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Episode 18 – When the Garden Floods - Lessons from the Storm · The Beanstalk : A Podcast for Gardeners

• 0:29
  Welcome back to the Beanstalk. My name's John, and today's
• 0:33
  episode is going to be a little different and a bit more serious
• 0:37
  than usual. About a week ago, I woke up to
• 0:41
  find that my yard had flooded. Not just a little puddle here
• 0:45
  and there. I'm talking about four solid
• 0:48
  inches of standing water that came from only about an inch and
• 0:51
  a half of rainfall that fell way too fast for the ground to
• 0:55
  handle. I didn't actually see it
• 0:58
  happening in real time. I found out by checking my
• 1:02
  security cameras later. Watching that footage, seeing
• 1:06
  the water rush in like that, it honestly made my stomach sink a
• 1:09
  little. My office, my work area, my
• 1:13
  garage, and even my chickens all got hit hard.
• 1:18
  Now just to add insult to injury, I had just redone the
• 1:21
  chicken pen about 3 weeks before that storm rolled in.
• 1:25
  So when I realized I had to redo the entire thing all again.
• 1:30
  I can't lie, it stung a little. Between cleaning out the garage,
• 1:35
  running a big industrial floor fan for almost a week to dry
• 1:39
  everything, and trying to figure out what I could salvage, it was
• 1:43
  a lot to take in. But I figured if I'm going
• 1:48
  through it, then maybe some of you are too, or someday might
• 1:52
  be. So let's talk about flooding,
• 1:56
  what it does, how to deal with it, and how to prepare so next
• 2:01
  time it's not so bad. Here's why we're talking about
• 2:07
  floods. Flooding is one of those things
• 2:11
  you don't think about until it happens.
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  And when it does, you realize just how fast water can then do
• 2:19
  months or even years of hard work.
• 2:25
  A garden isn't just a patch of dirt and plants, it's a living
• 2:29
  system. When a flood rolls through, it
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  doesn't just drown your plants, it can smother the soil, wash
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  away nutrients, and upset the balance of life beneath the
• 2:42
  surface. For gardeners, floods aren't
• 2:47
  just natural disasters, they're ecological resets.
• 2:53
  And the more we understand how floods affect our little
• 2:56
  backyard ecosystems, the better we can recover and rebuild what
• 3:04
  flooding does to a garden. When a garden floods, the soil
• 3:10
  becomes saturated with water, which pushes out the oxygen that
• 3:14
  roots and microbes need to breathe.
• 3:17
  That's what leads to root rot, not just because of the water
• 3:22
  itself, but because those anaerobic bacteria start to take
• 3:26
  over when oxygen disappears. You'll also see nutrient
• 3:32
  leaching. Essential minerals like nitrogen
• 3:36
  and potassium get washed out, leaving the soil depleted and
• 3:40
  plants weak. Flood water can also bring in
• 3:46
  contaminants, especially if you're near roads, septic
• 3:50
  systems, or industrial areas. That runoff can contain oils,
• 3:55
  salts, or even bacteria that stay in your soil long after the
• 4:00
  water's gone. And then there's fungal disease.
• 4:06
  When everything stays wet too long, molds and mildews go wild.
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  Even plants that survive the flood might start showing
• 4:15
  strange spots or wilting a week or two later.
• 4:21
  One thing I noticed first hand, Clay soil holds on to water like
• 4:25
  a sponge, while sandy soil drains more quickly but loses
• 4:30
  nutrients very fast. It's a trade off and neither is
• 4:35
  great in extreme weather, but knowing your soil type helps you
• 4:40
  plan your defenses. Responding after a flood.
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  So let's say the flood waters have gone down, what now?
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  Step one, don't rush in and start digging or replanting
• 4:57
  right away. Give the soil time to drain at
• 5:02
  least a few days of dry weather if possible.
• 5:06
  Working wet soil can cause compaction which makes it even
• 5:10
  harder for air and roots to move later.
• 5:15
  Step 2. Check your plants and soil
• 5:19
  health. If your garden smells sour, like
• 5:22
  rotten eggs, that's hydrogen sulfide, a sign that anaerobic
• 5:27
  bacteria are active. To fix that, gently aerate the
• 5:33
  soil with a garden fork or broad fork once it's dry enough to
• 5:37
  work. Step three, restore balance.
• 5:45
  A light application of gypsum can help loosen compacted clay
• 5:48
  soils, and a generous layer of compost will reintroduce
• 5:52
  beneficial microbes and organic matter.
• 5:58
  Step 4. Disinfect your tools, pots, and
• 6:02
  surfaces. Flood water can spread plant
• 6:06
  pathogens easily, so take the time to wash everything with a
• 6:10
  mild bleach or vinegar solution. And lastly, if your compost pile
• 6:18
  got flooded, don't use it right away.
