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The monsoon season can be both a blessing and a challenge for your kitchen garden. While the rain showers bring relief from the harsh heat of the summer, the excess water in the soil beds can also harm plants. But to carefully manage the situation, you can plan ahead and prepare your kitchen garden for the monsoon season.
From managing the humid weather to ways to prevent the breeding of pests, you must take some essential steps to protect your kitchen garden before the rains hit. To ensure that your plants yield a high production of fruits, vegetables, or herbs, just follow these tips, and the monsoon season will not create havoc in your garden.
Improve Drainage
The heavy rain showers in the monsoon season can cause waterlogging. The excess water can seep into the ground and rot the roots, cause fungal diseases, and risk nutrient leaching. To make sure your kitchen garden doesn’t suffer during the monsoon season, you can raise the soil beds using bricks, add organic matter to the soil, and ensure all the pots have drainage holes.
Add Mulch To Soil
One of the most effective ways to safeguard your plants from heavy rains is by applying a thick layer of mulch around them. A layer of mulch will act as a natural insulator, thus protecting the roots. You can spread 2-3 inches of mulch made with materials like straw or leaves around the base of the plant. This step becomes more important if you have root vegetables planted in your home garden.
Deep Fertilisation
Since the rainwater can erode the nutrients from the soil, you’ll need to pay more attention to fertilisation. Before the monsoon season hits, you can start by adding compost, manure, or organic fertilisers deep into the soil and make sure the plants get essential vitamins and minerals. Furthermore, the addition of garden soil or cocopeat can further increase the yield of the harvest.
Set Up Support
The monsoon season is often accompanied by thunderstorms and heavy winds. Due to the winds, there is a risk that delicate plants in your kitchen garden might get damaged. To prevent them from falling, set up some support using sturdy stakes made with bamboo, wood, or metal that can help them stand tall even in harsh weather conditions.
Pest Control
The damp and humid weather conditions make kitchen gardens a breeding ground for pests. To make sure your fruit and vegetable plants are not infected, inspect them for signs of diseases and keep a close eye out for pests. Also, keep adding organic pesticides like neem oil or insect-repellent herbs after every rain shower.
