It appears that Monsoon season has somehow made its way to our little farm and garden here in Ohio!
In the last two weeks, we have had rain fall totals at the farm of an inch or more on 7 separate days – with two of those days filling the rain gauge to the 2″ level.
Downpours at the farm like this have been all too common lately!
And with rain in the forecast for nearly every single day this coming week – there doesn’t seem to be much of an end in sight!
Fortunately – even though the rest of the farm is soaking wet and littered with puddles – our raised row garden is growing strong and handling the excess water in stride – making all of this rain a bit more bearable.
Why Raised Garden Rows work so well in heavy rains…or drought.
Of the many advantages raised rows bring to gardening (simplicity, less weeds, less maintenance, etc.) – I would have to say that the ability to handle too much or too little water is one of the most important.
This photo was shot about 15 minutes after the rain photo above – and as you can see, the garden is ready to go.
During periods of heavy rain – like we have had over the course of the last few weeks – the raised rows allow excess water to shed off and away from the plants – keeping the soil around the plants moist, but not flooded.
In addition to keeping the plants from drowning in too much water – the raised rows also allow us to work in the garden at any point – and not have to wait days for the soil to dry out. This is a huge advantage that allows us to keep on a simple maintenance schedule – something we wouldn’t be able to do in a more traditional flat-tilled garden.
While the garden was dry – the driveway showed the effects of the rain!
Yesterday was a great example of that – when minutes after a quick 1/4″ downpour, we were both able to work the rows without any problems at all – even though the rest of the farm was covered in a small river from the rain.
Not to be lost in all of this is that raised rows work just as well in dry conditions too. Those same raised beds that shed off the excess water during heavy rains work to conserve the moisture around plants and regulate soil temperature during periods of little or no rain.
We could use a little sun to turn these blooms into zucchini
However, with all of that said – and as happy as we are with our raised rows – we really could use some sunlight here soon to start turning those tomatoes red – and dry the farm out!
Happy Gardening – Jim and Mary
For more on raised beds, see : How To Create A Simple Raised Row Garden
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