After the long drought that started in January, we are now facing a good amount of rains according to the tv weather forecaster. In the farms, it is planting time but in our extended garden that is usually inundated by continuous rains, we have a dilemma on what to plant. The cassava crops last year was ruined when the flood lasted for a week. The sweet potato vines looked jubilant with the rains but they also die when the place is flooded. We are thinking of a raised bed for the crops. But we would need help to make the raised beds. The soil is quite clayey and hard to dig up. But my husband is thinking of just planting the sweet potato since it would crawl up to the higher areas. That means even when the beds get flooded, not all the vegetables would die. Hmm, let us see.
So @Corie Henson are you saying that every time there are continuous rains that your crops get flooded? How many times have you lost crops? I can see how that would create the 'blue' mood for you and your husband. All the planning and hard work not to mention the expense and ruined crops. Building raised beds sounds like a good idea and lessen the worry of flooding. I am not familiar with clay but I would take advantage when the ground is wet to dig up enough soil to begin your project if possible. Maybe you can share the process with us once you get started. My son lives in Georgia and is considering to start a garden but hesitant because of the clay soil. I could share some of your techniques with him.
Speaking of rainy season blues, I live in Texas where we are receiving an unusual amount of rainfall. I woke up this morning to find some of my garden plants wilting and standing in water. I dug up a couple of my eggplants and placed them in containers to keep inside the house until the soil dries out. Unfortunately, we are expecting more rain. Do you have any ideas on how I can keep my garden alive in this situation? (In Texas, we usually have to deal with not enough rain.)
@Texas Beth. Maybe you can build some kind of see through temporary canopy with similar effects to that of a greenhouse. I saw a movie where to keep crops from freezing temperatures big bonfires were kept lit through the night maybe you could place big drums to capture some of the rainfall or irrigation trenches for the some of the rain to flow away from your garden. Here's an idea combine the two ideas by sloping the canopy so the rain runs into a drain which empties into a big drum. I have a very imaginative mind but some of my ideas are not bad.
@Joe Riley Here in Louisiana, rice is planted in the drained crawfish ponds after crawfish season is finished. With all the rich "fertilizer" left in the crawfish ponds, rice does very well here.
@Corie Henson I'm not sure about this but I think if the roots of the sweet potato vines get to much water so that they die...then the vine will die too and produce no sweet potatoes. I'm not that much of a gardener having just started growing things myself a few years ago. But it would seem that you would have to have a raised bed with good water drainage so that the roots could stay healthy and grow some healthy vines that will bear fruit, etc. And even then if things stay saturated with water...I don't think they will do well.
The rainy season sometimes lasts for 4 to 5 months and it usually start in June although this year it started in May. With flooding of our extended garden, maybe 3 to 6 times in a season. That's why we refrain from planting during the rainy season. However, my husband is so stubborn that he would still plant a bed of cassava or a bed or sweet potato. He said he hates to see an empty garden that is left to the weeds. But I'm glad that at least my husband is enjoying the garden even if it is ruined by the flooding. Here are some pics taken yesterday. That's the bed of cassava that we hope to harvest by December if the flooding is not heavy. That banana plant is imported from Thailand. The 2-week old corn that is planted in a higher area that is quite safe from flooding...
So when you wait until the rainy season is about over to plant, how well does your garden do? I can understand how your husband feels about dead space. I don't like to see it either that's why I have four flower beds in my backyard.