Garden fixes after heavy rain
Better Homes and Gardens’ resident landscaper, Jason Hodges, shares his advice for tending to the garden after heavy rain.
When it comes to the garden and heavy rain, you need to be prepared. Where does water sit? What gets washed away? How are your drains working or failing? All things you can repair and get working for the future success of your garden.
The heavy rain has saturated our soil, and strong winds have toppled over trees all week, but long-term, the saturated soil can hurt all plants in the garden. When the soil is water-logged the root system can drown from lack of oxygen. The first thing I would do is rake some mulch away allowing for some evaporation, either with a garden fork or even something like a cricket stump. Make some holes to allow air in and for the water to fill and again evaporate.
Snails and slugs are opportunists and thrive and reproduce when times are good – they love the rain and the wet conditions afterwards. To control them I like to use a take-away container with a splash of beer in it. Placed level with the garden bed the snails go in and never leave.
If your garden was flooded don’t be too quick to think the water’s gone down and everything’s fine. If they’re in the garden, avoid eating leafy vegetables such as lettuce, kale and spinach. They may have been contaminated by the flood water. Fruit trees such as citrus should be fine within a short period of time.
Now that it has stopped raining it’s never too late to clean the gutters. Overflowing gutters can damage gardens and undermine the footings of your house. When you’re up a ladder either doing the gutters or any other job in the garden I recommend you have a second person with you, an extra set of hands to hold the ladder, spot problems and just pass you tools. It makes the process a lot safer and quicker.
Look out for mould, moss and mildew that might grow on shady, damp paths over the next few weeks. A blast with a pressure washer will be a quick fix and a lot more enjoyable than slipping A over Z. A weak solution of vinegar and water will kill mould and mildew if you don’t have a pressure washer.
Look for branches that may have been damaged but are still hanging in the tree. They will become more obvious as the foliage browns off and dies. Cleaning up the tear and damage will give the tree a better chance of recovery.
If you have a watering system, override it and turn it off for a couple of weeks. The last thing the garden needs is a drink. If your pots were full of water remove the saucers and allow them to drain.
It’s a hard time to garden after heavy rain, but let’s be thankful for it and hope we can enjoy the long-term benefits of having moisture deep down in our soil.
Written by Jason Hodges. First appeared on Domain.com.au.
Image: Getty