Article Written By: Johan Jansen van Vuuren
Store Manager @ GardenShop Menlo Park

It’s rainy season in our beautiful province and we at GardenShop would like to share some helpful hints and tips to assist you in your gardening during the wet weather.

• After a heavy downpour, remember to remove any dead or damaged shoots from your plants, as well as any soggy rotten flowers you may find.
• Use support structures to protect taller plants, especially lollypops, which are very top heavy after the rain.
• If you don’t have a rain sensor attached to your irrigation controller, make sure you switch off your irrigation system, so as not to waste water or damage your system.
• To prevent the compacting of soil, avoid walking in wet flower beds.
• Heavy rains over a long period will have a negative impact on your garden by causing outbreaks of bacterial and fungal diseases. Ensure that you check your plants for any ‘nasties’ during and after the rainy season.
• Lots of rain means lots of weeds. Make sure you get them out before they spread seeds. It is a lot easier pulling them out with the complete taproot system while the soil is still damp.
• Rainy weather is the best time to feed your garden because the fertilizer will be soaked up much faster with the rain.
• This is also the perfect time to check your drainage system and identify the areas that have insufficient drainage. You can then attend to these areas, to prevent plants from soaking in excessive water for too long – as this will cause them to die.
• If you see some of the leaves on your deciduous trees curling, do not worry. They sometimes curl up before a thunderstorm because of the sudden increase of moisture in the air that precedes a storm.