Flooded Gardens Deborah Brown reviewed by Carl Rosen and Bill Schafer As a result of recent flooding by the Root River and Red River, many questions have been raised about the safety of consuming produce from gardens that were under water for a day or two.
Raw sewage contains bacteria that can cause illness if contaminated fruit or vegetables are eaten.
Another choice would be to use root crops such as carrots, potatoes, and parsnips, but scrub them thoroughly, and cook them. Boiling kills any harmful bacteria or other microbes present. Leafy vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, or spinach should be discarded because it's not possible to scrub them, and they have many ridges and crevices that could contain contaminated silt or bacteria. To increase safety, cook them thoroughly, too, or at least wash them well and peel them, if possible, before eating. This could include tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, sweet corn, squash, cukes, and similar vegetables.