Everyone is well aware about the wisdom in preparing for disasters. They happen, it’s simply a part of life. You know to have extra food and water on hand as well as extra sources of power to help get you through a length of time without access to the grid. When the weather man says a storm is on the way you stock up on what’s needed and board up your windows. But what about your garden? Here are some simple steps you can take to prepare your garden for hurricane season.
When is hurricane season?
Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30th, officially, though hurricanes can still occur outside of that time. If you’ve lived in Florida for any length of time, or were born and raised here, then you know this time of year well and may even have fond memories barricaded in your home turning a crank radio to hear how the storm is progressing.
If you are new to the sunshine state, never fear! Hurricanes are a typical part of life down here and thankfully we have plenty of time to prepare every year. Check out my free Florida Garden Guide to learn more about our growing climate 😀
Hurricanes are most likely through August, September, and October so start thinking now about things you’ll need to do to prepare your garden for the hurricane season ahead.
Tips to prepare your garden for hurricane season
Growing trees in “guilds”
If you’ve been in the permaculture realm for any time you’ve heard of the term guild in relation to gardening. Basically you plant a whole bunch of different species together it a tight group. Each plant plays a unique role in optimizing growth and harvest without too much input from you.
These guilds are great not just for the self sufficiency, but also in protecting plants from strong winds. All the different plants act as anchors for each other which helps them survive through a hurricane.
Mulch
Even without the hurricanes, we get a massive amount of rain this time of year. Mulching will help protect your plants from becoming water logged, water running off too quickly, and also acts as a sponge to help protect against some flooding.
Mulch, mulch, mulch.
You really can’t over do it this time of year. The moisture plus the heat will cause rapid decomposition, as well, so once the fall and winter season roll around, you’ll have even richer soil for your crops.
Here’s an interesting tidbit for you all…
A 1% increase in soil organic matter can add around 16,500 to 27,000 gallons of plant-available water per acre.
If you can trap the massive amounts of water that hurricanes can bring, imagine how much less you’d have to water your garden during the dry season!
Stakes
If you are growing vining things like squash and Puerto Rican black beans up a trellis, you’ll want to make sure those are securely rooted in the ground. The bushiness of these plants + wind + a weak trellis = knocked over beans and squished plants. It’s likely the beans will be fine, but if there was anything underneath them, you can say “bye bye” to those. Righting a fallen trellis can cause as much damage to the plant as the fall itself.
When you are preparing your garden, ensure that your trellises are secure. T-posts or wooden posts make for great long lasting trellises.
You’ll know if your trellis has any weak spots by observing how it handles the severe thunder storms we also get this time of year. Those are much less troublesome than a hurricane, but they still produce some powerful gusts of wind. If your trellises handle those just fine, chances are you’ll be okay when a hurricane does pass through.
If you are especially worried though, you could tie down the stakes/trellis to a sand bag or five gallon bucket full of water.
What to do when a storm is on the way
Prune
When a storm is on the way, go through your garden and identify any plants that are looking a little too top heavy. Give them a good buzz cut, targeting small, broken, dead or diseased branches especially. Wind is natures way of pruning, so if you don’t want your plants looking like they’ve had a toddler take scissors to them, go ahead and prune them yourself.
Bring in potted plants
Or, group them together along a wall if there is no inside space available.
A garage, shed or porch would work for sheltering potted plants through a storm.
Start with the smallest ones. Use your best judgement when it comes to moving heavier potted plants. If the storm is category three or higher, those larger potted plants will need to be moved.
Put away anything that may become a projectile
This includes tools, pots, watering pails, buckets… anything that might easily get picked up and whipped away. These objects can lead to property damage or worse, injury.
Harvest
Even if some of your crops are still a bit early, harvest everything you can. This way you don’t lose your precious harvests to a storm. Chances are many of your plants will make it through with minimal damage but it sure would be a shame to lose the crops you’ve put so much time and money into.
Turn off irrigation systems
It’s a funny sight to see sprinkles running while rain is falling. So, if the forecast is calling for rain, turn off your sprinklers. There’s really no need to water during the summer anyways.
Cleaning up after the hurricane passes
- Go through your yard and garden and pick up any branches or organic debris that was left behind. Don’t throw these away! All organic matter can be composted, so add this to your compost pile, use it to line garden beds, or give it to animals as bedding.
Remember, the amount of organic matter in the soil increases its capacity to hold water. Don’t stop adding organic matter back to your soil! With our heat, humidity, and year round gardening it takes a lot of organic matter to really build up the soil.
Up north, the growing season has a beginning and an end. Here it doesn’t. Growing year round demands more from the soil, so organic matter will be used up quicker. Don’t ever let precious organic matter go to waste!
- Bury any plants that were ripped up during the storm. It is amazing how resilient plants can be. Even with roots torn, they can still be saved if you put them back in the soil. Kinda like transplanting.
What do you do to prepare your garden for hurricane season? Let me know if I’ve left anything out.
I hope this was helpful for you as we gear up for what could be another active hurricane season.
Happy gardening! 🙂
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