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Your garden after it has been flooded
Recent torrential rains have
caused flooding to many thousands of homes and gardens in
the UK.
As the flood waters recede and
people start putting their homes and lives back together, a
few words of advice might be useful..
There is a danger that any edible crops you
have
planted might now be contaminated with raw sewage.. Crops that can be thoroughly washed, peeled and boiled pose
minimal risks, but items such as salads, that are eaten
raw, should be discarded.
Try not to work on your garden until the soil has
completely dried out because you may cause it to become
compacted, which will be a long-term problem.
It would be prudent to wait and see what has died and
what has survived in the way of trees, shrubs, plants and
lawns. When soil is completely flooded, oxygen is
prevented from reaching the root
system, but some trees and plants are more tolerant of
waterlogged conditions than others. However, the longer the
lack of aeration, the greater the chance of root death.
It is thought that many plants
can survive being submerged for about a week or so.
In addition to the obvious damage
to plants and trees, there are more long-term effects to
soils which have been flooded for extended periods, and the
soil structure itself may be physically harmed.
There isn't much you can do other
than wait for drier weather and allow the flood water to
drain away. I advise waiting for a year before removing
trees, shrubs and plants that appear to have died, because
we had a very early and warm spring, then a miserable summer
culminating in these floods. Many plants will just shut down
and wait till next year before putting on any new growth.
At the start of the next growing season it would be advisable to use an all
purpose general fertilizer on the borders to help replace
nutrients that were lost due to flooding, or the
very wet summer we had this year..
REMINDER
- Before starting to clean up the flood water, cover
any open cuts and wounds on exposed skin with a
waterproof plaster or dressing.
- Wear protective clothing, such as gloves and
waterproof boots.
- Don't allow children to play in the flood water or allow
pets to drink from it.
- Collect as much of the mud and silt that you can and
place into plastic bags, which hopefully your local
council will remove for you.
- Fencing, sheds & garden furniture which have come
into contact with flood water can be washed down and
disinfected, using a household disinfectant diluted as
advised on the label.
- Wash contaminated garden toys with very hot water
and disinfectant before allowing your children to play
with them
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