I often see soap sold especially for gardeners that’s full of grit. I try to religiously wear gloves, using cloth ones that wear out quickly, but that allow the hands to breath. When they wear out I snip them to pieces and toss in the compost heap. So I don’t usually need the full-bore gritty soap treatment. But sometimes I do get a rash on my forearms after weeding in the many jungle-like areas of my garden. It’s not poison ivy, but there are plenty of other rash-causing plants out there. To help heal these rashes I’ve come up with a soothing calamine lotion soap. Calamine is a mixture of zinc oxide and iron oxide that has anti-itch properties. So this calamine soap could be helpful if you get frequent rashes. To make the soap pretty, I’ve used the bottom of various water bottles as molds, which look a bit like flowers, if you use your imagination.

To Make: Gather three plastic water bottles with flower-like bases. Cut off the bases to make molds that are about three inches deep. Wash and dry. Take six to seven ounces of melt-and-pour soap–I used plain glycerin–and chop up coarsely. Melt in the microwave in a Pyrex measuring cup. Add one tablespoon of calamine lotion and mix thoroughly. (Shake the bottle of calamine lotion before using.) Evenly apportion the melted soap into the three molds, and allow to harden. Snip the mold and peel off to release the soap. These soaps are pretty enough that they can be displayed on a pretty china plate (from a garage sale, of course!) on the bathroom counter.

In the garden today: