plant before or after rain?

[Laura J]

I finally have my first garden put together and am ready to plant my first seeds (beets, arugula and peas). We're supposed to get rain pretty much all week. If I plant the seeds now, are they going to wash away? Is it better to plant before or after a rainstorm? It's a raised bed garden with peat moss, compost and a little vermiculite so it should have good drainage.

Thanks also to everyone who answered my last question regarding the vermiculite. In the end, I just bought 2 of the small bags and raked them in. I definitely thing that making it 1/3 of the mix would have been overkill.

LauraJ Zone 6a (Boston, MA)

[dps]

Around here (Boston) the spring rains are generally fairly light to moderate, so plant now. The rain will help to water in the seeds and start them germinating.

If we were going to have a really heavy rain the seeds might wash out. Look out for "thunderstorms" as keywords in the weather forecast. Generally more of a problem later in the summer.

If they wash out, just plant them again. It's still early enough. Seeds are fairly cheap. The arugula and beets (and many other common garden veggies) you should plan on doing a second or even third planting later in the year anyway (2-4 week intervals). If you like your beets really big, just plant a lot now. If you like beet leaves, do several plantings so you have a more consistent supply of small tender leaves. My arugula tends to go to seed after a while, so I do several plantings so there are always some young plants to chose from.

Laura J wrote:

[Phisherman]

It's a bad idea to go into the garden when the ground is wet. The best time to plant seed is in dry ground just before it rains. They may wash away if your garden is on a slope.

[Michelle]

[simy1]

I have sandy soil and flat raised beds. In my case before the rain is a far better option, and actually I adjust my schedule to plant just before it rains. If I broadcast seeds, the through soaking a rain provides gets them off to a good start. For seedlings, a couple of rainy days are even better as the temperature does not fluctuate much, the UV index is minimal, and the soaking gives the rootlets a boost.

[Rose]

I live in the Philadelphia area (well actually just outside it in Montgomery County) and I try my best to plant before the rain - but here's a suggestion for you - its something I do and I'm sure a lot of others do the same thing - I save the rainwater and use it to water my garden with. I live around a few gardeners and they tell me that rainwater is the best that you can use.

Rose

"How did I ever get talked into this?"

[nswong]

Hi Rose,

around a few

Water from main pipe contain chlorine, this will harm soil life.

Regards, Wong

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