3 Things You Can Do to Protect Your Crops from Rain

While farming relies heavily on steady rainfall to ensure a good crop, there can be too much of a good thing when it comes to rain. Rainfall bordering on the extreme can quickly result in flooding, soil erosion, cold damage, and plant rot—to name just a few issues. To protect your crops from heavy rainfall and the many problems it will cause, we recommend reading through our helpful tips below.

Avoid Flooding

Even if your rainfall isn’t torrential, flooding can still pose a serious risk to your crops. To avoid having your young plants washed away in a storm, we recommend taking some time to improve the drainage in your fields. For no-till plants, this means using stones and sand to try and redirect excess water away. However, if you grow your crops in rows, you can place convenient foot-deep drainage ditches at the end of, and in between, each of your rows to keep flooding at bay. 

Lay Down Mulch 

Even the warmest of summer rains has the possibility of cold-shocking a young plant and killing it. Thankfully, there’s a rather simple way to avoid this dilemma. Before the storm hits, try to place 3 inches of mulch around the vase of your crops. This will not only prevent the root system from experiencing cold damage but should also help keep your young crops from being swept away in a flood of water. 

Purchase Row Covers 

Row covers are exactly what they sound like—a large fabric or plastic cover meant to be placed over plants to keep them from being destroyed by storms. While plastic covers are a good choice for young plants that need extra sunlight and more protection from the rain, fabric covers may be better for older plants who could benefit from a little extra water and air circulation. 

Need help to find some of the helpful tools and materials we’ve listed in our article above? Then feel free to visit us here at Nova International! We proudly serve the entire Atlantic Canada region and have convenient locations in both Windsor and Aylesford, Nova Scotia, as well as Moncton, New Brunswick.