Hard heels is not a propagation technique it is a condition we gardeners can often wander into from time to time. Our footwear can dry out our feet, but also long standing can undermine the efficiency of sweat glands to naturally moisturize. Here are some ways to help.

Try a Garden spa solution –Horse chestnut extract has excellent skin softening properties, a paste of the nuts (meal of nut blitzed with plain water or cider vinegar) can be applied topically too. A willow foot bath will help exfoliate dead cell. Traditional herbal emollients to soften skin include plantain, chickweed, coltsfoot, elecampane, mallow and borage – suitable in poultices, milk decoctions, footbaths, salves or oil infusions.

Try a Kitchen spa solution– Mix equal parts honey and lemon juice and massage in to hard skin or make a cider vinegar rub – diluted with 7parts water to 1 part vinegar.   A tablespoon of sugar to a tablespoon of vegetable oil makes a fine scrub to slough of dead cells and rejuvenate skin – simple rub into feet and after a pause to let the oil soak in and rehydrate skin – towel off.

Holistic Gardener Home Treatment – Natural pumice foot scrub – mix 1 tables spoon of witch hazel, I tablespoon of glycerine or honey, I table spoon of poppy or nigella seed with 3 tablespoons of aloe sap and 3 tablespoons of coarse sea salt. Keeps 5 days in fridge.

Cracked heels is a common condition that for the most part is a simply a nuisance but deeper fissures of the heel can be painful. If you are prone in general to dry skin or have psoriasis, diabetes or hypothyroidism then you may be more prone to the condition.

Summer and sandals can trigger too, as most sandals do not  support the heal very well, especially the fat pad under the foot , and the openness exposes the foot to drying air – plus dehydrating encounters with sand, dust, soil and other material.

Regular moisturizing helps treat and also prevent. Keratolytic creams are available but they are often based upon salicylic or alpha-hydroxy acids that are abundant in the garden or fruits bowl.

Holistic Gardener Home Treatment – Sugar plum foot gel – pulp a ripe plum with two tablespoons of dark sugar and massage into affected heels, coat on some extra pulp and leave for 10-15minutes before rinsing, drying and applying a foot moisturizer.