gardening in monsoon season Archives

Monsoon Gardening: 16 Tips for Healthy Plants

The monsoon season brings much-needed relief to plants after the intense summer heat, but it also presents unique challenges. Prolonged wet conditions can last for 2 to 2.5 months, increasing the risk of root rot, especially in indoor plants.

Garden plants with many flowers are also prone to damage, and pests thrive during this period. It is crucial to take special precautions and understand which plants, vegetables, cuttings, or fruits are best suited for this time. This guide will cover all aspects of monsoon gardening, starting with the necessary precautions.

16 Tips for Monsoon Gardening

1. Remove all damaged and spoiled plants

After a harsh summer, many plants may wither or become damaged. While it is normal for seasonal plants to decline, even hardy plants can succumb to extreme temperatures.

After the rains begin, give your plants a week to recover. If they don’t bounce back, it’s time to remove them from your garden. Collect any empty pots to assess how many new plants you can add.

2. Pruning of plants

Pruning is essential to make plants denser and healthier.

As the monsoon season starts, remove yellow leaves and dead stems of indoor, outdoor, winter, or summer plants.

Avoid hard pruning during this time; focus on light pinching instead. This helps control stem elongation and ensures plants stay bushy, with healthy leaves and flowers.

3. Soil care during monsoon season

During summer, mulching with cocopeat is common, but loosening the soil is difficult. Now is the time to care for your soil.

Remove unwanted weeds, loosen the soil to improve its texture, and add necessary fertilizers.
Pruning the grass reduces the chances of fungal attacks and prevents the formation of green algae on the soil’s surface.
Loosen the soil weekly to promote healthy plant growth.

4. Maintaining garden cleanliness

The monsoon season demands extra attention to garden cleanliness:

1. Keep all dry items, like leaves, fertilizer packets, and soil bags, covered to prevent them from getting wet and attracting insects.

2. Prevent water stagnation around your garden area, which can attract mosquitoes and cause drainage issues. Regularly check and clear any debris that may clog the drainage system.

3. Dispose of any garbage promptly to avoid creating a problematic situation.

5. Selecting seeds for monsoon gardening

Choosing the right seeds is crucial during the monsoon:

1. Vegetables: Pumpkin, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, ridge gourd, lady finger, tomatoes, eggplants, chilli, coriander, and mint are ideal for planting.

2. Flowers: Petunia, hybrid vinca, and sunflowers can be planted now, regardless of their typical season. Most flowers thrive during the rainy season.

3. Avoid: Winter vegetables and capsicum during this season.

6. Protect delicate plants

Some plants do not thrive in excessive water and need protection from direct rain. Here’s how to manage them:

1. Succulents and Hardy Plants: Keep them away from direct rain.

Examples include Echeveria, Crassula ovata, Aloe vera, Coleus, Hybrid vinca, Kalanchoe pinnata, and Dumb cane, etc.

2. Limited Rain Exposure: Croton, Rose, Chrysanthemum, Aglaonema, Areca palm, and Adenium can handle rain occasionally but should be moved to the shade afterward.

3. Outdoor Plants Tolerant of Rain: Tulsi, Curry leaf plant, Hibiscus, Gandhraj (Cape jasmine), Madhukamini (Orange Jasmine), and Madhumalti (Rangoon creeper) can generally withstand rain and thrive with proper care.

7. Rainwater Harvesting

plants in rain pot 2 — Pic credit: Pinterest

Rainwater is excellent for plants, so collect it in containers.

Use this water for plants that typically don’t like direct rain exposure.
Indoor plants that are not kept directly in the rain can also benefit from this natural water.

Check here:

9 Reasons Why Rainwater is best for plants

8. Indoor plant care

Indoor plants can struggle during the monsoon due to lack of light, high humidity, and poor air circulation. To keep them healthy:

1. Avoid overwatering: Check the soil by tilling it and only water if the soil is dry halfway down the pot. Wait a day after tilling before watering.

2. Ensure adequate light and ventilation: Use grow lights to compensate for the lack of natural sunlight.

3. Prevent pests and fungal attacks: Use an organic plant protector that acts as a fungicide, insecticide, and disease preventive.

Mix 1 ml of the plant protector with 1 litre of water and apply it every 20 days.

You can buy Plant Protector (Organic insecticide) from here:

✅ Plant Protector on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3TV9xti

9. Pesticides for Outdoor Plants

Monsoon season is prime time for pests. Protect your plants with neem oil spray, or if needed, switch to a plant protector:

Plant Protector: Mix 2 ml with 1 litre of water and apply every 3 days.
This organic solution prevents and treats various pest infestations, including snails, aphids, spider mites, and mealybugs, without any harmful side effects.

10. Plant propagation

Monsoon is ideal for propagating plants from cuttings:

1. Soft Cuttings: Plants like Money plant, Portulaca, Mint, Syngonium, Monstera, and ZZ plant can be propagated in water.

Ensure the container is clean, change the water regularly, and avoid direct sunlight.

2. Hard Cuttings: Rose, Bougainvillea, Hibiscus, Mogra, and Aprajita plant cuttings can be propagated in moist sand.

Keep them in a shaded area, maintain moisture, and avoid disturbing them.

Must read:

How to grow plants from cuttings

11. Repotting and Root Pruning

Monsoon is a good time for repotting and root pruning. However, avoid hard pruning during this season.

Check here: How to repot a plant

Must read: How to do root pruning of plants

12. Chrysanthemum plant Care

If you have Chrysanthemums, winter-flowering plants, need special care during the monsoon.

Prepare them for blooming in October by pruning, checking soil conditioning, propagating from cuttings, and repotting as needed.

