How to Protect Crops from Heavy Rain

Like sunshine, rain is an incredibly important part of the farming process. Without enough rain, soil and plants alike will wither up under the sun and produce little to no crops for the season. However, too much rain is also a danger. If your plants are hit too hard by heavy storms or even hail, they’re likely to be seriously injured—if not completely washed away— and unable to produce any crop. Thankfully, there are a number of ways you can protect your crop from rain, a few of which we’ve listed below!

Lay Down Mulch 

If the roots of your crops are still in their early stages, it’s not impossible for heavy rain to pull them from the ground and wash them away. Storms can also very easily cause cold damage to a plant’s root system, so we advise putting some protection in place before the rain rolls overhead. If you have space between your crops, we recommend laying down 3 inches of mulch to both insulate the roots and avoid soil erosion. 

Improve Drainage 

If you’ve been warned by local forecasts that heavy rain and flooding are expected for the next week or so, we advise rushing out to your fields to try and improve the drainage around your crops. For crops planted in rows, this means placing foot-deep drainage ditches between each row. However, this method won’t really work for no-till crops, and we suggest using sand and stones to try and redirect the rainwater instead. 

Looking for some helpful tools or heavy-duty equipment to help you prep your fields for heavy rains? Then you’ll want to hurry over to one of our locations in Ste. Genevieve and Leadington, Missouri to find everything you need! Here at Flieg's Equipment, we offer a wide variety of helpful farming tools, parts, and machinery, and proudly serve the nearby cities of Farmington, and Park Hills, Missouri.