Knowledgebase
After flooding #840405
Asked July 12, 2023, 10:22 PM EDT
How should we care for our vegetable gardens after they have been submerged by flood waters and when will any potential vegetables be safe to eat from a plant that has been flooded. What steps can we take to try to save the plants. And what can we expect from our underground crops such as garlic, onions, beets and potatoes. Are they all compromised because their leaves have been submerged and infected by flood water? Should we be composting, feeding or otherwise treating the plants or are they not likely to produce healthy vegetables this season?
Windsor County Vermont
Expert Response
"...thanks to Ginger Nickerson of the UVM Extension Center for Sustainable Agriculture for compiling this information; below is our best advice on how to handled flooded fields....
Floods occur when water or runoff from surface waters such as rivers, lakes or steams overflows and runs into fields. Water from heavy rainfall that pools on the surface of saturated soils is NOT considered flooding.
Flood waters are likely to contain contaminants. These may come from upstream farms and rural septic systems, urban lawns and roadways, industrial sites or overflow from municipal sewage systems. Contaminants may include: raw manure or feces, agricultural chemicals, heavy metals or other chemical contaminants. Microbial pathogens that could be in flood waters include bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
For these reasons, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers crops where the edible portion has come in contact with flood waters to be adulterated and not to be sold for human consumption...
As painful as it may be to do, all crops with edible portions that have come in contact with flood waters should be destroyed or discarded....
Although root crops are usually cooked and often peeled before consumption, if under flood waters, they may be considered to be grown in unsanitary conditions. We are waiting to learn more details from the FDA about their regulations, but common sense suggests that intact, undamaged crops that are to be peeled and cooked, such as winter squash, can be sold after they were flooded BUT ONLY IF flooding was for a short period of time (several hours at most) and the crop was promptly harvested and is thoroughly washed and then treated with a high rate of sanitizer such as chlorine or Sanidate...Crops near flooded areas or those that were flooded without the edible part of the plant coming in contact with flood water (such as sweet corn or staked tomatoes) need to be evaluated on a case by case basis. These, and crops in which the edible portion develops after flood waters recede are not automatically deemed adulterated. It is your decision whether to sell them after considering the following:
- Is the edible part of the plant developing and if so, how far above the flood water was it?
- Is there any evidence that floodwater splashed up onto edible portion of the crop? Floodwater almost certainly contains some pathogens and/or chemicals....
Other considerations:
- Allow at least 60 days to elapse between flooding and planting of the next human food crop. In absence of known or suspected biological or chemical contaminants in flood waters (such as sewage discharge or run-off from industrial sites) you can replant after 60 days...."
I hope you find it useful!
