Ash Fall – La Soufrière Volcano Erupts

I’ve chosen to write about the recent experience of the volcanic eruption in the Caribbean and its effect on our lives and in particular the garden. While it is not in the vein of setting up a garden; its impact was so monumental that I thought it could prove instructive.

You know the saying “Life happens when you are making plans?” It has never been more true here.

So it bears consideration – how would you approach creating or maintaining an Adaptive Garden and a natural disaster strikes? What steps could you take?

The Natural Disaster and Your Garden

As was the cry of our Vincentian neighbours, so too was our own in Barbados, our beautiful emerald and turquoise paradise islands vanished right before our eyes. We now faced an overwhelming sea of grey and grittiness.

Its Effect on Plant Life

We knew it could affect us as some of the ash had reached us during the 1979 eruption and had damaged our papaya crop for decades after.  Yet nothing could prepare us on this the most easterly of the Caribbean islands for what we were about to experience.  Ash everywhere, trees, grass, not even a speck of dirt to be seen.  Will our plants survive?

In the home garden, the question was how to save the existing plants and how to restore the garden and yard to normalcy, especially during a water shortage?

Shortly after we had a heavy downpour of rain. We thought that rain would have brought relief but it created a sludge that was thick like heavy wet cement.  When the ash dried, we faced another problem – it became powdery on the top layer. This meant it blew all over. We thought the COVID-19 lockdowns were bad – they were the dress rehearsal because we could not even venture outdoors for many days.

Waiting It Out

I do not think it’s an exaggeration to describe Caribbean islanders as outdoors people.  We love the outdoors which has its origins in both the historical and cultural.  It’s a part of our very makeup.  The pandemic year has seen us ride out along with the rest of the world varying degrees of lock-down and on my island, we were just released from one. The curfew from December last year had just been lifted – then came the La Soufrière eruption.  We’ve gone from a people under lock-down to being locked in.

At least under the pandemic, we could move around the outside of our houses but with the volcanic ash, we were told for our own safety to stay indoors with windows and doors locked.  La Soufrière in English roughly translate to “sulphur in the air” and it was feared that the makeup of the ash not only contained sulphur but fluorene, glass particles among other compounds.  The broken rock is so fine that double masking was ordered for when we venture outside during lighter ash falls.  From head to toe including eyes should be covered.  Needless to say, this played havoc with our mental health and for those who liked a clean environment, inside and out – this was not our time.

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The Clean UP

Though coping with a volcanic eruption, is very specific and this article is dedicated to cleaning up the home garden after one – it is a natural disaster.  And as such, some suggestions bear consideration in the restoration of property.

We will look at the role of each of these elements in cleaning up and restoring the home garden.

Cleaning up became the biggest need.

Cleaning up dangerous ash during a pandemic with limited water draws upon every skill set and innovative thinking one can have.  It certainly reinforces the watering solution in the watering post.

• Watering
• Shade
• Tools for cleaning
• Cooperation

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Watering

When ash is constantly falling and the rain goes away, it makes watering by hose or can completely difficult when the volcanic ash poses a health hazard.  Putting in your water tubing and even a timer to further automate the process is enormously helpful.  Not to mention it is a water saver.

Shade

I cover a shade cover how-to post that is tremendously helpful during this time.  It is estimated that above the ground vegetables would become scarce and consequently quite expensive during this time since the volcanic ash has covered everything.  A condition that is like what obtains during hurricanes or excessive rainfall. 

One lesson, this experience has taught is the value of some shade cover in the garden beyond temperature control.  Shade cover certainly provides a protective covering for plants exposed to the excessive coverage of ash such as salad greens, even seedlings or specific plants one wants to save.  

This may be done more easily and on a smaller scale with PVC pipe and fittings.  As simple as putting stakes in the ground and bending the PVC over the area to build a small arched cover.  To cover a set of containers it may require building a base out of lengths of PVC with fittings at the appropriate sections to stick the arched pipe in.

Cleaning Tools

We thought that we had found a shortcut to taking up the ash, namely the shop vac.  Hooray!!!  No great expenditure of energy is needed on the roof in the blazing sun and no cover, right?  WRONG!

As much as we willed it so, the density of the ash had other ideas.  It only takes 4-inches to collapse some roofs and now I understand why.  A little bit weighs a lot.  With constantly falling ash it is definitely not something you want to build up.

This is where strategy had to be employed.

