Bhg
  • Shop
  • News
  • Food
  • DIY
  • Garden
  • Renovating
  • Decorating
  • Health
  • TV
  • Hard to Find
Bhg
  • Shop
  • News
  • Food
  • DIY
  • Garden
  • Renovating
  • Decorating
  • Health
  • TV
  • Hard to Find
Subscribe
  1. Home
  2. Garden

How to help your garden cope in wet weather

Protect your garden from wet weather damage. - by Shahbaz Malik
  • 15 Jun 2021

Rain is usually welcomed in the garden, but it can also cause damage when too much rain falls all at once.

WATCH: Melissa And Charlie’s Tips For Gardening In Winter

Too much rain can lead to erosion, waterlogged plants, pest outbreaks and disease problems. For the novice gardener, heavy rainfall can be critical. Luckily, you're in the right place. 

Here are six helpful tips to help your garden survive a big wet.

1. Set up a trench

If you have a large garden, don’t waste the much needed rainwater in heavy downpours. Harvest it instead by digging a trench to redirect the water to places where it is needed, including areas suffering from dryness.

Swales can also help here, especially if your garden is on a slope. They are infiltration trenches which harvest the water by slowing it down and allowing it to soak into the soil.

2. Pest control

With rain comes unwanted pests, most notably snails and slugs.

To stop them from taking over your garden, you can sprinkle crushed egg shells around the base of your little seedlings. The sharpness of the eggshells is difficult on the insects’ delicate slimy tummies and deter them from damaging young plants.

Bake the egg shells on a tray for around 10 minutes until they become hard before placing in your garden.

rain puddle
Getty Images

3. Slow release fertiliser

In order to keep nutrients within your soil, and replace the ones lost during major rainfall, it is best to feed your soil with plant foods which release their nutrients gradually. This can include granules and organic manure pellets.

4. Harvest regularly

Jump into the practice of picking edible plants once they reach harvest stage during humid weather. If left for longer, it can increase the risk of spoilage (deterioration of fruits and veg) and they can become a pest hot spot.

garden wet
Getty Images

5. Mulch

Applying a layer of mulch does wonders. It absorbs the rainwater and helps keep moisture within the soil. It also helps reduce splashing and prevents soil erosion due to it acting as a protective barrier.

6. Add organic matter

To hold moisture in the soil, make sure you add plenty of organic matter, in the form of manure and compost. This is equally important with sandy soils as it is with clay-based soils, which otherwise can become waterlogged during wet periods and crack when the weather turns dry.

  • Garden
  • Backyard Ideas

Treat yourself to a subscription-Save up to 25%

Plus, your chance to win

Subscribe Now
Treat yourself to a subscription

Treat yourself to a subscription-Save up to 25%

Plus, your chance to win

Subscribe Now
Treat yourself to a subscription

Recommended to you

YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR
Watch 6:32

YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR

{headline}

{headline}

Melissa and Charlie’s tips for gardening in winter

Melissa and Charlie’s tips for gardening in winter

How to make an underground compost bin

How to make an underground compost bin

How to plant or move deciduous trees

How to plant or move deciduous trees

10 things your landscaper won’t tell you

10 things your landscaper won’t tell you

{headline}

{headline}

How to grow and care for African violets

How to grow and care for African violets

How to grow lavender

How to grow lavender

How to plan your spring garden

How to plan your spring garden

{headline}

{headline}

How to build a pallet wall planter

How to build a pallet wall planter

Graham visits Cloudehill Gardens

Graham visits Cloudehill Gardens

How to grow ginger plants

How to grow ginger plants

How to make a self-watering pot

How to make a self-watering pot

How to grow rosemary

How to grow rosemary

5 fabulous palms to plant

5 fabulous palms to plant

How to improve clay soil

How to improve clay soil

Bhg
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Bhg Magazine Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Brands

  • All Recipes
  • BHG Shop
  • Girlfriend
  • Home Beautiful
  • New Idea
  • New Idea Food
  • Practical Parenting

Our Network

  • marie claire
  • Beauty Crew
  • Who
  • Women's Weekly Food
  • Bounty Parents
  • That’s Life
  • Perth Now
  • The West Australian
  • 7Plus
  • 7mate
  • 7NEWS
  • 7Sport
  • Sunrise
  • Starts at 60
  • Hard to Find
© 2022 Are Media PTY LTD
All products are independently selected, tested or recommended by our team of experts.If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Get more from Better Homes and Gardens

Magazine Subscription Offer

Treat yourself to a subscription-Save up to 25%

Shop This Offer
Treat yourself to a subscription