I am exhausted to the bone. Normally, at this time of year, I get excited about seed starting. I take stock of my seed supplies, order seeds I’m missing, and start planning out my garden. This year, I’ve yet to do any of that. I’m too overwhelmed and tired, so I’ve decided to forego starting seeds indoors. Instead, I’m planning on buying seedlings. It wasn’t a decision I made lightly. But I just couldn’t burden myself with yet another task. I’ll still be gardening this year, just a little differently. I’ll stick to quick-growing crops for the most part, and I’ll be grabbing seedlings from my local nursery—here’s hoping they offer contactless delivery this spring!

I figured some people might be in the same boat as me. Tired. Unmotivated. There are also plenty of gardeners who don’t have room or time to start seedlings indoors. Buying seedlings is totally fine! Unfortunately, it can get expensive if you don’t plan correctly. Here are a few tips to getting the most out of your money when shopping for seedlings.

Shopping for Seedlings on a Budget

Here’s how to get the biggest bang for your buck when buying seedlings for your garden this year.

• Set a budget. It’s really easy to go overboard when shopping for plants in the spring. The nursery is full of beautiful lush plants, and the temptation can be overwhelming. Have a budget in mind before you head out and be strict with keeping to it. You can always go back and get more plants if you need to!
• Make a plan. Don’t go to your local nursery without a plan. Sketch out your garden and figure out what you plan to put where. Are you growing square-foot-style? Know how many varieties of each plant you need per square.
• Stick to slow-growing plants. Unless you have the budget, stick to buying slow-growing plants like tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers. Lettuce and other greens are easy to grow from seed, so don’t bother wasting money on those.
• Cap the number of new-to-you plants. Don’t blow your budget on exotic plants or varieties you’ve never grown before. Buy one or two new options but overall, stick to tried-and-true stuff.
• Avoid large plants. You’ll pay a premium for very large plants, but you don’t need to start with a giant tomato plant to get a decent crop. The advantage to buying an oversized plant is that you can harvest earlier, but that privilege will cost you.
• Prepare in advance. Prep your garden before you head out to the nursery. Have everything ready so you can bring your plants home and transplant them straight away. Amend your beds with compost, get some mulch ready, and make sure the soil is moist. If it’s still early in the spring, prepare space for your new plants inside your home.

Don’t forget that you can also find seedlings for a steal around your neighborhood. Check Facebook Marketplace listings for gardeners who are selling (or giving away!) their extra seedlings. Ask gardener friends to share their extra seedlings with you. Inquire with local gardening clubs to find out if they have any upcoming seed swaps or seedling sales.

Or alternatively if you need to raise some extra money to buy seeds, you have lots of options. Seeds cost less than $10, so you can always sell some of your old stuff on Facebook Marketplace, Offer up Craigslist. Old toys, comic books stored in bins or tools you arent using usually do pretty well.

With more people seeing the benefits of having a garden at home, the demand for professional services for gardening and landscaping grows. This is why you’ll be making a good call by starting a garden and landscaping company. If you’d like to know how you can do this with a good chance of success, read on for five great tips.

1. Consider Financing

Financing plays a major role in any business, so you need to secure financing for your company from the start. Look into different options to find out where you can get this to keep your company running. While at it, you should think about enlisting the help of an expert to make sure that you’re aware of all your financial obligations from a legal point. You should also learn about things like invoice factoring. This is a type of accounts receivable financing that converts all outstanding invoices that are due in 90 days into immediate cash that you can use in your small business. When you use such a service, you can focus on other aspects of your garden business!

2. Think About the Services You’ll Offer

You also need to know the specific services that your garden and landscaping company will offer. This will enable you to plan for the future and you can understand the risks and other details that you need to plan for. At the start, you can offer minimal services, which you’ll be able to comfortably and efficiently work on with the best outcome. Don’t be tempted to bite off more than you can chew because you may end up ruining your reputation when you fail at a task that you have on your list of services. Clients are not likely to give you a second chance if you disappoint them the first time, so make sure to only provide services you’re capable of offering well and profitably.

