Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Water? … or … Rain, Rain Go Away

Mother Nature sure has blessed Fort Wayne with an abundance of water the past few weeks. And, although we all know that water is good for our lawns and your gardens, how do you know if the water is doing more harm than good?

Too Much Water on Garden Plants

Although rainwater is great for plants – it’s free of the minerals, salts, and chemicals found in treated water – you can have too much of a good thing! Too much water in your garden, either from rain or over watering, creates the perfect condition for fungal disease and mold to develop and can deprive the roots of oxygen and cause root rot.

Signs of Over Watering:

• Wilted leaves
• Yellow or brown leaves
• Slow growth
• Leaf roll
• Fuzzy mold on leaves
• Light green plants

Although there isn’t anything we can do about all the rain we’ve been getting, there are a few steps we can take to help our plants get through this wet period and avoid drowning.

• Prune yellowed or rotted leaves and stems
• Mound the soil around the base of your plants to avoid pools of water to drown your plant and encourage water to run off further away

Too Much Water on Lawns

Is your lawn starting to show signs of being waterlogged? Do you have standing pools over water in your yard? You may think that over watering your lawn would create a healthy, green lawn, but just as too much water can deprive plants of oxygen and cause fungus and disease, it can do the same for your lawn. Lack of oxygen to the roots can keep roots from absorbing nutrients, retard development, and possibly kill your lawn.

How to Help Your Lawn Recover From Over Watering

Once the rain stops and the ground dries:

• Pick up all debris left on your lawn such as fallen limbs to allow grass to get sunlight
• Aerate your lawn to allow water, oxygen, and nutrients to move through the soil. Aerating your lawn also encourages a stronger root system as they have to grow deeper to find a water source.
• Fertilize your lawn to add nutrients back into the roots
• Reseed areas of dead grass