect length, great quality, light, decent sole, great lace system, uninsulated, no goretex. Perfect. Except the toebox width. They felt like a B instead of D. But $40 a pair for new made in USA boots? Recent vintage too, 17/18. So I cut some holes in outside toe boxes where my toes were rubbing raw, invested in a pair of boot stretchers, and aquasealed some leather patches overtop the holes. I effectively made them a perfect fit in the front, for a little work per pair. Some of my pics that look down and show my boots, well that is what the leather patch is about.

Went back and bought more for a total of 12 pairs for the cost of 1-1/2 pairs of danners. Later, I found 5 more pairs of US made milspec boots in that size for a whopping cost of $15 per pair. Good boots too, old Hoplites. Those fit without modification, but the born on date is back at maybe 07 or so. Still, $15.

I run 4 pairs of boots at a time, to let them dry out well when they get wet. Always have an extra pair plus socks in the truck cab. These are my 365 footwear, except for special occasions. Has been army boots for years, but now I have a nice guarantee for years to come, and don't worry about walking 3ft deep in nasty pond water with $350 danners, knowing they will be half ruined, or at best, need 3 days to dry out.

That is what I recommend for gardening, hot weather army boots. When the service branches change their uniform requirements, some great made in the USA stuff goes out into the marketplace at a reduced price.

[Wildcat82]

If you aren't wearing a seed corn or tractor cap, you really aren't wearing proper farming or gardening attire. BTW You can always tell who the farmers are by looking at their hair. Farmers always have dark hair on top of their head and much lighter hair around the ears.

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[Wildcat82]

Garden status is where t-shirts go to eventually die. For summer I have some old or stained t-shirts that I have cut the sleeves off of. This is one drying from it's last washing. After one last go in the garden it will be respectfully laid to rest in the trash can.

Looks perfectly wearable to me. I remember as a teen my dad would tell me, "Your pants have more hole than pant," and "your shirt has more hole than shirt."

[GoDawgs]

@Wildcat82. those must be your dress hats.

My garden hat...



OK, I can see this might turn into "Show me your hat" thing.