New Zealand has experienced a tumultuous summer so far, with many periods of heavy rain. If you spent a lot of time over spring cultivating new growth so you’d have a beautiful backyard come summer, you may be feeling a bit defeated as your garden gets very waterlogged. However, there are a number of tactics you can take to stop your hard work being undone by the deluge, and keep your plants safe until the weather improves.
Support taller plants
When heavy rain is due to hit, it’s a good idea to give taller, narrow stemmed plants some extra support. This is due to heavy rain often putting extra weight and strain on plants, meaning that taller, fine stemmed plants are at risk of snapping. Give these plants some extra support in the form of stakes or bamboo poles with a gentle material such as stocking to secure the stems. If your plants still suffer some snapped smaller limbs and branches, it pays to remove these tidily with some secateurs post rain, before they rot and impact the health of your plant.
Use mulch to reduce soil compaction
Excessive rain often results in soil compaction, where the soil condenses tightly around plant bases, stopping oxygen from penetrating the surface and holding the moisture around the roots which can lead to rot. Mulch will assist with retaining moisture at surface level and distributing it to the soil only when it is at maximum capacity.
Check your veggie garden for exposed roots
After the rain, check your gardens for soil displacement that resulted in exposed roots. Ensure that any exposed roots are recovered with soil or compost to stop them drying out. Plant roots must be covered in ordered to supply the plant with nutrients, oxygen and water, and if your veggie plants have exposed roots after a storm they will soon die if left unaided.
Pull weeds out by hand
One of the few benefits of heavy rain is that it leaves the soil soft – meaning that weeds can quite easily be pulled out by hand. If you have a period of heavy rain, with sunny days scheduled to follow, your weeds will soar in the humid climate. Therefore its best to get onto weeds post rain, while the ground is still soft, and pull them out.
Protect small and potted plants
An easy way to protect seedlings, outdoor pot plants or anything especially delicate close to the ground is to flip empty pots upside down over top of them to keep them safe in severe weather. Not only can this assist in diverting some of the heavy rain, it can also prevent plants from snapping in strong winds.
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