3. Build a Great Website

Every single company in this digital age needs to have a solid online presence. This is because many people head online to find products and services that they need, so not having a website is leaving money on the table. You’ll miss out on potential clients if you don’t have a digital presence, so invest in one and ensure that it’s of good quality. Note that 50% of consumers believe that the design of a website is crucial to the overall brand of a business. This means that you should hire a professional marketing agency to create and optimize a website for your business.

4. Research the Equipment You’ll Need

It’s important for you to also start with a good idea of the equipment that you’ll need to keep your business running. This will be dictated by the services that you intend to offer so you can see the importance of planning such details from the start. When you know the equipment you need to get, it’ll also be possible to come up with a reasonable budget and seek financing the right way.

5. Consider the Team You’ll Hire

Finally, you should know the positions for which you’ll need to hire so that you can start searching for the best employees for your company. This will entail determining the skills and qualifications they need and putting up advertisements to find them. You could also network and rely on word of mouth to help you get good candidates for your open positions. Note that employees who are engaged are about 87% less likely to quit, so be sure you keep this in mind as you onboard and start taking on clients.

With these five tips, you can start a successful landscaping company and scale up over time. Make consistent efforts so that you can get a better outcome in good time.

August is officially here, which means autumn is right around the corner. While the idea of getting your garden ready for the cooler season might seem overwhelming, you don’t need to worry! Here’s how you can revamp your garden for fall without breaking your budget.

1. Compare Prices of Tools Online

If you’ve been using your tools throughout the spring and summer, you probably know if they need to be replaced by now. Prepare for the fall by deciding which tools you need to buy. Once you know what you need, compare the prices online so that you can buy it at the best rate. However, when you shop online, it is important to know what you are doing. Server attacks can leave you vulnerable to identity and credit card theft. Even Amazon recently had to guard itself against a massive DDoS attack on its server, with a peak volume of 2.3 Tbsp, which is the largest ever recorded. However, if you are careful with your information as you shop online, you can get some really great deals on necessary garden tools.

2. Buy Perennials When They’re On Sale

Unlike annuals, perennial plants will grow back on their own in the spring. This means that if you buy it once, you don’t need to keep buying the same plant in order to enjoy its presence in your garden. Perennials can be expensive when the season is just beginning. However, as fall arrives, garden centers will want to get rid of the perennials they have in stock. This means you’re likely to find some great sale prices for these plants. While this might not serve you so well this year, it will allow you to have the beautiful plants you want next year without paying full price for them.

3. Recycle Old Fall Decor

If you’ve lived in your home for a while, you likely have some fall decor already. However, it can get worn out over the years. This is especially true when you’re using it outside in your garden. Look at your existing fall decors and see how you can recycle them. Some of it might not be salvageable and you’ll need to dispose of it. Others, however, could be upcycled into something new and fun. This will take a little extra work, but result in an exciting new addition to your fall garden that doesn’t require you to spend a lot of money on it.

4. Consider Planting a Fall Garden

Did you know that some plants thrive in cool fall weather? A fall garden can be a great way to keep getting fresh produce well into the autumn, saving you money on your grocery bills. It can also add some color and decor to your yard as you plan for the fall. Look into what you need to grow things like kale and cabbage. If you plan it during the summer, you’ll be all set for a successful fall garden.

5. Clean Your Tools

Before you put your gardening tools away for the winter, make sure that they are clean. The last thing you want to do in the spring is to pull out your tools to find them rusted or caked with dirt. If you’re unsure of the best way to clean and store your tools, look for a website or server that can help you. If you take the time to do this now, you’ll be in better shape for spring.

Getting your garden ready for fall does not need to be expensive. Whether you’re planning another round of gardening or putting things to bed for the winter, you can do so cheaply. Then, you’ll be ready to start it all over again in the spring.

