Did you know that a blade of grass can cut you pretty badly?

Yeah, "test dummy" is what I feel like right now. Glad I could help to raise garden disaster awareness!

I've been fortunate in not ever ripping open any of my flesh as much as you did. I you HADN'T cussed then, I'd have to call you a saint! Glad to hear you lived through the ordeal! I've had plenty of little scratches from wild rose bushes, plus my blackberry and raspberry bushes and also the ever-present thistles but never anything as severe as what you experienced! OUCH!!! [EXPLETIVE]!!! [EXPLETIVE]!!!

I basically yelled out some kind of noise but I don't remember cussing. Probably just something as ordinary and mundane as "Oww!" then stared at it for a minute or so because I couldn't believe what had just happened. My brain just didn't want to register it! I've been gardening for a good 40 years now and this has never happened before. Once the blood started dripping, though, I thought I ought to get inside and get patched up.

I have garden gloves made of leather (because of the many prickly things around here) and they just get wet whenever I water the plants so that's the reason I wasn't wearing them. BUT, no more grass pulling for me without gloves! The crabgrass will just have to wait from now on until I've finished watering and put my gloves on. It's just that, well, you know, I was right there, the grass was right there, so... it just made sense to pull it up and be done with it.

I am very glad, however, that no one saw me do this. I was embarrassed enough!

Awesome advice to wear long sleeves and gloves for ALL gardening work. Believe me, I'll remember that!

Ha ha, we have to learn the hard way. I know all about wearing gloves, I hate it. But to save some flesh and blood you really need to. I've had some experience fighting with rose bushes as well. My aunt, god rest her soul, use to get me to do all her yard work every spring. I always knew it was her when the phone rang, it just had that tone to it. Needless to say, it was all blood and sweat and I knew she really counted on me to do it for her. Her and my uncle were old, she was half blind and he had many strokes which left him almost paralyzed. There was really no one else she trusted to do the job good for her. I remember the last time I saw them when I joined the Navy and left home, they cried and I think my uncle thought I was going off to war. I never did get back to see them, they died not long after. I'd give anything to do their yard work again.

Awww! That's so sweet and so sad at the same time. I know how you feel, although my story concerns my mother and me helping her with everything once my stepfather died. Even with all my medical issues and constant pain, I knew that she needed my help and I was basically all she had. I'd still be doing that for her if she was still with us. I actually miss it! She was just starting to tell me all kinds of stories about gardening that she learned from her grandmother when she was diagnosed with cancer 2 1/2 years ago.

I had planted some Blackeyed Susan's in memory of my sister, whose name was Susan (and they were her favorite flowers), and I've done the same for my mother's memory only, for her, it was asparagus I planted. She loved the stuff! I'll eat it if it's in front of me but don't go out of my way to get it, but it made me feel good to plant it in my garden and it reminds me of her every year now when it pops out of the ground each Spring.

Thanks for sharing. We have some memories we keep alive inside and now have shared them. It did make me drift back in time to think about some people who are no longer alive.

Well, although I'm happy to know that I am not the only person this has happened to, I still feel badly that you were cut by grass as a child! I'm glad it healed fast, too!

My cuts are pretty deep. I like taking baths over showering and last night's bath had my hand stinging pretty badly! I found out that it's not easy washing your hair with only one hand! Not impossible, just very difficult.

My cuts are still pretty sore today. I tried taking the bandage off and am happy to say that the cut on my pinky finger doesn't hurt today and that one plus the cut across the palm of my hand are now bandage-free. But, the cut on the webbing between my thumb and forefinger still hurts pretty bad! I kept the bandage on that one because, with us constantly using our thumbs, that cut kept reopening. I'll keep it bandaged for another day or two.

I've learned a big lesson! I will NEVER again try to pull any weeds without my gloves on! I didn't have them on because I was just planning to water the garden, not do any weeding. From now on, I'll resist the urge to pull any grass or weeds until I have my gloves on!

oh yes dear mentalward, that learned us a lesson. the next time we have to do that thing again, we already know that we should do. we learned a lot with our mistakes.

Ha ha. Funny! I do knit, actually. I've been very lucky so far with them... no sitting on them, no stabbing my arms, hands, face, anything! Also, I learned that the knitting needles are GREAT for reaching that itch you always get when you have a cast on your arm or leg!

My hands were wet from watering the garden. I've watered it before with my gloves on and they always got soaked... and these gloves are leather! They take forever to dry. So, I learned that water, bare hands and grass don't mix well.