• 6:24
  Let it heat up again naturally to kill off anything harmful
• 6:28
  before you return it to your garden, preventing future
• 6:34
  flooding. Now, As for the future, there's
• 6:38
  a lot you can do to protect your garden and your home.
• 6:43
  First, take a walk around your property and notice where water
• 6:47
  naturally flows and collects. You can build small swales,
• 6:51
  shallow ditches or berms to redirect runoff towards safer
• 6:55
  areas or rain gardens. French drains are another great
• 7:02
  option. They're simple trenches filled
• 7:06
  with the gravel and perforated pipe that guide water away from
• 7:09
  structures. You can also talk to your local
• 7:14
  municipality and see if they will raise up your curbs in more
• 7:17
  flood prone areas. They generally have plans on how
• 7:21
  to redirect large amounts of water and will listen to and at
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  times implement suggestions to help achieve this.
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  If you're gardening in a flood prone area, consider raised beds
• 7:36
  at least 12 to 18 inches high. They dry out faster and protect
• 7:41
  your plants, root zones and lawns.
• 7:47
  I know they get a bad rap sometimes, but healthy grass
• 7:51
  actually helps a lot. Those dense root systems slow
• 7:56
  down water, filter out debris, and absorb A surprising amount
• 8:00
  of moisture before it reaches low points.
• 8:05
  For my place, I've decided I'm going to build up a 1 1/2 foot
• 8:09
  barrier around my yard consisting of 2 foot by 8 foot
• 8:13
  planting beds. I was about halfway there
• 8:17
  already but didn't have all the necessary cash to finish it in
• 8:21
  time sadly. It's nothing fancy, just some
• 8:25
  decent raised metal beds from a farmer supply type store.
• 8:30
  Just enough to keep most of that fast moving water from getting
• 8:33
  close to the garage or chicken area again.
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  And I get the added bonus of using them to garden with as
• 8:39
  well. It won't stop a major flood, but
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  it'll buy me time at the very least.
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  And in the most severe situations, time is incredibly
• 8:50
  precious. Here's where we get a little
• 8:54
  nerdy. After flooding, your soil
• 8:58
  becomes an anaerobic environment, meaning oxygen is
• 9:03
  gone and different types of microbes take over.
• 9:07
  The good news? Soil biology is resilient.
• 9:13
  Once air returns, those beneficial aerobic bacteria and
• 9:18
  fungi bounce back quickly. If you want to speed things up,
• 9:24
  you can inoculate your soil with micro risal fungi or use a
• 9:29
  microbial compost tea to jump start recovery.
• 9:35
  These organisms rebuild the soil, food web and restore
• 9:39
  natural disease resistance faster than nature alone might
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  manage. Floods might seem like total
• 9:47
  destruction, but in reality they're just massive resets.
• 9:52
  A reminder that soil is alive and it can heal.
• 9:57
  And now for the recipe. Stone Soup A garden lesson.
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  After dealing with all that heavy stuff, I thought we'd
• 10:08
  finished today with something light, a bit of comfort food
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  that also tells a story. You might have heard of Stone
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  Soup, an old folk tale about a traveller who convinces a town
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  to share their food by starting with just a pot of water and a
• 10:25
  single stone. One by one, everyone adds
• 10:30
  something. A carrot here, a potato there,
• 10:34
  until they all share a meal together.
• 10:38
  The story of Stone Soup Before we get into the recipe, I want
• 10:44
  to tell you the full story behind Stone Soup.
• 10:48
  It's one of those timeless tales that's been told and retold
• 10:52
  across the world, from Europe to Africa to Asia, with little
• 10:59
  twists each time, but always the same core message.
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  When we share what we have, we all end up richer for it.
• 11:09
  Here's how I like to tell it. Once Upon a time there was a
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  weary traveller, Tired, hungry and carrying nothing but a small
• 11:20
  pot and a single smooth stone. He came upon a village 1
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  evening, hoping for a warm meal and a place to rest.
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  But ties were hard in that little town.
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  The villagers had all been keeping to themselves, hiding
• 11:36
  their food away, worried there wouldn't be enough to go around.
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  When the traveller knocked on doors, asking kindly for
• 11:46
  something to eat, he was turned away again and again.
• 11:51
  I'm sorry, they'd say we barely have enough for ourselves.
• 11:57
  But the Traveller wasn't discouraged.
• 12:00
  He smiled, set his pot down in the middle of the town, filled
• 12:05
  it with water, and built a small fire underneath.
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  The villagers peeked out their windows, curious.
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  Then, loud enough for everyone to hear, the traveller said.
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  Ah, what a fine day for stone soup.
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  He dropped his little stone into the boiling water and stirred it
• 12:26
  thoughtfully, humming as he went.
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  A few folks came out to see what in the world he was doing.
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  Stone soup? One woman asked, wrinkling her
• 12:38
  brow. You can't make soup from a
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  stone. Ah, the traveller said with a
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  twinkle in his eye. You'd be surprised.