If you grow your plants from seeds then you probably know what a humidity dome is. (If not, don’t worry, we’ll go over it briefly below.) Just like with all of your other gardening supplies, you can buy humidity domes from a variety of different sources. However, you can also DIY them. Here are some cheap and economical humidity dome alternatives.

What Is a Humidity Dome?

A humidity dome sounds like really fancy device, doesn’t it? Bootstrap Farmer says that they’re an important part of your seed starting tool kit. But what are they? Basically, they’re just plastic lids for your seed trays. Very important, very helpful, but not necessarily fancy at all.

Why Use a Humidity Dome For Seed Starting?

Humidity domes help retain moisture in the soil. Instead of evaporating into the air, the plastic lid catches the moisture and keeps it there with the seeds. Additionally, the lid helps maintain an even temperature for the seeds in the tray. Benefits of using a humidity dome include:

• Less time spent watering
• Less time spent checking and maintaining temperature
• Improved germination rates
• Faster germination
• Protection for delicate, expensive, favorite seeds

Are they necessary? Some say yes, some say no. But as long as you can find cheap and economical humidity dome alternatives then there’s really no harm in at least seeing if they improve your seed growing process.

Cheap and Economical Humidity Dome Alternatives

So, you can obviously shop around and purchase a variety of humidity domes for your gardening. And you can purchase seed trays that come with their own domes. But you can also come up with your own cheap and economical humidity dome alternatives. For example, alternatives offered in a National Gardening Association forum and over on the Green Upside website include:

Living Lettuce Containers

Obviously, these are already designed to grow plants – you buy them with lettuce growing inside. When you’re done with the lettuce, use the container. It’s roomy, about the same width as height, and it’s a great option for starting your seeds in at home.

Plastic Wrap

Green Upside explains that you can use plastic wrap around an egg carton seed starting tray or almost any other container to create the humidity dome.

Plastic Bag

Alternatively, you can use a plastic bag the same way. Specifically, Green Upside notes that you can use a wet paper towel inside of a plastic bag to start your seeds … no other containers needed!

Ready-To-Eat Chicken Containers

You know those chickens that you buy whole, ready to eat, from Costco or the supermarket? They usually come on a plastic tray with a plastic dome over it. If you’re a gardener, you might look at that container and think, “that would be perfect for my garden.” If you have plants that need room for leaves to grow, these can be great humidity dome alternatives.

Plastic Bottle

Cut the bottom out of a large plastic bottle, such as a gallon milk bottle. Use that as your humidity dome over your seed tray.

Plastic Containers for Berries

These are an interesting choice. They’re shallow, so you have to choose what you’re growing in there carefully. Moreover, they’re vented with air holes. Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes it defeats the purpose of your humidity dome. Sometimes too much humidity leads to mold so the venting is good. It depends on varied factors. So, consider this as a potential option but maybe not the best one.

Old Food Containers

Do you have a bunch of food containers that you keep to store your leftovers? Do you have too many of them? Green Upside suggests using any food container with a lid to create your seed tray with its own humidity dome.

In other words, look around for plastic that you can recycle/upcycle to create a humidity home!

Read More:

• 5 Cheap Substitutes for Seedling Trays
• 10 Techniques To Increase Germination Rate of Seeds
• Seed Starting on a Budget: DIY Containers

Every garden’s soil has a pH level. You can work with different pH levels using different plants. However, you have to know where you’re starting. And in some instances, you might want to change the pH level. For example, if your soil is too alkaline for the plants you want to grow, then you need to add acid. Luckily, there are cheap ways to make soil more acidic.

Why You Might Make Soil More Acidic

Your garden soil might be alkaline, neutral, or acidic. None is necessarily better than the other overall. However, different plants have different needs. Therefore, you might need to make your soil more acidic in order to best grow the plants that you want to grow in your garden.

