Use Absorbent Materials: Apply materials like sand or gypsum to help absorb excess moisture and improve soil drainage.
To dry out soil quickly, you can apply hydrated lime to the soil, add compost and then turn the soil thoroughly to aerate it. Adding hydrated lime and compost will help absorb the water in your soil, and turning it all will help distribute the water in the waterlogged soil throughout your garden.
Use Mulch: Mulch can help absorb excess moisture and prevent it from reaching the soil. 3. Plant Drought-Tolerant Plants: These plants require less water and can help absorb excess moisture.
Too much water is as damaging to plants as too little, especially if the flooding persists for more than 2 or 3 days. Roots require abundant oxygen to live and grow, and waterlogged soils become anaerobic quickly. Waterlogged plants are stunted and often exhibit nutritional deficiencies because of poor root absorption.
Hard-packed clay soils and even garden soils can become crusted and resist wetting, letting water run off instead of absorbing it. To re-wet, repeatedly sprinkle the surface lightly, making sure there is no run off. Covering the surface with a mulch such as straw, leaves, wood chips, or compost will also help.
A ground cover of mulch or low growing plants will reduce evaporation from the top soil as well as providing protection against erosion. Wind breaks reduce evaporation losses and retain soil moisture up to 100 metres away.
Lime is highly effective at increasing soil pH in acidic soils. Even small applications can increase pH by 0.5 to 1 unit. The degree of change depends on the soil's buffering capacity. Soils with low cation exchange capacity (CEC) will see greater pH increases from liming.
Organic amendments like compost, manure, and peat moss have high water-holding capacity, acting as sponges that absorb and slowly release moisture to plant roots. Inorganic additives such as vermiculite and perlite create reservoirs within the soil, absorbing and holding water for plant uptake.
Add organic matter
Forking in some well-rotted farmyard manure or garden compost to wet soil will improve its drainage. A coarse organic matter is ideal, as this will help to create the air pockets needed to boost drainage. Find out more about the types of organic matter to use in the garden.
Conservation tillage is a specific type of such approach where crop residue is left on the soil to reduce evapotranspiration, and protect soil surface from wind, sun and heavy rain impacts. Crop rotation – growing different types of crops every season helps improve soil structure and thus water holding capacity.
If your ground is waterlogged, it'll have a natural tendency to compact. In the short term, do your best to help water to drain away by using the tines of your garden fork to puncture the soil surface. For more long term problem areas, try to avoid making a bad situation worse.
The good news is that most plants will bounce back between 7-14 days if they're given proper care (which includes rehydration). If this isn't possible because major damage was done or little healthy root system exists then expect about 2 weeks until improvement can be seen.
Peat Moss
Peat is commonly found in wetlands or peat bogs and is often harvested or derived from dead sphagnum moss plants, giving it the name "peat moss." Peat moss is a common soil amendment to improve water-holding capacity and can also lower soil pH in low alkaline soils.
The only way to determine whether or not liming is needed, and how much lime to apply, is through the results of a soil test conducted at a state or commercial soil testing laboratory. A soil test kit or pH probe can be obtained at a local garden center to test soil pH and determine the need for liming.
Liming tomato plants accomplishes three key functions that produce significant benefits. Adding lime to the soil will raise its pH, increase the amount of calcium and enhance soil permeability. pH increase: Raising pH when soil is too acidic helps tomatoes absorb important nutrients like magnesium and phosphorus.
Nonetheless, lime treatment has a number of inherent disadvantages, such as carbonation, sulfate attack and environment impact.
You don't want to dig up the mud and cart it away--too expensive and disruptive. LIME IS THE ANSWER! of either quicklime or hydrated lime, dries up wet soil quickly, so that it can be compacted readily, forming a working table that will resist further wetting as well--you can get back to work!
“This can be accomplished by using a hollow tine aerator or spiking the lawn with a garden fork or aerator shoes. This will help the lawn to recover more quickly by keeping the soil loose and drawing out moisture.” Aeration is best done during the spring and summer months to help minimize soil compaction.
Thankfully, there is one method that will consistently rewet super dry potting soil; wetting and mixing it with very warm or hot water and then hand turning and mixing it (be sure to wear water-impermeable gloves). The heat helps the peat and compost easily take up water again.
Use soil wetting products and organic matter
These products, available in granular, liquid concentrate or hose-on form, can dramatically improve water penetration. “Soil wetting agents help by penetrating through the waxy layer, enabling water to be absorbed throughout the soil,” she explains.