Don't Eat Vegetables from Flooded Gardens

If a stream infiltrates your garden, your vegetables may be contaminated.

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Photo: Virginia Hamrick / Istock

By Dan Shapley

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, many home gardeners are looking at drenched, if not flooded vegetables. Depending on the type of flooding your garden sustained, you may be better off abandoning the garden than eating the veggies, according to information compiled by the Cornell Cooperative Extension, New York's agricultural extension. Consult your local extension for tips specific to your area and flood conditions.

A flood that results in a stream or other surface water overflowing into your garden may introduce pathogens that can cause foodborne illness.

A downpour may result in pooled water that can damage your garden, but won't render it inedible. The younger the plants, the more likely they are to survive; the closer to harvest, the more damage is likely. Leafy greens may rot, and dirt can infiltrate, leaving them unpalatable. Beets, radishes, onions, potatoes and other root crops are more resilient to rot. Melons, eggplant, winter squash and other vegetables with hard rinds may be contaminated on the outside, and that contamination can be transferred to the edible flesh when cutting them open, so clean them thoroughly.

For gardens that sustained damage, it's not too late to plant some crops, like spinach, Swiss chard, leaf lettuce, mesclun mix, beet greens, kale, rocket salad, and Asian greens like mizuna and tatsoi, along with radishes. For more options, see The Daily Green's list of vegetables to plant for a fall harvest.

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