How Can I Prevent Waterlogged Soil In My Garden?

Do you have cover crops planted in your garden?

Do you use no-till farming (also known as zero tillage or direct drilling) in your garden?

Do you add organic matter to your soil?

Do you have raised beds in your garden?

Cover crops are an excellent way to manage excess water. They’re great for soil health and keeping your garden from turning into a giant mud puddle. Plant a winter cover crop throughout your garden next fall or in places you’re not immediately trying to plant in this spring. They’ll use water as they grow and eventually add organic material to the soil which helps with drainage.

No-till farming is an agricultural technique for growing crops or pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage. No-till improves soil structure to help with drainage. The soil isn’t compacted with any equipment and the plants, insects, and fungi create air spaces in the soil.

Aside from adding fertility, organic material is also great for breaking up heavy dense soils. By mixing and bonding with soil particles it allows for more air space and drainage. As a side note adding organic material can also help dry soils hold moisture.

Subsoiling may seem contrary to no-till farming. However, subsoiling lifts the soil without mixing it or turning it over. This leaves soil structure intact and creates air space in the soil which greatly improves drainage. On large farms, this is often done with a tractor and chisel plow or subsoiler but it’s also easy to do with a broadfork in home size or small market garden.

Building a few raised beds can help you quickly create areas with good drainage. The downside to most raised beds is that when things do dry out later in the summer they’ll require more water. Hugelkultur beds (a raised bed constructed from decaying wood debris and other compostable biomass plant materials) on the other hand offer both excellent drainage and good moisture retention as they’re built on a large pile of composting material.