Gardening After a Flood by Kate L Wall & Kate Wall

Author:Kate L Wall & Kate Wall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gardening, floods, sustainable gardening, flood restoration
Publisher: Kate Wall
Published: 2022-12-29T00:00:00+00:00

Edible gardens

The most concerning aspect of edible gardening after floods is the risk of soil contamination. Please check that section and see what applies to you and what to do about it.

If your contamination is sewerage and therefore bacteria, do not eat anything that may have come into contact with flood waters in the immediate aftermath. Fruit that is peeled before being eaten is an exception. If your orange tree still has fruit on it, enjoy it, but don’t use the zest. If you suspect chemical contamination which the plant may take up, harvest your lemons within a few days of the flood, before the plant has had a chance to draw up those chemicals and store them in the fruit.

Don’t panic about contamination. Unless you live in an industrial area, it is likely to be minor.

If you are gardening in raised beds, you are likely to find that the floods have washed much of the soil away. There is no point rushing to replace this soil if you are displaced from your home.

Annual edibles are not likely to survive flooding. Many perennial plants and fruit trees will, depending on the severity of the flooding. Gardeners have reported bumper crops in the months following flooding, but were they safe to eat? If in doubt, don’t eat this first crop post flood, but do some research into what likely contamination you have. Chances are that a bumper crop suggests the plants have been well fed, not subjected to toxicity. Both flood silt and sewerage will increase soil fertility once the risk of disease has passed. Citrus and strawberries will thrive on this. With citrus there is no risk of bacterial contamination in the soil being transferred into the fruit, so enjoy it. With strawberries there is a very high risk as the fruit are in contact with the soil. E. coli has been found to be able to bind to the surface of plants and can be a significant cause of food related illness. Strawberries, with their berries close to the ground are very susceptible to this. If there is a chance your flood water contained sewerage, a bumper crop of strawberries in the months that follow could well still be contaminated. Do not eat this bumper crop fresh. Washing it will not help as the bacteria is actually bound to the plant tissue. It is fine for jam making however, as by heating the bacteria to over 60oC for at least 10 minutes, the E. coli are killed.

Once you have eliminated possible contamination risks, get back in and restart your edible garden whenever you are ready. The added fertility from the flooding together with the soil repair efforts described earlier will create perfect conditions for fabulous crops.

You may encounter all sorts of pest problems on your lush new crop. The flooding has thrown natural pest and predator relationships out of balance. Make sure that you also plant some quick flowering annuals as well as long term flowering plants to encourage the pollinators back to your garden.

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