Yes, the monsoons in Arizona can be breathtaking! However, they can beat down on your garden if you are not prepared. The crazy wind combined with relentless rain, and then MORE WIND can rip even the oldest trees down in one heartbreaking gust. And your little plants won’t fare too well either!

Here’s how you can prepare and protect your plants:

1. Trim Your Trouble Trees: Especially your Mesquites, Palo Verdes, Acacias, and Sumacs. If they look like big umbrellas they are likely to catch a lot of wind and can easily be torn out of the ground if their roots are not trained deep.

2. Keep Your Potted Plants Clustered Together and Close to a Wall: If your potted plants are more than twice as tall or twice as wide as their pot, they are prone to falling over. Clustering a few together helps keep them upright. You also will want to keep them near a protective wall, this guard against large gusts of wind.

3. Be Careful With Seeds: Now can be a great time to plant seeds in pots and raised beds where drainage is excellent. You won't want to plant seeds in the ground just yet though!

4. Manage Your Floodwaters! Despite the occasional monsoon downpour, we still live in a dry desert with lots of clay soil. Rather than let all that valuable water just wash away your topsoil, now’s a good time to mound and mulch your gardens to slow the movement of water a bit, improve soil capacity for retention, and help deep-water your trees and plants.

To find out what webinars or live classes are available for free click here!