Rural Sprout notes that you might add acidity in order to:

• Improve nutrient consumption by your plants, making them healthier
• To change a specific plant’s color; for example, to turn hydrangea plants blue
• To grow specific plants that only grow well in more acidic soil

Cheap Ways To Make Soil More Acidic

Rural Sprout also notes that it’s easier to choose the right plants for your soil than to change your soil. In other words, if you have alkaline soil, then choose plants that love that. However, you don’t have to settle for this if you don’t want to. You can, instead, find cheap ways to make soil more acidic.

Use Diluted White Vinegar to Acidify Soil

YardKidz notes that vinegar is one of the fastest cheap ways to make soil more acidic. You use distilled white vinegar to increase the acid in your garden soil. You can add it to the water that you use to water your garden, whether that’s through an irrigation system or a watering jug. In addition to acidifying the soil, adding vinegar has other benefits. For example, it is a great form of natural pest control.

Add Coffee Grounds to Soil

YardKidz adds that coffee grounds are another cheap and quick way to acidify your garden soil. Note, though, that you have to use fresh coffee grounds. Ones you’ve already used to make coffee don’t have an extreme enough pH level to acidify your garden. So, yes, this is a cheap option, but it’s not the same as recycling your used coffee grounds for free.

Add Compost to Garden Soil

Rural Sprout points out, however, that adding compost to your soil can help acidify it over time. Therefore, if you add your used coffee grounds to your compost, then they do work in this way. This method is slower and less effective than the vinegar or fresh coffee grounds. Often, it’s used to make an alkaline soil more neutral rather than specifically acidic.

However, you can increase the acidity of your compost by being selective about what you add to it. Choose acidic ingredients including citrus rinds, oak leaves, or pine needles.

Pine Needle Mulch

Speaking of pine needles, Rural Sprout also notes that you can use these, oak leaves, and other acidic leaves to create your own mulch. Add this over your soil to acidify it.

Citrus Watering Your Soil

And speaking of citrus rinds, use them liberally in your garden to acidify the soil. You can also add citrus to your watering process. For example, add lemon juice to your watering can to improve soil acidity.

More Ways to Acidify Soil

Happy DIY Home explores some of the pros and cons of some of the above methods as well as other ways to acidify soil including:

• Sphagnum Peat Moss
• Elemental Sulfur
• Acidifying Fertilizers
• Iron Sulfate
• Aluminum Sulfate
• Natural Liquid Plant Feeds

Read More:

• 5 Reasons to Use Fish Amino Acid on Your Plants
• 8 Uses of Baking Soda in Garden
• What Is The Best Growing Medium for Basil?

I have a confession to make: I have a bit of a brown thumb. In other words, I’m not that great at gardening. I have let more plants die than I’d like to admit. And yet, I keep trying to grow them and learning from my mistakes. Does this mean that gardening is a waste of my money? I don’t think so. Here’s why:

I Keep Gardening Costs Minimal

First of all, I don’t spend a lot of money on gardening costs. I live in a small apartment, so my options are limited anyway. I have indoor plants and windowsill plants. Obviously, I could still spend a lot of money getting really expensive plants and supplies. However, as a general rule of thumb, I stick to frugal gardening. Therefore, I don’t spend a lot of on gardening.

Re-Using Supplies Saves Money

Initially, I probably spent more money on gardening than I needed to. I didn’t fully understand how to reduce costs with DIY planters, etc. However, once I got the pots, the soil, the supplies, I didn’t need to keep buying most of them. I can re-use what I have. Therefore, ongoing costs are particularly minimal.

I Tend to Grow Plants I Can Use

For the most part, I grow edible plants. Sure, I’m imperfect at it. Nevertheless, I do tend to get some use out of the plant even if eventually the plant succumbs to my brown thumb. For example, I’m growing rosemary right now. I’ve successfully grown mushrooms. And I can usually grow herbs and lettuces fairly well. So, I spend money on the plant but then I consume the plant, so I usually at least break even, typically.

