The green outer shell causes brown discoloration
In the case of fully ripe walnuts, the green outer shell falls off by itself, exposing the core, the nut. However, if you harvest unripe walnuts, you are forced to remove this shell yourself - with your own hands. In their zeal, many hobby gardeners forget to adequately protect their “tools” during the act. The result is fingers with a brownish-black discoloration, which now absolutely does not want to go away, despite intensive hand washing.
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Note: Otherwise, you owe the stubborn brown stains to the tannic acid that escapes. Even during harvest (without peeling), discoloration can occur.
Tips and tricks for cleaning your hands
Once the "damage" is done, there are several ways to get rid of the dirt. Here are some tips and tricks:
- Buy a cleaning paste with fine abrasive particles at the hardware store. However, the product is not particularly skin-friendly, you should be aware of that.
- A suitable peeling from the drugstore is a more skin-friendly variant.
- You can also create an exfoliator yourself: mix a heaping tablespoon of sugar with olive oil (enough to make a paste). Rub it into your hands as hard as you can painfully tolerate.
- Many cooks recommend rubbing your hands with fresh lemon juice immediately after gardening (harvesting or peeling the walnuts). Just briefly squeeze a lemon and then massage your hands vigorously with the juice.
- Margarine and butter are also considered effective. Rub your hands carefully with the fat for a good two to three minutes. Then wait five minutes. Lastly, wash your hands with warm water.
- Wait two to three weeks without taking any special measures. The skin flakes off - this is how the dark spots also break away.
Effectively prevent brown fingers in the future
Always wear gardening gloves when working with walnuts. There are also models for latex allergy sufferers.