Check here:

How to care Chrysanthemum plant

13. Shopping for Plants

Visiting a nursery during the monsoon is a treat.

You will find a wide variety of plants, but be sure to select only healthy ones. This is the perfect time to shop for new additions to your garden.

14. Use of Organic Fertilizers

While fertilizers are generally not recommended during the monsoon due to natural growth conditions, they can be used if plants are under stress:

1. Healthy but not flowering: Use banana peel fertilizer.

2. Small and not growing: Use mustard cake or groundnut cake fertilizer.

3. Regular pest attacks: Use neem cake powder fertilizer.

For general growth, follow these guidelines:

1. End of July: Apply onion peel fertilizer.

2. End of August: Apply seaweed liquid fertilizer.

3. Alternative: Use Prime Plus, an organic fertilizer combination of a protector and fertilizer.

You can buy Prime Plus (Organic fertilizer) from here:

✅ Prime Plus on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4cOnKAO

✅ Plant Protector on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3TV9xti

15. Waterproofing

Gardening can cause roof cracks, leading to leaks during the rainy season.

Use “Tapcrete” mixed with cement to fill and seal any cracks, preventing water seepage and protecting your home.

16. Care of fertilizers and tools during monsoon

1. Prevent rust: Clean tools with a rag and paint them once a year to avoid rust.

Use WD-40 on pruners if they become tight.

2. Store fertilizers properly: Keep them covered and dry to prevent fungal growth.

By following these tips, you can keep your garden healthy and thriving during the monsoon season.

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Happy Gardening!

Gardening in Monsoon Season

Plants behave differently in each season, each having its advantages and disadvantages for plant growth. The rainy season is particularly beautiful and beneficial for both us and the plants, as they grow much faster compared to other seasons. However, we need to be attentive to certain aspects of plant care.

While rain itself usually poses no problems, there can be side effects afterward, such as issues with fungus, ants, and insects. Overwatering can also damage plants, causing leaves to turn yellow.

By following the small precautions outlined below, you can ensure your plants remain healthy after the rain.

Precautions in Rainy Season

1. Shift Succulents

Shift all the succulents inside the home because succulents already have the optimum level of water stored inside them. They do not need much water like Aloe vera, Jade plants, Echeveria, etc.

2. Well-drained soil

If you are gardening directly in the ground, it’s generally fine because the soil naturally absorbs water. However, when gardening in pots, it is crucial to use well-draining soil since pots have limited water-holding capacity.

Let’s discuss what actions can be taken in this regard.

(i) Shift plants into shaded area:

If you have fewer plants say 5-6 only then you can shift them to a shaded area after showering 2-3 days of rain.

(ii) Cover your plants with a green net:

If you do not want to shift your plant then cover your plants with a green net.

Air and water both keep on passing through this net and plants will get rain water also.

(iii) Use well-drained soil

To avoid over-watering, the soil should be well drained.

If water is entering from the top, then it should be able to drain out from the bottom. Water should not be sustained inside the soil or pot.

Also, check – Why Rainwater is best for plants

3. Check the bottom hole of the pot

If water is not coming out from the bottom of the pot, then there are no benefits of well-drained soil.

Check the functionality of the bottom hole properly, sometimes roots or any other things might get obstructed inside these holes and water would not be able to come out.

Keep watering your plant till water comes out from the bottom hole. Some people give little water on a daily basis which is actually totally wrong.

By this method, the outer soil of the pot would be moisturized but the bottom soil would become like a stone. So give water to the plant till the point water comes out from the bottom hole.

4. Fill the pot completely

Fill the soil in the pot completely. Do not leave any space on the top, normally we leave 2-3 inches of space.

During heavy rain, water starts standing on the top of the soil and it might lead to fungus and green algae on the top of the soil.

5. Remove the bottom leaves

When filling your pot completely with soil, make sure to remove the bottom leaves of the plant.

These leaves can come into constant contact with the wet soil, increasing the risk of infection and fungus. Removing them will help prevent these issues.

6. Remove unwanted weeds

During the monsoon, the moderate temperature causes unwanted weeds in the pots to grow rapidly.

It is important to remove these weeds from the roots; otherwise, they will deplete the plant’s nutrients.

7. Remove the plates from the bottom of the pots

Generally, we place pots on plates to prevent staining the surface beneath them.

However, during the rainy season, it is important to remove these plates to prevent water from accumulating and flooding the pots.

8. Raise the level of plants

During the rainy season, place plants on stands to allow water to drain easily.

If your pots have flat bottoms or you are using gardening bags, elevate them with bricks or any other objects to raise their level.

9. Give support to your plants

During the monsoon, heavy rains are often accompanied by strong winds.

Wet soil increases the risk of plants being uprooted, so it is important to provide them with support. This will help them remain upright even during heavy winds.

10. Fertilizer for plants

Apply neem cake fertilizer to your plants before the rain starts; it will help prevent problems like fungus and insects.

Since rainwater contains a good amount of nitrogen, there’s no need for additional fertilizers. Plants will thrive naturally during the rainy season.

11. Fungicides and Pesticides

During the rainy season, you can use neem oil solution, neem soap solution, cinnamon powder, and cinnamon liquid solution.

Spray your plants with a neem solution weekly to protect them from fungus and pest attacks.

Care for Indoor Plants

During the monsoon season, the increased moisture in the air requires careful attention to indoor plants.

You may notice that the soil of indoor plants remains wet for longer periods.

Be cautious when watering your plants to prevent the appearance of white fungus on the soil surface.
If you see any white fungus, simply remove it and sprinkle cinnamon powder on the affected area.

Due to the higher humidity, ensure proper ventilation for indoor plants by keeping doors and windows open.

It was all about monsoon season for plants.

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