Gardening Is Affordable Entertainment

We all spend money on hobbies and entertainment. If I focus time and energy on learning how to garden, then that cost falls into that category. As far as hobbies go, it’s a very affordable one. If I enjoy frugal gardening and sometimes reap the rewards of food from my plants, then the cost is low for the number of hours that I’ve put into the work.

I’m Learning and Improving As I Go

Gardening doesn’t come naturally to me. Don’t believe me? Let me tell you the story of my first plant.

I was in first or second grade. We were each given a styrofoam cup along with seeds. We were taught how to plant the seeds into soil in the cup. Then we were taught to water the plant and let it grow. I don’t remember if I got anywhere with the plant. What I do remember is that we took our plant home for either winter break or summer break. I promptly stuck mine on a shelf … in a dark closet. I doubt I remembered to water it. Apparently, I hadn’t learned much in the class in gardening.

But when you start at the bottom, the only place to go is up! I have allowed more plants to die than I’d like to admit. However, each time, I get better at this. I’ve learned which plants are sturdier than others, which needs less water than my heavy hand is prone to give them, and how to notice a plant needs something before it’s actually dead so that I can turn things around.

I’m getting better and wasting less. And plants give us a lot in life: they’re calming, they add beauty to our homes, they improve health. So, I might have a brown thumb, but it’s not hopeless. And therefore, I think it’s worth it to keep on gardening.

What’s your worst story of killing a plant? Share in the comments so I feel less alone!

Read More:

• Don’t Throw Those Pots Away
• 5 Factors That Affect Plant Growth
• Troubleshoot The Seed Starting Process

I am a crafter. Mostly, I crochet, although I also knit and weave and collage and enjoy some other crafty activities. As a result of my craft, I have a lot of yarn in my home. Most of it I will use to crochet, of course. However, over the years, I’ve found that yarn can be used in myriad ways. So, I got to thinking, how could I use yarn in the garden? Here are five ways that the frugal material of yarn can add both beauty and function to your gardening:

1. Self-Watering Plants With Yarn

Don’t spend a lot of money on an automatic drip system to water your plants. Instead, use yarn. Real Simple explains that you can place a jar of water near your potted plants. Insert one end of yarn into the jar and the other deep into the soil of the plant. When the plant needs water, it will actually draw what it needs through the yarn from the jar. Amazing, right?!

2. Make Wool Compost

There are many different fiber types when it comes to craft yarn. If you craft with wool, then you have a lot more options in the garden. It’s a natural material that will break down in the environment. It’s safe for your land and your plants. For example, you can actually make a wool compost that works as well as peat does for mulching.

3. Make a Yarn Trellis

There are many different yarn trellis patterns and tutorials. Whether you make a simple yarn grid or a complex crochet trellis, you can use this in your garden to grow your plants vertically. It’s one of the most affordable ways to build up and it’s pretty as well.

4. Decorating the Garden with Yarn

Speaking of pretty, decor is one of the most popular ways to use your yarn in the garden. You can yarnbomb your plants and trees, knit or crochet ornaments to hang in the garden or create an entire little yarn fairy garden. Yarn adds even more color to your garden.

Note that you can also use yarn to label your plants. Assign each plant a specific color of yarn. Tie that color to a plant stake to place in the ground near the seeds for that plant. This is a great way to both decorate your garden with yarn and also remember what you planted where before it starts to grow each season!

5. Plant Holders

You can decorate any of your plant holders, indoor or out, using yarn. You can crochet or macrame hanging baskets to hold pots that you want to keep up off of the floor. Even if you don’t have any specific craft skills, you can wrap yarn around containers or pots of any size to decorate them.

