Rainy Season HomeLandcareRainy Season During the rainy - TopicsExpress

Rainy Season HomeLandcareRainy Season During the rainy season, some are happy to see their lush garden while others are saddened to see their investment negatively impacted. The rain replenishes your plants’ life, encouraging increased vegetative growth. Once there is an increase in vegetative growth, there will also be an increase in CO2 being absorbed from the atmosphere during photosynthesis, the process by which plants use sunlight to make food. With this boost of CO2, there will be a further increase of carbon sink, which by extension also encourages plant growth. Therefore, people enjoy cleaner air to breathe, which is one healthy benefit of the rainy season. On the other hand, many people suffer drastic losses to their garden during this season. We will now look at ways to rectify and minimize the loss of your favorite plant/s. It would be an excellent idea to cover your entire garden with Ultra Violet plastic and take all your favorite potted plants indoor until the heavy rain is over. But let’s face it, it is very unlikely that this would be a feasible option for most. As a result of this, we must recognise some of the potential problems that may occur because of the heavy rain. Of these are, root rot, new shoots and seedlings damping off and the attack of fungus and/or bacteria on your plants. After the heavy rainfall, you will also be faced with soil erosion, which will leave plant roots exposed, leaching of essential macro and micro nutrients from the soil and water logged areas where water may have been trapped. When attending to your devastated garden with your heart broken, try not to create additional damage. Therefore, be careful not to walk too close to the plants where the soil is saturated, so as to minimize further compaction to the roots. This action is to ensure that root growth will not be limited and your plants will experience healthy re-growth. For areas in the garden where water is trapped, you should try to create drainage to get the water out and reduce the fungalattack , as well as destroy the haven provided by the stagnant water for slugs and other harmful pests. We further recommend that you treat your plants with an appropriate fungicide & bactericide after the rain. When applying these chemicals, make sure to read the instructions carefully, use protective gears and properly apply to plant roots. We also recommend that you use an all purpose organic based fertilizer to incorporate into the soil to replenish it with the essential nutrients for your plants that have been leached out through the erosion process. In addition, most of the plants in our gardens, here in the Caribbean, require well drained soil. Thus, persons living in low lying flood prone areas should take extra precaution by creating raised beds in your garden for your plants. Lastly, never forget to aerate your garden beds that may have become compacted during the pedestrian traffic that most times accumulates after the heavy rain. For further information, do not hesitate to contact us or your local gardener.Happy Gardening!