There is nothing quite so frustrating as working hard in your garden, only to find that the natural elements wear it away. If your garden has suffered a disaster either due to excessive flooding or a storm, restoring your garden is about restoring it following some simple dos and don’ts.
Dos and Donts of Restoring Your Garden Post-disaster
Here are some measures to take–and which things you should avoid.
Do: Rinse the Plants
If your garden has been flooded with saltwater, you will need to wash and rinse the plants off immediately. Doing this will remove any chance of disease spreading through the leaves and stems of your garden plants. If your garden has been flooded, and you’ve got the water damage companies on the case, this is one thing you can do to make sure that your plants don’t wither and die. You need to wash the plants immediately and water them well within the space of 48 to 72 hours.
Don’t: Apply Fertilizer
You may think that you are giving your garden a fighting chance by adding fertilizer to your plants but if you have experienced a flood, it’s very likely that the plants will be full of salt anyway. As fertilizer has salt in it, it is more likely to increase the likelihood of damage to your plants. You have to wait until the plants begin to show any signs of strong growth. Once they have recovered their strength, you can apply fertilizer, but just make sure that you read the directions and apply the right amount. You may feel the temptation to add a stronger dose but do not, as this can damage delicate roots.
Do: Make Compost
If your garden has been viciously attacked by a storm, you might want to consider making a storm compost pile. Make sure that you do this in and out of the way part of the garden, and by doing this, you will be making an organic pile of compost, by layering debris, stems, and leaves that can become compost. At least this way, something beneficial will arise from the damage.
Don’t: Eat the Vegetables or Fruits
If you are growing fruit and vegetables, you may find that they are contaminated. Winter vegetables such as squash have hard rinds, and these hard rinds can be dangerous. If you are cutting the fruit and vegetables open, make sure you clean them thoroughly.
Do: Prune the Plants, if needed
After cleaning mud and salt off the plants, you need to see what is broken. If you see there’s any new growth emerging, you can start to prune the plants to encourage this.
And finally, you may think that dealing with any water damage can set you back a long time. However, repairing your garden after any form of natural disaster, whether it’s rainy or a really bad storm, can give you some newfound perspective. If you’ve been thinking that you need to upgrade your garden, now is the opportunity to think about what you can do to start all over again.
Perhaps the storm exposed to you some particular weaknesses in your garden. And you can now incorporate some stronger, and sturdier components so it can weather the next storm. To that end, consider restoring your garden after a flood or disaster a chance at a fresh start.
She has a B.S.Ed. in Secondary Education/English and a Spanish Minor. In addition, she holds a Certificate in Natural Health from a fully-accredited program and is a Certified Herbologist. She pursued these natural wellness certifications due to her love for herb gardening.
Despite freelancing to make a living, her love is "all things home."
Deborah grew up in a family that grew a large vegetable garden and a fruit orchard, helping her parents pull weeds and can home-grown foods as part of her childhood. In fact, she had no idea that she could purchase veggies and fruits in pre-packed steel cans until she went to college and made a food run.
Today, she lives in Bertie County, North Carolina, an agricultural rural area with more chickens than people. She lives with her husband and two rescue pets a sweet toy fox terrier and a cat who showed up one day and moved into the house. Together, they enjoy DIY projects, furniture refinishing, gardening, and canning.
