Even if it’s summer, sometimes, hot temperatures could produce strong thunderstorms. These are actually quite damaging most of the times because they consist in high winds, torrential downpours, or even hail. Thus, you can imagine what a wreck can make in your vegetable garden. I am talking about plant diseases, plant damage, flooding or soil erosion. It can get difficult to protect your precious vegetables but not impossible. Hence, keep reading, in this article you will find 9 tips for what to do in the case of a heavy thunderstorm.

1. Asses the situation of plant damage.

Hence, after a heavy rain, it is time to make your first assestion of the situation. You should be watching for stem of leaf damage and if they are minimal, you can simply remove them. Also, see if there are plants that are heavily damaged over the next couple days, some of them might actually be able to salvage. Now it is also a good time to stake up plants that are leaning. If you notice that a main stem has snapped, unfortunately it is a loss.

2. Avoid walking near the plants with saturated soil

Another tip you could use after a heavy thunderstorm is avoid walking near the plants with saturated soil. During the heavy thunderstorm, the roots of the plants are very vulnerable. If you step on them, you could cause soil impaction, which limits root growth.

3. Watch out for exposed roots

If there are any exposed roots, this is due to soil erosion and you should cover them with soil or compost as soon as possible.

4. Replenish nutrients

After a very heavy thunderstorm, you may also need to replenish the nutrients for your plants. Tus, make sure to replenish these nutrients with an organic all-purpose fertilizer or with fish emulsion.

5. Look for poor drainage

You seriously need to look for poor drainage in certain areas. The long standing water in your vegetable garden is not a beneficial idea, it could lead to rotten roots. If you find poor drainage, create ways to get the water to drain away from the vegetable garden. You could install some rock beds or simply use plastic water drains to redirect the water.

6. Eliminate pests such as snails and slugs

Eliminate snails and slugs because they love damp places.

7. Watch for emerging weeds

Watch out for emerging weeds, they will definitely show up soon after a storm. Due to the sudden charge of moisture to the soil, the weeds will mostly spring up overnight. Hence, apply some type of mulch to prevent weeds.

8. Get rid of water in excess

Empty all of your containers that have water. These container collect most of the water during the storm and are basically breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

9. Watch out for signs of fungi

Lastly, make sure you check for fungi or bacterial diseases. Due to damp, humid conditions, there is room for development of fungi such as powdery mildew. Moreover, it will definitely spread very quickly in these conditions so treat it as soon as possible.