BONUS: Crafting in the Garden

Although I didn’t include it in the main list, I can’t neglect to mention the most obvious way that you can enjoy yarn in your garden. You can take your yarn out into the garden and craft there! Knitting and crochet offer so many health benefits. So does nature. When you combine the two by crafting in the garden, you reap more benefits of each/

Read More:

• DIY Squash Trellis Under $10
• Frugal Container Gardening
• 7 Financial Benefits of Backyard Gardening

I’m a huge fan of ebooks. I’m so into them that I actually have TWO e-readers! One for my library books and another for advanced reader copies (ARCs). Many people out there are willing to share their gardening knowledge. These free gardening ebooks are an excellent choice for frugal gardeners, people new to gardening, and even just people who want a bit of inspiration before they get their hands dirty.

Most of these books are available for free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. A few of them are free without one. And a few books aren’t free but still under $5!

Read on for a brief description of each book and what you can hope to learn from reading it.

Free Gardening Ebooks

Garden Potpourri: Gardening Tips from the Easy-Growing Gardening Series

This under $5 ebook includes a collection of tips to suit both advanced and beginner gardeners. If you’re sad about the gardening season ending, this might be a nice way to remind yourself that a new season is on its way.

Urban Homesteading: The Ultimate Homestead Guide to Becoming a City Homesteader

This title is available for free with a Kindle Unlimited membership. If you’ve always dreamed of having your own homestead in the city, this is a good place to start.

Greenhouse Gardening: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Gardener’s Manual for Beginners

This Kindle Unlimited ebook is all about how to get started with growing fruit and veg inside a greenhouse. You’ll get tips on how to plan your greenhouse and even how to make money growing inside your new structure.

Keyhole Gardening: An Introduction to Growing Vegetables In A Keyhole Garden

Learn about this no-dig gardening method that’s perfect for small spaces. This is a great gardening method for frugal gardeners who don’t want to spend a ton of resources on growing plants.

Growing Food In Winter: An Introduction To Growing Food Crops Out Of Season

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge nerd for winter gardening. When you live somewhere with a short growing season, it’s nice to know that there are possibilities for growing beyond the summertime. This gardening ebook covers a host of subjects, including winter crops, hot bed gardening, and planting times.

Container Gardening Month by Month: A Monthly Listing of Tips and Ideas for Creating a Professional Container Garden

One of the most challenging aspects of gardening is knowing what to do when. Keeping track of what needs to get done can be overwhelming—especially if you’re new to gardening. This ebook gives you monthly checklists so you can keep on task and focus on taking care of your plants.

Container Gardening for Beginners: A Guide to Growing Your Own Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Edible Flowers

I love growing in containers! Pots are easy to move around, and plants are a lot more manageable when kept in containers. This book is a great choice if you’re new to growing in containers and need a bit of wisdom to get you going.

I’m very forgiving when it comes to weeds. But because I use the square foot gardening method and garden in raised beds, I rarely have to deal with many invading plants.  Still, there are some spots in my garden when I need to keep weeds out. Since landscaping fabric is pricey, I stick to these cheap weed barrier alternatives instead.

Cheap Weed Barrier Alternatives

Here are some of my favorite cheap weed barrier alternatives—some won’t even cost you a dime!

What’s a weed barrier, you ask? Weed barriers are often placed at the bottom of a garden box or bed. After you place the barrier, you pile on the dirt, plant your seeds or starts, and you’re all set. The barrier ensures that weeds and grabby nearby tree roots don’t invade your garden and steal nutrients.

But weed barriers, especially landscape fabric, can be expensive. So here are a few frugal ways to keep out weeds without hurting your wallet.

Cardboard

When I started my current garden, I was so excited to add dirt to my brand-new raised beds that I completely forgot to add a weed barrier layer. Fast forward a year or two, and my plants ended up battling nearby cedar roots for nutrients.

What a disaster!

Over time, as the dirt level decreased, I decided to add a layer of cardboard and start from scratch with a new batch of soil, compost, and vermiculite. Since then, I’ve had way fewer problems with nutrient deficiencies. I also learned a valuable lesson: always use a weed barrier!