Shovel, Broom and Shop Vac Method

1. Use a broom to loosen the ash and the sweep in a pile or directly on the shovel for removal,
2. Once done, it was then easier to use the shop vac to remove the left over ash that the broom could not.
3. One caveat in using the shop vac, we used the bag for saw dust and/or cement.  This kept the filter relatively clean.

Vacuum Blower

My vacuum blower of choice is the Worxx.  There is no affiliate marketing in this post.  I just happen to like this combo tool as it normally makes quick work of leaf clearing.  For those of us unable to hold the bag and tool together, a small cart to hold the bag is helpful.

In this situation with the leaves covered with ash, the vacuum blower was not the best option due to the fine particles getting through the bag.  A rake and shovel or the leave grabber which is one tool that acts like big tongs worked well.

Power Washer

I hesitate to add this because it is probably the one tool while effective can pose a challenge to water-scarce countries when enough people use them.  Yet, I acknowledge its effectiveness in getting the job effectively and quickly done in removing those rather small particles.

Finally, under this section is a reminder that the ash is so fine, that I have realized is that it can cause some machinery problems.  We’ve been warned that it causes problems to vehicles and air conditions.  Servicing your tools should certainly not be overlooked.

There is no getting away from it that cleaning up after a natural disaster can get labour intensive.  Despite the focus of this site being to look for innovative ways to make home gardening easier, the introduction of an external factor such as a natural disaster limits automation but planning, organization, good old-fashioned elbow grease and cooperation can win the day.

Cooperation

There are times when elbow grease will simply be required.  As our nation tries to get our highways back to working order, water trucks are being used, so too are mechanized street sweepers and bobcats but at some stage, people with a shovel is needed. 

This too is the situation with cleaning up after a natural disaster.  Manual labour comes easier with cooperation with family, friends and neighbours.

Some of the things that require manual labour:

• Removing debris
• Removing ash from roofs
• Removing ash from vehicles
• Servicing of tools and machinery

All of this can certainly seem overwhelming, and it is true that generosity, compassion and care make this trial easier to bear.  But there is some good even in the bleakest of circumstances.  There is hope.

The Silver Lining – Gardening with Volcanic Ash

Good news – the ash is said to be an excellent fertilizer in the medium to long term.  It has also been noticed that snails and slugs do not fear as well in the ash-laden environment.

How it behaves it the Garden:

• I have noticed that in watering, the water stayed on top of the soil longer while underneath seemed to remain a little moist. 
• The ash appears to be acting somewhat as a mulch. 
• However, it is advisable to turn the topsoil, so that water could penetrate the soil better which is especially important for plants in containers.

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SUMMARY

To recap, here are the problems we solved:

Watering		The needs of plants do not simply go away because we are locked in or sheltering in place.  Having an irrigation system, no matter how simple can prove effective.  With an added timer the need to face the elements or a dangerous situation is greatly reduced.  The third significant benefit of such a system is its water efficiency.
Shade Cover		Shade is primarily thought to protect plants against higher temperatures, but it has other protective purposes, as well.  Under this event, a shade cover is quite beneficial in reducing the dust on plants, especially edible ones.
Cleaning Tools		On this site, we concentrate on innovative methods and tools that make home garden maintenance easier.  Some of the tools used are: BroomShovelShop VacVaccuum BlowerRakeLeaf grabber
Cooperation		However, cleaning up after a natural disaster can go beyond tools and becomes dependent on elbow grease and collaborative effort.  Sometimes there is no replacement for the goodwill of family, friends and neighbours.  As we say here, “Many hands make like work.”
Value Added		Experts have assured us that out of the volcano’s fallout, the sulphur-rich ash will boost the production of the plants.  We sincerely hope so.

CONCLUSION

As of June 2021, Barbados is pretty much back to normal after the national cleanup. The experts seem to be right as gardens seem to be flourishing with trees sending out new leaves and some other plants blossoming out of season.

Yet I would remind us not to forget our brothers and sisters in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, for they were the hardest hit and it will take them a very long time to recover and rebuild.

• Watering
• Shade
• Tools for cleaning
• Cooperation

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Links to some of the photographs used in this post.

Featured image: Barbadians, heeding Govt call, clean up …barbadostoday.bb

Ash Darkens Sky Over Barbados Amid St …dailytelegraph.com.au

Caribbean News – Barbados, Saint Lucia …newsamericasnow.com