As many regular readers know, my wife Cheryl often answers many of the questions we receive regarding gardens, landscaping and plants of every variety. Cheryl recently started a blog in which she addresses topics that affect garden lovers of every level of experience from beginner to professional and everything in between.

Because of the recent spate of damaging weather that has affected so much of our country, I thought this would be a good time to include in this column an excerpt from Cheryl’s latest blog entry, titled “Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Flooding and Storms: What to do next!” You can read the entire article, and others, at Cheryl’s blog: cherylsnotebook.blogspot.com At that blogspot you can click on numerous helpful links with a great deal of information for people whose landscape has suffered weather-related damage.

Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Flooding and Storms: What to do next!

After these natural disasters, I always receive emails from our members who are concerned about how to go about saving their trees or what to do about their lawn. In addition to preparing your dwelling for a hurricane or tropical storm, be sure to store lawn ornaments and all lawn furniture. Stake all young trees. Mow the lawn. Short grass doesn’t accumulate as much debris as tall grass lawns. In areas where there are regular storms, check out a series of online articles posted by Louisiana State University that will help you prepare your trees to limit weather damage. (Direct links can be found at Cheryl’s blog.)

Young trees, shrubs, perennials, gardens and lawns are most affected by the saline dropped by rainfall from hurricanes and tropical storms.

Let’s address lawns first. The dried sediment accumulation on your lawn and around your landscape should not be tilled into the soil until you are certain that it does not contain high levels of saline. For large accumulations (more than a couple of inches) of sediment, scrape or otherwise remove it. High levels of salt in the soil will kill plants. Initially, the plants will appear as though they have been burned, but when replanting in the same spot, future plants will react the same way. If you are near the coast, you may want to have your soil tested for salinity.

Remove all trees, shrubs, perennials and grasses that appear to be dead. If the sediment doesn’t have saline, you can now till the sediment into the soil. At this time, it would be a good idea to also add in aged compost or other organic matter and if your soil compacts easily, add in coarse sand. Till well, level and reseed.

Fruits and vegetables aren’t always at the top of the list to be concerned about. However, if your area experienced a hurricane, tropical storm or heavy flooding, be cautious in eating from your garden as well as any locally grown produce as it could be contaminated with bacteria. Fruits and vegetables that were mature at the time of the disaster, should be disinfected, peeled and thoroughly cooked before eating. Leafy vegetables and fruits, such as berries, tomatoes, squash, are highly susceptible to bacteria contamination, while root crops such as beets, onions, and potatoes, are less susceptible but still should be disinfected, peeled and cooked.

Immerse produce for 15 to 20 minutes in a chlorine solution, rise thoroughly with safe drinking water, peel and cook before eating.

Household bleach contains 2 to 6% chlorine. One chart that I came across breaks it down as this:

• If your bleach contains 2% chlorine bleach, add ¾ tablespoon to one quart/water
• If your bleach contains 4% chlorine bleach, add 1 teaspoon to one quart/water
• If your bleach contains 6% chlorine bleach, add ½ teaspoon to one quart/water