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After so much smoke, can harvest still be eaten?

Wash produce carefully, thoroughly to remove grit and ash

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED SEP 11, 2020

Ash collects on leaves of lacinato kale. Wrinkly leafy greens like these must be

thoroughly washed before being consumed. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

We’ve had smoky skies and falling ash for 25 consecutive days. These apocalyptic-like conditions make it difficult for anything to grow.

Still, our gardens persist. Green tomatoes continue to mature on the vines. Zucchini keeps growing rapidly. Apples, pears and persimmons are ripening on the trees.

But that leads to another question: Will what we grow be safe to eat?

Yes, but our harvest will need a little extra TLC before consumption.

The wildfire ash we’ve been experiencing should not harm most fruit and vegetables. It may give tomatoes and grapes a smoky or ashy flavor because their thin skins absorb smoke compounds.

Before eating, wash everything thoroughly, even crops such as melons or hard squash with rinds that won’t be consumed.

As for washing, follow these USDA recommendations:

A sprayer is useful in cleaning kale leaves after they've been

dunked for a few minutes in a bowl of water.

Leafy greens: The grit of ash can get down into the wrinkles of leaves (especially kale and spinach). Fill a large bowl or the sink with water. Submerge the leaves totally in the water and swish them around gently. Let sit for a couple of minutes, so grit can fall to the bottom of the bowl or sink. Remove leaves and place in a colander, discarding the water in the sink or bowl. Then, run the leaves under cold water, turning each leaf over individually. A sprayer works wonders for this task.

Sturdy fruit and vegetables: This includes beans, squash, apples and citrus. Wash thoroughly under a hard stream of cold water. Use a vegetable brush to softly scrub off grit. Let dry in a colander.

Delicate fruit and vegetables: This includes tomatoes as well as berries and ripe stone fruit such as peaches and pluots. Wash thoroughly under a steady but low-pressure stream of cold water, turning the fruit repeatedly as you rinse. Treat it gently to avoid bruising. Spread out on paper towels or clean cloth towels to dry.

When in doubt, peel. That goes for tomatoes as well as other fruit and vegetables.

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Keywords:

leafy greens gardening Sacramento vegetables fruits air quality smoke wildfires

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Garden Checklist for week of April 21

This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.

* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.

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