One of the cuts is right on the webbing between my thumb and forefinger. I've tried taking the bandage off to let the air get to it, but it keeps reopening and that HURTS! Almost as much as when it first happened. Man! Was that ever a surprise! I knew you could make an obnoxious noise with a blade of grass, but never thought it could cut flesh down to the bone! Okay, it didn't cut down to the bone but it sure did bleed!

I had no idea that grass could be so dangerous!

Ninja grass...that's funny. Hahahaha.

Yeah, joint cuts ARE really hurtful, indeed.
Have you got any Polysporin? I find that it helps heal cuts much faster.

Oh...and since you seem to be "a bleeder", and enjoy baths over showers...it made me wonder what color your bath water must have looked like.

I'm not partial to baths; don't like sitting in my own dirt.
Then again, I'm not much of a gardener either.


Well, chalk it all up to experience girl. At least you can be the first lady gardener ever to say; "Green thumb? Shucks no. I have a RED thumb!"

cdrxo

Polysporin? Nah, I head straight for the best, Neosporin! It's a triple antibiotic. I get the kind with a pain killer in it. It really does help take the sting out!

Now, normally, I'm pretty safe in the garden. I spray myself with OFF so bugs don't crawl on me or bite or sting me and I almost always wear gloves. Sometimes, I even put on a sunscreen! I know to stay away from thistle and wild rose bushes (or any kind of rose bushes for that matter), berry bushes and poison ivy.

I just had no idea that crabgrass had such a nasty attitude! Geez, it's not like I'll eliminate it from the face of the Earth by pulling up one clump! What a spoiled sport that crabgrass is!

I'll be going back in as soon as I heal, in full body armor and my weed wacker! I'll teach that grass who's the boss!

No more "red thumb" for me! I want my green back! When you mix red and green it's a pretty yucky color.

Oh, speaking of yucky colors, if I'm bleeding THAT bad, I wouldn't be heading for the bathtub, I'd be heading for the emergency room! LOL I actually did bleed almost to death once. Yep. Well, I was in the hospital and bled after surgery so I was lucky enough to be there where the extra blood was. Lucky me! I don't want to do that again so I'll just avoid hospitals and killer grass from now on.

Consider yourself lucky this time.
I hear Virginia Blue Ridge crabgrass, "stems" from a "wild" background.

;-)

Heal quickly girl.

cdrxo

My sister and I used to do that with grass all the time, too. Ah, such music to the ears, eh? NOT! LOL

Luckily, I never cut my lip on it. I had no idea it could cut so badly! The worst of it is right in the webbing between my thumb and forefinger. Each time I take the bandage off, it splits open again. I'm leaving the bandage on for awhile this time.

I've cut that tall grass around bushes and stuff with scissors before. After the last time, though, never again! I got such a blister on my thumb! It could be because I'm left-handed and most scissors are angled for right-handers. NOT FAIR! It was also partly because I didn't have my gloves on then, either.

The thing I do that has the neighbors thinking I've lost ALL my marbles is I'll pick clover out of the grass... by hand. I HATE clover! It spreads like crazy and kills the grass. But, I also like my earthworms so I don't want to use any weedkiller on it. The only weedkiller I use is on the massive amounts of poison ivy we have in the wooded areas of our property. I don't even want to touch that with my leather gloves and long sleeves!

So, grabbing, twisting, then pulling is the secret, huh? Awesome! I know that it's easier to pull weeds when the ground is wet and that's usually the time when I do my weeding, after a rain or when I've given everything a good soaking with the hose. BUT, I'll NEVER do it without gloves again!

I love gardening without gloves. For some reason, I like feeling the dirt. I have nail brushes at every sink in the house because of that. LOL BUT, after cutting my hand open with that grass, getting that blister from the scissors and also from hearing of the potential for getting sick or even dying from certain bacteria found in soil, I always use my gloves, at least when I KNOW I'll be pulling weeds or anything besides just watering plants.

Maybe I should just carry the gloves outside with me when I only plan to water the plants from now on.

Aha! I've just had an epiphany!!!

My brother's used to wake me up on Saturday mornings blowing grass in my ears! LOL
And yep, established weeds or other undesirables (like dandylions) come out much better with grabbing them close to the ground and twisting before you pull. Last week the hubs and I pulled out hundreds of weeds along the outside of our picket fence line in about half an hour using the twist method. It was just after a strong rain, but I've also found that if I water the gardens or lawn and wait a few minutes for it to soak in, I can do the weeding much easier then too. I also like the feel of the dirt on my hands, but I reserve that for planting. The rest of the time I use my gardening gloves. And YES, most definitely, nail brushes at every sink! lol

Thanks so much, winterose. I'm doing my best to keep the cuts clean and protected. I also use Neosporin (triple-antibiotic) with pain killer. It really does help to reduce the pain.

