Gardeners' World: Adam Frost details how to mulch soil
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Your flower beds can be devastated in periods of heavy rain. If you let your plants sit in waterlogged beds they will become oxygen starved and could die. Here are some expert tips on how to save your garden during periods of heavy rain.
If you let your plants sit in soil saturated with water, it reduces the oxygen available to their roots.
It will eventually cause yellow leaves, root rot and eventually death.
Most plants will not cope well if left in saturated soils for long. Very few plants will tolerate boggy conditions.
Even though periods of heavy rain and floods may be unavoidable, you can improve your flower beds drainage to help the saturation drain away.
What is waterlogging?
Waterlogging occurs when water is unable to drain away, and it most commonly occurs in flower beds.
If your soil is waterlogged, it leaves no air spaces in the saturated soil which means your plants will effectively drown.
How to mitigate waterlogging
The best way to prevent flower beds from becoming waterlogged is to ensure they have good drainage.
Prick your lawn
Make sure that you routinely ‘prick’ or ‘slit’ the surface of your flower beds, It also works for your lawn.
Simply prick shallow holes of two to three centimetres deep.
It may seem counterintuitive but simply growing more plants can actually help prevent your garden from becoming waterlogged.
Building raised flower beds can also help. It means you can fill these beds with good quality, free-draining topsoil which will help help your plants out of the soggy earth below.
Use bark chippings – they are great for absorbing excess moisture. If you often suffer from waterlogged beds be sure to sprinkle these on top of the soil.
If you routinely suffer from a waterlogged lawn, you might want to bite the bullet and install artificial grass.
But make sure that you put a permeable sub-base layer underneath the turf to make sure the water drains away.
What to do after floods
After flooding, be sure to hose down hard surfaces such as patios and paving, and brush up sand and collect debris.
It will prevent drains blocking and soil surfaces from being covered.
Avoid touching the soil if it is waterlogged. If you compact it, it will make the situation worse.
Source: Read Full Article