Gardening after deluges of rain can be hard but worth it for our mental health.
This morning while sloshing through mud and mumbling to myself about all my worries, I pulled weeds. The ground was wet and pliable and I just kept going until I realised my mental chatter had stopped and I was calm again.
Recent weather events have lead to our home gardens being inundated with large amounts of water. Unfortunately our productive gardens may not be exactly ready for plantings and other established plants are rotting in the ground … I have already lost all my poppy seedlings I planted out at Easter!
Some quick tips for gardening after the rain.
Always wear shoes and gloves, never go into deep water
Deal with the big stuff first. Remove any rubbish that may have gotten into your gardens. With the wind and water flow I have found plastic containers, soft drink bottles and other general bits and bobs in my garden.
Clean debris out of Gardens, any broken branches excess mulch, stones ….
Wash foliage of plants covered in mud. A lot of my groundcovers have been covered in mud as the water is just flowing right over the top of them!
Check drainage lines, is there anything you can do to divert water or make water disperse quicker. I have found a few of my drains had mud in them still from last lot of rain we received.
Trim neatly any broken branches or limbs. Plants can handle a light prune but remember now is not the time for a garden overhaul. Plants are already stressed. Hold off major trimming or plant replacement until the weather behaves.
Check to see if plants are sitting in water. Wilting and leaf drop is a sign of stress not just from drying out but also from too much water.
Accept that some plants may have died. Many gardens around the Ipswich region are planted out with dry Mediterranean plants such as Rosemary and Lavender as well as dry Western Australian natives such as Grevilleas and Kangaroo Paw. Many of these plants can't handle having wet feet and then humidity for extended periods of time. Since these weather events aren’t consistent it doesn't mean changing your whole gardening style it just means accepting some losses.
Don't granular fertilise your gardens just yet. There may be more rain on the way and all that fertiliser may just runoff. Wait until we know for sure no large amounts of water on on their way. After a few weeks, you can give your plants a fertilise with an organic fertiliser like Organic Link
You can Liquid Fertilise. Once the heavy downpours stop I will be giving the nursery and my home garden a liquid fertilise with Plant Care and Neem Oil in Birchy. I will be doing this little and often until the weather starts to behave.
Buy some Beneficial insects or keep up with the neem and or pyrethrum. Insects are having an absolute ball in this weather and are multiplying faster than rabbits. This leads to them causing a lot of problems in my garden. I am regularly using neem oil as a preventive and when times get really tough, I spray with pyrethrum.
Apply Dolomite after this deluge of rain finishes. Calcium and Magnesium are water-soluble so your garden's soil will be very depleted of these trace elements. Dolomite is a great way to replenish these levels without affecting the pH of your soil. Low magnesium and calcium can affect many edibles as well as acidic loving plants such as camellias.
Mulch. Your gardens are wet make the most of it. Keep that dampness in and weeds down.
Don't forget to water your potted plants if they are undercover and can't get rainwater.
Try to enjoy being outside. We’ve been spending so much time locked up inside lately. Time to get out of the house and get some fresh air.