Hurricane season and the food garden

What to do with containers, raised beds and fruit trees before a tropical storm, and how to handle a vegetable garden after flooding or storm surge.

Season dates

Those dates overlap the start of the fall planting window, when tomato and pepper transplants go in. Some gardeners keep a few spare transplants or seeds in case an early planting is lost.

Before a storm

• Containers and hanging baskets: UF/IFAS Extension advises moving container plants, hanging baskets and other loose items to a sheltered area. Lay pots that are too heavy to move on their side between a hedge and the house foundation.
• Irrigation: turn it off. Plants will get plenty of water from the storm.
• Rain barrels: move empty barrels to a secure spot. Disconnect barrels attached to gutters and let them overflow from the top. Fill partly full barrels the rest of the way, since full barrels are less likely to blow away.
• Trees: trim weak branches ahead of the season, as AgriLife advises. UF/IFAS adds removing dead, damaged or weakly attached limbs and getting a certified arborist for large or high branches.
• Household supplies: AgriLife recommends at least three to five days of supplies for each person and planning to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours.

After the storm: safety and trees

Watch for downed power lines and hanging branches before you start cleanup. The Texas A&M Forest Service advises against rushing to remove trees that might be saved, removing broken branches and trimming jagged stubs, and hiring an ISA certified arborist for large limbs or overhead chainsaw work. Do not top trees: the stubs grow weakly attached sprouts that break more easily in the next storm.

After flooding: produce and soil

AgriLife's disaster guidance says not to eat any food that has touched floodwater. Extension services in other Gulf and Atlantic states give more detail for vegetable gardens:

• Throw out harvested produce and any edible part that touched floodwater. Do not compost it.
• NC State Extension says to discard fruiting crops that had set fruit, crops with edible buds such as broccoli, and root crops grown in flooded soil, even if they look normal.
• Waiting periods differ by source. NC State says to wait at least 60 days before replanting, at least 100 days before planting root crops, and at least 120 days before harvesting from flooded ground. UF/IFAS Hillsborough County gives 90 to 120 days before harvesting new produce. The longer periods are the cautious choice.
• Don't work the soil until the top 2 to 3 inches are dry. Wear gloves, boots and a mask, and wash your hands often.
• Where chemical contamination is likely, consider replacing the soil or moving to raised beds.

Storm surge and salt water

Salt water can damage roots and interfere with nutrient uptake, and symptoms may not show until days or weeks after the storm. Fresh water, from rain or a hose, can move salt below the root zone when drainage allows. Flush gradually, and don't add water to soil that is already saturated. A soil test can show salinity, pH and nutrient levels. Texas A&M AgriLife has also published Reducing Seawater Flood Damage to Vegetable Plants (2022), based on a study of saltwater flooding in 10 kinds of vegetables. More on salt and leaching is on the salt, wind and sandy soil page.