Gardening uses a few food safety rules to keep in mind when you are growing your own food. Make gardening fun, safe, and healthy for you and your family!
When planning where you will plant your garden, keep these things in mind:
- Put your garden on level ground and away from wells, septic systems, in-ground tanks, and garbage cans/dumpsters.
- Call Miss Utility at 1-800-257-7777 before you dig, to avoid underground wires and pipelines.
- Test ground soil, especially near high-traffic and industrial areas. Chemicals, pesticides, and heavy metals such as lead are dangerous to your health, especially for children.
- To learn more about soil sampling, you can contact your local University of Maryland Extension office and ask to speak to a Master Gardener.
If you don't have the space for an in-ground garden, think about growing your own vegetables plants in a container!
Keep in mind these things when planning your garden!
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Things to Do
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Things Not to Do
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Use water that is safe for people to drink (called
potable water).
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Do
not use animal or pet manure/poop as fertilizer. Animal manure carries bacteria/germs that
could make what you grow unsafe to eat.
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Use clean containers that you
use to carry food in to carry water.
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Do
not add farm manure, pet waste, or human waste such as urine or excrement
(poop). Bacteria/germs can contaminate
the produce growing in your food and make you sick.
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Cover the ends of stakes and
posts with plastic or metal cones to keep birds away from your garden.
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Do
not eat anything from the garden without washing it first.
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Keep bird feeders, garbage cans,
and compost piles away from your garden.
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A fence (8 feet tall) may be
good to keep deer away, or a shorter fence if deer are not a garden threat.
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