Even Your Homegrown Veggies Need Washing First. Before you eat that freshly-picked tomato, read this.

Confession: When I harvest my green beans and snap peas, I snack on a few. (Gardening requires energy! And it's a healthy fresh vegetable.) But when I mentioned this to a friend, her response was EWWW. And I thought, well, I don't use pesticides so how risky is eating veggies right from my garden. Turns out maybe more than you think.

Why Wash Homegrown Produce Before Eating It?

"There are intensive rules, regulations and inspections to make sure standards are being followed that commercial producers have to go through in order to sell their produce to grocery stores," explains Grace Stern, State Coordinator of the Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program. "We don’t have those rules when we're growing food in home gardens, so we have to take certain actions to protect ourselves." Two of the most important: Washing your hands before and after you're in the garden and washing the produce before you eat it.

"People are usually worried about pesticides, and so they think that if they're not using pesticides in their home gardens there's nothing to consider," says Stern. "But actually, the vast majority of food recalls aren't pesticide-related. They're from pathogens like salmonella and E.coli being present on the food."

Compost and Manure Can Contain Bacteria and Pathogens

Adding compost and/or manure to a home garden is a great way to enrich the soil with nutrients so your fruits and veggies grow well. But did you know that commercial growers are required to make the last application of compost (which can include chicken litter) and manure at least 120 days before the produce is harvested?

"A home gardener could apply compost 30 to 60 days before harvesting the vegetables or fruit and that doesn't give the soil enough time to break down the compost for it to be safe and free of bacteria," explains Stern.

Animals Can Leave Behind Germs

Fencing generally helps keep out rodents, but you never know what's coming and going from your garden. "Snakes actually carry salmonella on their skin," says Stern. Birds can fly in and out, and (not to be gross), there isn't always evidence of what animals have left behind. Birds could come sit on your tomato plant, do their business, then it rains so you can't see what bacteria might still be there.

Also: Chickens. If you've got backyard chickens, don't let them into your garden. "I love my chickens but they go to the bathroom every 20 or 30 minutes so it's not a good idea to let them in or near your garden," says Stern. And of course you want to keep pets out of your veggie garden but you never know if a neighborhood cat has wandered in.

How to Wash Your Produce the Right Way

There are different categories of fruits and vegetables, and each should be washed differently. First wash your hands, then follow these guidelines. And remember to clean garden shears or clippers before and after you use them.

Leafy greens and herbs should be triple-washed with room temperature or lukewarm water. Here's the method Stern uses in her double-sided sink: Place a colander in one side of the sink. Rinse the greens in the empty side of the sink, then put the greens in the colander, rinse again, shake off, and rinse again.

Delicate produce including berries, tomatoes—anything that's thin-skinned—should be washed under running lukewarm water. Gently work your thumbs and fingers around the surface to get rid of any dirt or debris. Don't scrub or use soap.

Firm produce like cucumbers, potatoes, winter squash, radishes, should be scrubbed with a brush under running water. Even if you're peeling a fruit or vegetable or just eating the inside (think melons and pumpkins), wash it because bacteria from the outside can transfer to the inside when you peel or cut it.