Volcano Watch: How to protect your garden from volcanic ash

PALMER, Alaska (KTUU) - Can volcanic ash affect your garden?

If you’re making plans for your garden this year in Southcentral Alaska, you might want to consider how to protect those plants from any potential ashfall from Mount Spurr in the event of an eruption.

Nelson Crone, the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center farm director in Palmer, says volcanic ash is a natural part of the ecosystem in Alaska soil. The ash can be used as fertilizer, but in the event of an eruption, it can also cover your crops.

Volcanic ash is toxic and should not be eaten, but Crone says you can still eat your crops as long as you wash them carefully.

“You definitely would want to wear gloves when you’re washing them and you could wash them outside with a garden hose as long as it’s potable water, and then bring them inside and wash them again with water to make sure they’re nice and clean so you’re not consuming ash, and then that would keep the ash out of your septic tank or your sewer system,” Crone said.

He also says some plants may be easier to clean off than others.

“Certain crops that are most risk are leafy crops such as lettuces and cabbages. They tend to get ash stuck between the leaves, but they’re still safe to eat as long as you wash them thoroughly,” Crone said.

If you want to cover your crops before an ashfall event, Crone has a few tips.

“On [a] small scale, I would recommend getting — you can use a polyethylene plastic, the general construction plastic and you can cover your plants,” Crone said. “You don’t want to cover them too long, but a brief period of time if you have to cover them for a day or a week, that the clear plastic will let light in and so they could continue to photosynthesize. And then if you don’t have any clear plastic, you could tarp them with the standard blue tarp, just know that they’re not photosynthesizing while they’re covered with an opaque tarp.”

This gardening season may look a little different depending on if and when Mount Spurr erupts, but if we stay prepared, we can all be safe eating the fruits of our labor.

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