Gardening How to get beds back on track after flood/rain?

[Michkin]

Hi guys!

I don't know if this is the right spot for this, but was wondering if Mark/this wonderful community would have some general advice for getting the garden (specifically raised beds) back 'on track' after all this terrible weather we've had on the East Coast.

Just can't help but feel like it's a constant uphill battle at the moment - absolutely nothing gets dry. It just feels like my raised beds are soaked, constantly a bit too wet. If they do dry up/settle a bit then it's always just a few days before more heavy rains. I don't think it's a drainage issue, have never had much of a problem before (but I've never experienced weather like this as a veggie gardener). Even just a quick serotonin-boosting crop of radishes feels too risky to sow. I've tried to keep on top of the 'mess' in the landscape, get rid of ornamentals that have flooded/dead plants etc to keep pests out... but it's all just chased down with more rain. Bigger problems than this in the world, I know, but it's sad when the garden is your happy place.

It's been a miserable season, at a time when we could have really used the homegrown produce! I'm optimistic for spring time, but have a ways to go with these beds before then.

So I guess this isn't a question as to how to amend beds for nutrients/season start... but how to handle all this bloody moisture! Would make a great video I'm sure... there are a good many of us in this boat I'd imagine.

Michkin
(Sydney, AU)

 

[DThille]

Greetings from soggy Manitoba. We’ve gotten off of three successive weekends of heavy precipitation…the first was snow, the second was a mix, and this weekend we got 48 mm according to my rain gauge. I feel your pain. After considerably higher than average snowfall this winter, the ground wasn’t thawed before the rains started so most turns to runoff.

As I understand things, you can handle moisture 2 ways - drain it off or infiltrate it. Draining isn’t a particularly self-sufficient way of dealing with it, unless you are draining to a water capture / storage solution (which requires some degree of property size to start with). Infiltration is probably the more ideal solution, although with sufficient moisture, almost any soil can ultimately become waterlogged (one of Mark’s recent videos showed him splashing through the back part of his property). A cover crop can help with taking up some of the moisture while helping the long term amendment of the soil.

No real solutions for you, but hopefully something to ponder.

 

[Michkin]

Greetings from soggy Manitoba. We’ve gotten off of three successive weekends of heavy precipitation…the first was snow, the second was a mix, and this weekend we got 48 mm according to my rain gauge. I feel your pain. After considerably higher than average snowfall this winter, the ground wasn’t thawed before the rains started so most turns to runoff.

As I understand things, you can handle moisture 2 ways - drain it off or infiltrate it. Draining isn’t a particularly self-sufficient way of dealing with it, unless you are draining to a water capture / storage solution (which requires some degree of property size to start with). Infiltration is probably the more ideal solution, although with sufficient moisture, almost any soil can ultimately become waterlogged (one of Mark’s recent videos showed him splashing through the back part of his property). A cover crop can help with taking up some of the moisture while helping the long term amendment of the soil.

No real solutions for you, but hopefully something to ponder.

Thanks DThille. I think I'm in the unfortunate spot of it just being too much moisture. A cover crop is a good idea though!

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

I agree with what DThille said. You can't really do much about it other than making sure it has plenty drainage. Some plants are also hardier and can handle waterlogged soil better than others.
It's often a very tough situation; a friend of mine has a pop-up "tent" that she'll put over them to keep the majority of the water out of her plants as she's stuck on a clay area that just won't drain.

 

[Michkin]

Thanks Mandy. So frustrating. LOL literally sitting over here wondering if I work through some vermiculite that'll help (I suspect it won't, and will just grab on to any upcoming rain more). I guess I just gotta wait it out, hope for a dryer period and then amend.