Now I know why we call them "blades" of grass! They're as sharp as any other blade!

Whew! It's nice to know I'm not the only one this has happened to! I'm going to buy another pair of gardening gloves (mine are leather because of all the prickly things we have around here) and keep one pair near each door. Also, no matter what I'm planning on doing outside, I'll take those gloves with me!

Sometimes, when I've come back from the grocery store or any other place, as long as I don't have too much to carry, I'll bend over and scoop up a weed or two on my way into the house. NEVER AGAIN! I've learned my lesson! LOL

Hi, Chevee! Long time no see! I hope all is well with you.

I do like your thinking! Quite a lot of my flowers and even some bushes I've gotten from neighbors, friends, family or just found on the roadside!

Shhhhh! Don't tell, but I got my white lilac bush from a cutting I took from a bush in a public park. I went there often to go fishing and noticed a bunch of white lilac bushes and also noticed that they would cut down all the little shoots that grew from the roots of the main bushes. So, once I took an old knife with me and cut into the dirt between the bush and a couple of the shoots so I'd get some of the root and planted those cuttings. I've even moved them... twice! They are now one beautiful bush, growing larger every year.

I asked my son's landlord (years ago) if I could have some of the bamboo she had in her yard and she told me to help myself, so I did. I've traded so many different kinds of flowers with people over the years that I really never have had to buy any, but I always end up buying new things each year, anyway. Well, except this year because of finances. But, I have "borrowed" some cuttings from some pretty bushes I've seen around here and rooted them.

I think every community should have something like a flower exchange or seed exchange somewhere near the end of the season, or early in the Spring. It would be so cool to get all kinds of different flowers, basically for free, with all it taking is a little of our time to dig up some of our own to trade.

Hmmm... I think I might just try to get something like that started! Right now, I'm collecting seeds from my Columbine flowers. I have about 3 different types and they're growing like weeds! I initially wanted to just keep the seeds from planting themselves because I have so many of them that have already planted themselves but I'm now saving the seeds. If you'd like some, just say the word and I'll send you some. They're shade-loving flowers and will grow where nothing else would.

You know, it really hurts me when I see people mowing down flowers, although I do understand that some people just aren't gardeners. If I have something growing where it shouldn't be, I'll do my best to transplant it to a better spot. I'm glad you've taken some home to give them a chance!

After the shock of it wore off and I realized I was dripping blood, I went inside and cleaned the cuts, put Neosporin (a triple-antibiotic) ointment on it and bandaged it up. Of course, it did put a damper on my plans for gardening yesterday. It DID hurt!

You cut your tongues on purpose? Ah, youth! We used to put a blade of grass between our thumbs and blow through them. It makes a horrible sound but we all loved doing it. I'm sure our parents were NOT amused. LOL

The cut on my pinky finger feels better today but the other two still hurt. The only one still bandaged is the one between my thumb and forefinger because that one keeps opening up again each time I take the bandage off. I really don't like bandages (what I believe you call plasters?). If I have them on too long, I get a rash from the adhesive. I'm so darned sensitive!

I won't be pulling up any weeds or grass with bare hands from now on, that's for sure! I had no idea that grass could cut so badly either, but that crabgrass is really tough! However, I fully plan to show it who the real boss is, just as soon as my hand heals.

yeah one of my b rothers friends showed us how to do it when we were kids, i didn;t know better back then so i copied him and i soon realised how dumb i was, it hurt, it was not crabgrass, it was just plain old grass but nevertheless, it hurt and it cut my tongue, my bro used to blow grass and make a funny noise but his friend was a dumn a$$ and tried the tongue technique, what a stupid girl i was, my nanna hit the roof when she saw my tongue, it hurt for days, but i never did it after that one time....jeez the things us kids did when we were little...lol...

yep, use gloves next time i have some pink gardening gloves here that i bought from the garden center, i love them, i do hope the hand gets better soon, yes we call them plasters here, a bandage here is lint that we wrap around big wounds, but maybe it is wise to use gloves next time,

I think most of us have gotten little cuts from running through grass but this was horrible! It cut really deep, much deeper than I would have expected!

Well, I now know just how dangerous crabgrass can be so I'll be sure to use extra precautions next time. I won't be pulling on it without gloves on any more!

Learning from our mistakes is probably the best way to learn. It's those mistakes we never forget. I've learned, believe me! LOL

Yes! It's definitely as sharp as any other type of blade! I had never thought about it that way before but I sure won't be forgetting it now!

I love nice, soft, thick grass but this crabgrass is more than just a nuisance... it's dangerous! Once my hand heals, I'll be showing it who the real boss is!

Full body armor, leather gloves and a weed wacker... it won't know what hit it. LOL