Wildfire Smoke, Ash, and Your Garden: Is Your Produce Safe?

Transcript [Music] Welcome to a special podcast series on wildfire food safety. I’m Susie Craig Is it safe to harvest garden produce after wildfire smoke and light ash exposure? Oregon State University Extension Service recommends first assessing your garden’s location. If it is near a burned structure, burned vehicles, smoke and ash may contain potentially harmful contaminants. However, this may not be the case for your garden only exposed to smoke and/or light ash. OSU Extension horticulturist Brooke Edmunds recommends rinsing produce outdoors, then washing it again in the kitchen sink. Peel tomatoes, apples, and root crops. To help remove soil and ash particles from kale, savoy cabbage, peaches, apricots, and nectarines, Edmunds recommends soaking produce in a 10% white vinegar solution: 1 cup vinegar to 9 cups water. Do not use soap or detergent. From Washington State University Extension, this is Food Safety in a Minute. [Music] Resources Oregon State University Extension Service (September 2025). Is Wildfire Ash on Garden Produce Safe to Eat? https://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/wildfire-ash-garden-produce-safe-eat. Accessed online 8/10/26.