Preparing Planter Boxes for the Rainy Season

When it comes to decorating your outdoor space and deck, adding greenery to your space is a great addition. If you don’t have a large garden, planter boxes are a great option to add color and natural plants to your outdoor space. During the rainy season, there are certain things you’ll want to keep an eye out for however. Waterproofing your deck is a must as well as learning how to prepare a planter box for the rainy season. One of the most important things to keep in mind for your planter box is the good drainage.

With all the rain that is expected to fall during a rainy season, it runs the risk of drowning your plants because of too much water. In order to avoid this, proper drainage is key. One solution is is to have your planters in containers that use vertical systems. These include window boxes, plants mounted to walls or railing and pots on plant stands. This added height allows any extra water the plant needs to simply continue draining out from the bottom of the plant. If you have a planter box, another key element is to either have the planter box raised from the ground to avoid flooding or for the planter box to have an overflow mechanism which was added when the planter box was first created. This overflow mechanism will either ensure any excess water to drain away form the structure or to send the water directly into a subdrainage system.

If you’re expecting heavy rainfall and your soil consists of a poor structure, then it’s important to add organic matter to the mix as the matter will help to hold some of the extra moisture so that it does not all go to your plants. Examples of organic matter that you can add to your planter box include leaf mould, manures, compost, grass clippings and other forms of mulch.