How to grow vegetables on rainy days

When planting vegetables in the summer, the biggest worry is cloudy and rainy days. On rainy days, crop photosynthesis is reduced, and the absorption of nutrients is also reduced. As a result, the plants do not grow and do not produce fruits. Sometimes, due to heavy rain, water accumulates and the roots of crops rot and decay, which may lead to root rot, bacterial wilt, powdery mildew, red spider mites and other pests and diseases. Let's talk about how to grow vegetables on rainy days.

1. Ventilation and rain protection

Vegetables grown in greenhouses do not need to worry about being damaged by rain, but ventilation must be ensured. The greenhouse itself is an environment of high temperature and high humidity. If there is continuous rainy weather and no sunlight, the humidity will increase. Excessive humidity will quickly cause powdery mildew. Maintaining ventilation and reducing humidity will greatly reduce the chance of powdery mildew.

Friends who grow vegetables in small vegetable gardens or on balconies, if conditions permit, must provide shelter when it rains heavily. Although vegetables love water, they cannot be soaked in rain for a long time.

2. Drain water in time

This problem does not exist in greenhouse cultivation, which is mainly carried out in small vegetable gardens and balconies.

It is recommended to plant in ridges in small vegetable gardens. Small ridges 20cm high and 20cm wide are used for planting. This is conducive to drainage on rainy days. Rainwater will flow along the ridges into the ditches and will not directly soak the roots. If there is a lot of rainwater in the ditch after rain, you can also drain it and avoid it from accumulating for a long time. Otherwise, the soil will become acidic, the soil will become hard, and it will be difficult for crop roots to take root. Long-term excessive moisture in the soil can also cause the crop roots to not breathe, resulting in root rot.

3. No watering or fertilization

In rainy weather, do not water or fertilize. In rainy weather, the air humidity and soil humidity increase. Without sunlight, crops grow slowly and cannot absorb water and fertilizer. Therefore, it is not recommended to use either top dressing or foliar fertilizer at this time.

After a rainy day, do not water the plants immediately. Drain the water first, wait for the rain water to drain, and let them dry in the sun for a few days before watering and fertilizing appropriately. Moreover, after a rainy day, once the weather clears up, the crops will wilt briefly, with the seedling heads and leaves drooping. This situation usually lasts for 2-3 days because the transpiration suddenly increases on a sunny day and the crop evaporates water severely. At this time, it is necessary to block the sunlight during the period of strong sunlight, especially from 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm. Spray some clean water in the morning and evening, but do not water it. Wait until the situation improves in about 3 days before watering it appropriately.

4. Do not cut leaves or prune seedlings

This is very important. You must not cut leaves or prune seedlings in rainy weather, as this will cause damage to the crops. Whether it is greenhouse cultivation or open-field cultivation, rainy days are when bacterial diseases occur fastest. For example, gray mold bacteria will invade the plant through wounds, causing the plant stems to become sick, dry up, and finally wither. When cutting leaves and pruning seedlings, you must choose a sunny morning or afternoon, and then expose them to sunlight and ventilation to allow the wounds to scab quickly and prevent the invasion of diseases.

5. Take good care of pests and diseases

Diseases are most likely to occur on rainy days, such as powdery mildew due to increased humidity, and red spider mites due to sudden clearing and high temperatures. Therefore, after the rain, we can use some medicines or small prescriptions to prevent and control pests and diseases. For example, baking soda and wood ash can prevent powdery mildew, wood ash can also prevent red spider mites, and wood ash is also a very good fertilizer . Once red spider mites are found, urine cleaning mixture can be used for spraying in the early stages. In addition, you can also use 75% concentration of thiophanate-methyl for prevention.

That’s it