Jobs to do in the rain (forum)

Diana starts with ...
Hi all,

When it was drier weather, I put off garden jobs like moving trees and planting out seedlings waiting for a wet couple of weeks. Now that we have relentless rain, I am not sure if it actually is the right time to plant and transplant. The ground is so waterlogged, that I am a bit worried about making concrete by digging up the clay soil, even if I don't dig while it is raining. Perhaps it's OK if I mix lots of bagged (dry) compost in my clay soil.
It seems like a good time to fertilize everything, add gypsum, sow carrots and other small seeds that need to be kept wet for a while, although weeds are growing faster than seeds and can't be sprayed. Some of my seedlings have rotted, too. When is the right time to plant in relation to long periods of rain?

Diana
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Time: 6th March 2010 9:42pm

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John Mc says...
Yep, you're right Diana,
If you work the soil when it's soaking wet you remove all the air from the soil. Except in the most sandy of soils but I'd still be mindful of that even then. When it dries out you've got this hard lump of concrete that has to be reworked even more to get it airated again. It's an excellent time to fertilize your citrus now. The experts recomment twice a year, Feb and August, in my region anyway.

Time: 6th March 2010 10:45pm

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About the Author John Mc1
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Diana says...
Thanks, John,

Luckily I planted two trees and moved one to a pot a couple of weeks ago, before everything was waterlogged. I think I will wait with the other things I have to plant out (eg banana suckers). Fertilizing citrus is a good idea.

Diana.

Time: 7th March 2010 10:45am

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