Plus, using cardboard is a great way to get rid of boxes piling up in your house. If your recycling bin can’t handle the volume of packages you receive in the mail, consider using that cardboard in the garden. Ideally, you’ll add a few layers for good measure.

Mulch

If you don’t have access to cardboard or can’t afford landscape fabric, mulch is a great way to keep weeds at bay. My favorite type of mulch is straw or coco coir. By suffocating weed seed, mulch ensures your plants get all the light and nutrients.

If you want free mulch, consider asking nearby farms if they have any extra straw they can give away. Or, shred fallen autumnal leaves for mulch. Leaf mold is both a free and eco-friendly mulch!

Newspaper

Another cheap weed barrier alternative is newspaper. Of course, you’ll need to be getting the newspaper for this to be a cheap solution. You wouldn’t want to have to subscribe just to use the weekly news report as a weed barrier in the garden.

(But I’m strongly for supporting local journalism enterprises! So if you’re on the fence about subscribing, you should know that you can indeed use newspaper as mulch and a weed barrier.

Rocks

When I moved into my home, the front yard garden was filled with small rocks. I hated them with a passion. I tried hard to remove them, but I quickly realized that doing so was going to be harder than I thought. Since then, I’ve used the tiny rocks as a weed barrier for smaller garden areas. What I like about rocks as a weed barrier is that they are great for improving drainage in an area that’s otherwise prone to getting waterlogged.

If you have an abundance of gravel from a landscaping project, consider using it as a bottom layer for your garden beds. If you use rocks, though, make sure you’re sure about your garden’s placement. They’re a pain to remove!

Burlap

Burlap is a little pricier than the other options on this list, but it’s more eco-friendly than landscaping fabric. And, if you know someone who has recently had a shabby-chic wedding, ask them if you can have their leftover burlap tablecloths. Order Burlap here.

Farmer in rubber boots standing on muddy dirt road in countryside, feet from above

While it’s not necessarily a problem in all locations, many people have to worry about protecting their garden from excessive rainfall.

Plants love water! Too little, and they’ll wither away. But too much water can also cause problems.

Plants that are stuck drowning in waterlogged soil can succumb to root rot.

These days, unpredictable weather is more and more commonplace. Periods of drought followed by flash floods are not unheard of. And this wild weather can have negative consequences for your home garden.

So how can you protect your garden from excessive rainfall? Here are a few tips.

How to protect the garden from excessive rainfall

Here’s what to do to keep your plants from drowning after a rainstorm.

Plan ahead.

I’m not talking about checking the weather. I’m talking about being particularly careful during the garden planning process. Avoid starting a garden in an area where water pools. After heavy rainfall, plants in these areas are more likely to die due to root rot.

And make sure the soil drains well. Add organic matter to the soil to improve its condition and drainage capabilities.

Stop walking on the soil.

Make sure you can reach all areas of your garden plot without having to walk on the soil. Walking on soil compacts it and can make it more likely to become waterlogged in the future.

The University of Delaware Cooperative Extension has some helpful tips on how to avoid soil compaction.

Quit watering!

This is an obvious one, but it’s something people forget to do. Keep an eye on the weather forecast and turn off your sprinklers and irrigation systems before a rainstorm. And I know the weather seems nice right now, but unless your plants are dying of thirst, skip hand watering when a storm is brewing.

Clean your gutters.

Grab a ladder and clean out your gutters to protect your garden from excessive rainfall. Clogged gutters can cause water runoff and flood your garden beds.

Pick plants wisely.

If flooding is an inevitability where you live, choose plants that can tolerate moist, humid conditions. Select disease-resistant varieties that aren’t as likely to pick up fungal or viral infections brought on by very wet weather.

Use raised beds.

Raised beds and containers (with drainage holes) are less likely to become waterlogged than in-ground beds. You can find one on Amazon here. They’re also great for areas where the soil isn’t super fertile. Bonus: No more kneeling and way less bending over!

Add a French drain to your yard.

DIY this helpful drainage solution called a French drain to improve drainage on your property.