Handling Groceries

By Carol Michael  UCCE Master Food Preserver

Are there special precautions I need to take when buying groceries during the COVID-19 pandemic?  Jack M., Nipomo, CA                                                                                                                                                               

Shopping for and handling groceries during COVID-19 is new to all of us.Grocery stores have taken important steps to minimize your risks while shopping for food. Decide if you wish to shop in person, or pre-order your groceries for curbside pickup or delivery.  Pre-orders for pick-up or delivery reduces your exposure, decreases store traffic, and prevents exposing others if you are unwell.

If you must visit the grocery store, remember these tips:

1. Use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving the store.
2. Use disinfectant wipes for your cart, basket and the card reader.
3. Minimize the amount of shopping time by using a list.
4. Maintain social distance of at least 6 ft. from others.
5. Touch only what you will buy. Consider using hand sanitizer before and after touching produce.
6. Avoid unnecessarily touching surfaces and don't touch your mouth, nose, eyes or face while shopping.

After unpacking your groceries, wash your hands or use hand sanitizer. There is currently no information that indicates that the virus has spread because of contaminated food or food packaging material.

Washing produce before eating it during this pandemic remains as important as ever.  You should rinse your produce under CLEAN RUNNING WATER ONLY.  Use a vegetable brush to clean thick skinned produce like potatoes, beets, carrots, and melons to remove as much dirt as possible.  You do not need to use any special cleaners, washes, soap, or other products to clean produce.  These products are not meant to be consumed and can be DANGEROUS!

Remember to practice the four basic steps to food safety:

1. Clean-wash your hands, kitchen surfaces, utensils and produce before preparing and eating food.
2. Separate-keep raw meat, poultry, and seafood from ready to eat foods.
3. Chill-Keep perishable food refrigerated below 41°F.  Perishable food should not be  left at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
4. Heat-Foods should be cooked to the right temperature.  Use a food thermometer to ensure its heated to a safe level.

 For more information on Food Safety Guidance and COVID-19 go to our website at:https://ucanr.edu/sites/SLO/files/322022.pdf  and the UC ANR publications catalog at https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/1901.pdf

Photo by Carol Michael

Food Safety

By Carol Michael, UCCE Master Food Preserver

We had little rain in February. Drought can increase risk for wildfires. What can I do to keep food safe during planned or unplanned power outages? Debbie V., Paso Robles

Regional power outages can result from earthquakes, wildfires, or power shutdowns to prevent fires. Transformer failures, vehicle accidents involving power poles, even bird interactions with power lines are other causes. Power outages can be large, affecting multiple communities, or they can be small as when an old freezer quits working on the weekend and the nearest appliance dealer is 25 miles away.

Regardless of the cause, the feeling of panic is the same. How long will my refrigerated and frozen food be safe? What can I do to keep food safe? It is important to prepare yourself before an outage occurs. First, keep an appliance thermometer in your refrigerator and freezer to help you know and safely set the temperature of your appliance before an outage, and once power has been restored. This will help you determine if your food is safe.  Your refrigerator should be set at 40˚F or below and your freezer at 0˚F or below. Then remember USDA's 4-hour rule. Your refrigerator will keep food safe for up to 4 hours during a power outage. After 4 hours without power, discard refrigerated perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and leftovers. Never taste foods to determine their safety! You often cannot see, smell, or taste bacteria and viruses in food that can make you ill.

A full freezer will keep frozen food at a safe temperature for up to 2 full days(or only one day) if it's less full.  Keeping several containers of clean drinking water in the freezer on a regular basis will help keep food cold in your freezer, refrigerator, or in a cooler when power is out, and they provide backup drinking water in case your water supply is compromised.

As soon as power is restored, check the temperature of your refrigerator and freezer.  If the power was out for less than 4 hours and you've kept the door closed, your food should be safe. Check the thermometer to make sure. Refer to www.Foodsafety.gov and www.fda.gov  for more information about food safety during power outages. It's important to remember “When in Doubt, Throw it Out!”

Photo by Ardis Neilsen

Lantana

By Ardis Neilsen   UCCE Master Gardener

  Water Needs:  Drought tolerant, infrequent deep watering after established

If you want a plant that is easy to grow, colorful, always blooming, drought tolerant and animal resistant, the Lantana ‘Rose Sunrise' cultivar might be the perfect fit for your garden.  It is low maintenance, hardy, deer and rabbit resistant, and it attracts pollinators.  It can be planted in beds, pots or hanging baskets, where it will show off its petite, brightly colored rose-pink and yellow blossoms which contrast nicely with its dark green leaves. The leathery leaves are opposite, heavily veined, a bit rough like sandpaper, and approximately two inches long.  Lantana's flowers form in one to two-inch clusters and put on a non-stop show that few plants can compete with.   The eye-catching blossoms are attractive to hummingbirds, bees and butterflies, making lantana an excellent choice for pollinator gardens.

This hardy, mounding, perennial shrub is happiest in full sun with warm temperatures and a bit of fertilizer. Lantana will grow in varied soils but prefers soil that is amended, slightly acidic and drains well. Lantana can be prone to mildew if it is planted in shade, receives too much water, or when prolonged fog or overcast conditions occur. Light frost keeps the plant's growth in check.  In areas where there is no frost, it will bloom continuously.  If frost damages the plant, do not remove the blackened leaves. They offer a “winter coat” of protection until the soil and air temperature warm up in spring, and new growth emerges. When the frost season passes, you can safely prune debris and continue to enjoy this hardy, colorful plant. 

The lantana genus consists of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae.    It is non-native to California but popular in many Central Coast garden landscapes.

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Photo by Leslie Stevens

Cotoneaster 

By Leslie Stevens    UCCE Master Gardener

Bearberry Cotoneaster

Cotoneaster dammeri

Planting area: Sunset zones 2 -24; USDA Hardiness zones 5 - 10

Size: Approx. 1 foot tall by 12 feet wide on trailing stems

Bloom season: small white flowers in late spring

Exposure:  full sun to light shade

Pruning Needs:  prune primarily to remove dead or awkwardly growing branches

Water needs: moderate to little water once established

Snapshot: If you're looking for a low-maintenance groundcover, it's hard to beat Bearberry Cotoneaster. Its low arching branches can quickly cover 12 feet of flat ground or sloping hillsides. It thrives in poor soils and is thrifty with water.

Despite its toughness, this evergreen spreader provides year-round good looks. Tiny, fragrant white flowers dot the plant's dark-green elliptical leaves in spring. Bright red berries follow and last well into winter. And come fall, the leaves turn colorful shades of red and purple.

In addition to its visual appeal, this cotoneaster provides food for birds, tolerates air pollution and is considered fire resistant. It also thrives in all but the coldest and hottest climate zones.

A member of the Rosaceae family, cotoneasters are native to China, the Himalayas and northern India. More than a dozen known cotoneasters range from low groundcovers to 25-foot shrubs.