So What If the Rain Won’t Go Away?

This is another one of those “if I had a $1 for every time” posts—- All I’m hearing about right now is “Are my tubers going to rot?” It’s been a very wet year so far in the Southeast. I’m writing this only a few hours after our power came back on - we just had a huge storm that dumped a ton of water. And it’s been raining almost every day!

So let’s talk about DRAINAGE!

First off- the reality. There’s not a ton you can do to fix bad drainage for the immediate future. But there are a lot of plans you can put into place for the long-term future. So let’s make some future plans!

What exactly is good drainage in soil? Good drainage is when the water can pass through your soil at a moderate rate. Clear as mud right? Realistically you want the water to not pool on the surface but also you don’t want it to dry out too quickly. But we all know that sometimes the water comes down too fast for the soil to be able to handle it efficiently. After a heavy storm, it’s going to pool on top. My personal measurement is- “Does it drain off in less than 24 hours?” If so, all good. I have heavy clay soil so if it can drain the water from a pooling point in 24 hours or less- that’s not half bad.

But what if the water is standing for days? How do you fix poor drainage in your soil?
1. Organic Matter- Soils that are high in organic matter hold water but also let it pass through. They are kinda like sponges- plenty of holes to let unnecessary amounts of water through but will hold what it needs. You can get more organic matter in your soil in several ways. Adding compost is one of the easiest. Compost is just all the leftover waste from your garden and it turns into black gold. Compost not only adds nutrients but also add organic matter to your soil which will help handle how water moves in your soil.
Shredded leaves are a another excellent addition. You do want to make sure they are shredded- whole leaves will just create an impenetrable mat that breaks down slowly. We bought a leaf shredder for the farm 2 years ago and have been adding shredded leaves to our beds each fall. It’s making a massive difference and it doesn’t take that much either. We put about the equivalent of 2 unshredded wheelbarrow loads in a 4x16 area. So it’s a pretty thin layer but it makes a world of difference.
We began mulching our dahlias with straw 3 years ago and as it breaks down it’s turning into great organic matter for our soil. I love a product like this that does double duty!

2. Gypsum- This stuff is magic! I’m not totally sure how it works but 2 years ago we did an application of gypsum on almost our entire farm. It takes a bit to really see the benefits but 2 years on, I can tell. There’s a difference in the few areas that didn’t get the application. And the awesome thing about it is that you can’t over apply it. If your soil doesn’t need it, it just holds it until it does. Gypsum adjusts the tilth of your soil and for clay soils, this is a game changer.

3. Lay of the land- Don’t discount growing on a slight slope. I thought it would be hard when we began our farm but on wet years like this, I’m so thankful for a slope to grow on. And you don’t need much. If you are prepping a new area to grow in, give it just a slight slope, it may not even be noticeable to most people but it will help move that water off.
Raised beds will help with this if you are on a flat land situation (and even if you aren’t). You can do permanent style beds or just rake the dirt up a few inches.

4. Drains and Grading- Depending on how bad your drainage situation is, you may need to have portions of your land regraded or add drains. We had to have some of ours regraded back in 2018- it made a huge difference. And then in 2020, we added a huge drainage ditch at the top of the hill (top of the flower field) to catch water coming down from above that. Physically changing the water flow made a huge difference!

So if you are having drainage issues this year, it’s time to make a plan for the off season. I promise you it will pay off in the long run. I feel like everything we have done to improve our drainage on this farm has been for this season! So bring it on rain! (but leave the hurricanes in the Atlantic please!)