Every job requires the right kind of gear to keep us safe or help us perform a good job. Working on a cactus farm is no different, but there are 4 very important pieces that have to be present. Although these items may seem common sense, until you are actually doing the work you will appreciate their importance. These are the items I wear on a daily basis when doing cactus life.
Gloves
Although the nopales are spineless, it does not mean that they do not have any kind of spines/needles. There are a limited amount of spines but they are very tiny and in clusters. These tiny spines are an orangish cream color making them nearly invisible. When handling the nopal, touching the spines is inevitable. Because they are so fine, it is easy for them to penetrate any kind of material. My weak yard work gloves were no match for the spines and once those spines reach your skin it is painful and difficult to get out without the help of good tweezers. So now, I have two sets of really good tweezers because I have yet to find gloves that can withstand the spines. Let me know if you have any suggestions for gloves – I would love to find some really good ones!
Shoes
Most of us have a style/type of shoe that we go to for comfort and work. For me, the perfect shoes are sneakers. I can wear them to work out, around the house, yard work and for going out. It only made sense that I could wear them while working on the nopal, but again I was wrong. When moving the nopal or on windy days some of the spines dislodge and fly though the air like little projectiles. Sneakers, although comfortable, do not provide any kind of protection against the spines. Most sneakers are made of cloth material with wide openings for air circulation. Dirt and other debris can easily made their way in – so sneakers are not good for nopal work. The solution, Boots! Boots to me are both comfortable and provide protection against spines, dirt and anything else coming my way!
Sunglasses
Before working on the nopales, I only used sunglasses while driving and occasionally when doing outdoor stuff. However, when working on the nopal it is important to wear sunglasses especially on windy days or when handling them. It’s also a good idea to wear them to protect your eyeballs from the sunrays. I went through a couple of sunglasses before I found a pair that I really liked from REI. Because I work on the nopales at sunrise some sunglasses were too dark to see in that sunlight, but although the REI pair is not very attractive they provide the right shade both in early sunlight and throughout the day.
Clothes
My usual attire is shorts/capris and t-shirt, but when working on the nopales that is the worst attire to wear. Long sleeve shirts and jeans are imperative. Some work requires more direct contact with the nopal and that is when it is important to wear clothes that are thicker. Keep in mind that whatever clothes you wear the spines will stay lodged in and you will need to spend time removing them before throwing them into the washing machine. How do you do this? Well you can spend time manually picking them out with tweezers OR you can do like I do and use duct tape. Also, it is important to wash these clothes separately from any other loads since you may accidently get spines on the other clothes.
One reply on “The Right Gear”
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