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  It's delicious, though. It would be even better with a
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  little bit of carrot or onion for flavour.
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  The woman thought about it and said.
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  Well, I suppose I could spare a carrot and onion.
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  She went home, fetched them and added them to the pot.
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  Before long, another villager came by, sniffing the air.
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  That smells good, he said. What's cooking?
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  Stone soup, said the traveller. It's nearly perfect now, though
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  it could use just a bit of potato, or maybe even a pinch of
• 13:19
  salt. I think I've got a potato or
• 13:22
  two, the man said, and toss them in.
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  And so it went. 1 by 1, the villagers came forward.
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  Someone brought cabbage, another brought beans, another a handful
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  of herbs. One family even contributed a
• 13:38
  little meat. By the time the sunset, the pot
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  was full and bubbling, rich with vegetables and aroma.
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  The traveller tasted it and smiled wide.
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  It's done, he said. The finest stone soup in all the
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  land. Everyone gathered around, bowls
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  in hand. They shared the soup together,
• 14:00
  laughing, talking, and realizing how good it felt to be community
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  again. When the pot was empty and the
• 14:09
  fire burned low, one curious child asked.
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  But Mr. What about the stone? The traveller smiled, fished it
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  out of the pot, and held it up. Ah, he said, This stone will
• 14:23
  make soup again someday, but for now, I think it belongs to all
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  of you. He left the stone with them.
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  A reminder that great things happen when everyone adds just a
• 14:36
  little bit of what they have. You know, that story's always
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  reminded me a bit of gardening and of community itself.
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  Because just like in Stone Soup, a garden is built on small
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  contributions that come together to create something amazing.
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  One person saves seeds, another shares compost.
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  A neighbor trades you a cutting of mint or a few garlic bulbs.
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  Before you know it, everyone's garden and everyone's life is a
• 15:06
  little bit richer. Even when we face setbacks like
• 15:11
  floods or pests or hard seasons, that same lesson applies.
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  We're stronger when we grow together, so here's my kid
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  friendly garden version of stone Soup.
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  First, the ingredients. You'll want one clean, smooth
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  stone for the sake of tradition. Half a pound of bacon, fried and
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  chopped. 4 cups of vegetable broth.
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  Other preferred broth or water. Two diced potatoes, Two carrots,
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  sliced. One Cup of green beans, fresh or
• 15:59
  frozen works. One ear of corn cut off of the
• 16:06
  cob. One diced tomato, One small
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  onion, Two cloves of garlic minced, one Bay leaf, a few mint
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  or parsley leaves if you have them handy, and salt and pepper
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  to taste. And then the instructions.
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  Start by washing your stone really well.
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  Scrub it like you mean it. Bring your broth to a simmer in
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  a big pot, then drop in your stone.
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  Add the onion, garlic and carrots first.
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  These take the longest. After about 10 minutes, toss in
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  the potatoes, green beans and corn.
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  Finish with your tomato, herbs, salt and pepper.
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  Let it simmer until everything's soft and fragrant, about 20 to
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  30 minutes. When it's ready, take the stone
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  out and serve up a bowl. It's simple, comforting, and a
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  great way to teach kids about sharing and about how even small
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  things, when put together, can make something wonderful.
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  And now the Fun Facts Corner Flood edition.
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  Floods are the most common natural disaster worldwide.
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  A single acre of water 1 foot deep weighs over 1000 tons.
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  The soil under flood water can lose up to 80% of its oxygen in
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  just 24 hours. Some plants, like rice and cat
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  tails, have a special air channel in their stems to
• 18:10
  breathe underwater. Lawns with healthy root systems
• 18:16
  can absorb up to 6 inches of rain per hour before flooding
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  occurs. Worms can survive floods by
• 18:26
  forming worm balls knotting together to float until the
• 18:30
  water recedes. After the Great Flood of 1993,
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  researchers found that flood plains regenerated more fertile
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  topsoil than before in some areas, proof that nature
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  balances destruction with renewal.
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  Compost piles of flood can reach 160°F or higher once they dry
• 18:58
  enough to sanitize themselves naturally.
• 19:02
  And here's a weird one. Earth actually rings like a
• 19:06
  bell. After major floods, the shifting
• 19:09
  water mass causes measurable vibrations in the planet's
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  crust. So whether your garden's been
• 19:18
  underwater or you're just trying to prepare for the next big
• 19:21
  storm, remember, resilience grows from experience.
• 19:27
  Nature doesn't stop, and neither do gardeners.
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  We learn, we rebuild, and we plant again.
• 19:36
  If you've ever dealt with flooding in your garden or
• 19:38
  you've got tips or stories to share, I'd love to hear from
• 19:42
  you. Come join us on the Beanstalk
• 19:44
  Facebook page and share your experience.
• 19:48
  Until next time, stay safe, stay grounded, and keep growing.
• 19:53
  I'm John and this Spin the Beanstalk.
• 19:57
  Keep on climbing. Music.