How to keep gardens safe and healthy during storms

A file image of a flower. (Shelby Knox/CTV News)

The capital region in Alberta has seen a fair amount of wet, stormy weather over the past month, which hasn’t been easy on people’s gardens.

Between heavy rains flooding yards, strong winds tearing down trees and hail destroying plants, there’s a lot for gardeners to contend with.

Anita McDonald, with Kuhlmann’s, says customers have seen plants grow slower this year and have had to replant some vegetables like cucumbers because of the cold and wet conditions.

“It’s too wet, the soil doesn’t get a chance to dry out,” McDonald said.

“Plants are turning yellow, and just not healthy.”

If your garden is still hanging in there, McDonald has some tips to keep it healthy.

“If you have a lot of mulch around your flower beds or things, that’s something you can kind of pull away and try to cultivate, try to dry the ground out,” she says.

“Dig little trenches if you’ve got standing water, so that that extra rain or water can run away.”

To protect from hail, she suggests covering your flowers and plants with big leaves, like hostas or rhubarb, with tarp or cloth.

Make sure to secure the covering with something heavy like rocks, because hail is often accompanied by strong winds that can blow it away.

Speaking of wind, she also recommends staking taller plants like tomatoes and sunflowers, and leaving them staked because of how quickly storms can blow in.

Friday is looking warm with a high of 30 C, but there’s also a chance of overnight thunderstorms.

• Sunny and hot with an overnight storm risk

Friday and Saturday also have chances of thunderstorms and showers before the sun returns on Monday.