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Homesteading Basics: Should You Wash Your Vegetables in the Shower?

Kramer’s Famous Shower Salad

Did you ever see the episode of Seinfeld where Kramer decides to multitask by washing his vegetables in the shower … while he showers? The way Kramer sees it, he’s saving time and conserving water. He even goes so far as to have a garbage disposal installed in his bathtub.

It’s a classic bit of comedy, and it is the inspiration for our latest episode of “Homesteading Basics.” Here’s Marjory:

No Chemicals, No Problem

One of the biggest reasons for washing off produce is to remove the residue of the various chemicals left behind by industrial agriculture.

But if you’re growing your own organic vegetables without using synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, then you obviously don’t need to worry about washing any chemicals off of your homegrown produce.

You May Also Like: “15 Simple and Inexpensive Homemade Fertilizers”

Homesteading Basics: Rinse Your Greens!

Then again, if you’re growing your own organic vegetables, there’s a very high likelihood that you’re using animal waste as fertilizer. Some folks use chicken droppings, some use rabbit pellets, some use horse apples…. There is often a lot of poop involved in organic growing.

If you’re using any sort of animal product as a fertilizer, then it’s important that you wash that fertilizer residue off of your produce before you consume it. This is especially important for leafy greens and anything else that lives and grows down close to soil level—where soil and soil amendments are more likely to splash up onto leaves when it rains or during irrigation.

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This post was written by Marjory Wildcraft

COMMENTS(10)

  • Debbie Goings says:

    Do you have any information on growing peaches in Ohio? I have a four year old peach tree but the fruit this year was full of ants–they even made tunnels inside the fruit. What can I do to prevent this from happening?

    Thanks!
    Debbie

  • LINDA S. says:

    Hummmm I seem to have to sterlize my veggies with white vinegar to avoid parasites on my purchased organic veggies. Not my garden ones. I am low immune and easily develop parasites unless I do this as seen on a Bio Physio Phyics machine; the HUNTER FROM RUSSIA.

    EVER HEARD OF THAT? IS IT NECESSARY AND DO YOU ALL GET PARASITES. i DO USE HCL TOO WITH MOST MEALS. (NOT FRUIT)

  • rhkramer says:

    I grow some of my vegetables, but pretty much, only enough in some parts of the summer. The rest of the year I buy produce. My question is, how much of the pesticide residue is removed by various methods of washing and in various circumstances–to be more specific:

    How important is it to use a mild soap / detergent when washing vegetables?

    How much pesticide is inside the plant (presumably some is absorbed in various ways) versus on the surface (where it might be washed off)?

    For a vegetable like head lettuce or cabbage–can you get away with washing only the outside, or maybe the leaves from the first few layers of leaves, or is the pesticide residue on the surface of all the leaves, even the interior ones?

  • Traci says:

    They make a zappicator to kill Parasites on your produce. I only got the zapper. Kills parasites. Esp pin worms. Urg! They are so annoying.

  • Suzanne says:

    Hi Marjory
    Re; washing your organic veg from your garden. I have to inform you that due to our governments complicitness of spraying us and our veg with chemtrails via planes. I would advise washing and soaking your veg, some say in a weak solution of Iodine( this can be googled). The chemicals used among others are barium, strontium, aluminum, all hazardous to your health. Many are unaware of this, so this is just a heads up. Love the work your doing.

    1. Hi Susanne, I hear you about the chem trails issue. I would love to find a simple way to test to see who much residue is on the veggies… I wrote an article about chem trials a while ago… I’ll look for it and post it.

      Thanks so much for your support!

  • James Thompson says:

    Removing chemicals are not the only reason to wash your vegetables.
    Anything grown outside can be contaminated with natural things that are not so good for you like bird or animal poop, or other disease carrying contaminates.
    In Hawaii their have been a number of cases of Angiostrongyliasis (rat lungworm) which can be transmitted to humans via unwashed vegetables — organic and non-organic.

  • Rufus E says:

    I WILL continue to wash mine. I do not care for bird droppings and the areas around nibble marks made by who knows what.

  • Marjory Wildcraft says:

    OK RUfus,

    that’s agood point about the bird droppings! LOL

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