Could a Retaining Wall Help Protect Your Garden This Fall?

A retaining wall is a major construction project on your property, but you may need a retaining wall to prevent your garden from being washed away this summer. Heavy rains will damage all the plants in your garden, and you simply do not have the time to replant everything that is lost. Your garden should be a lifetime investment that grows back every year, and a bad rainstorm can ruin all your hard work. This article explains how a retaining wall can save your garden in Ann Arbor MI when the rains are falling very hard.

#1: How Do You Build The Wall?

The wall is a solid structure made from railroad tie planks or stone pavers, and the wall must sit against soil on a higher part of your property. The runoff from rain will come off a higher part of your property, and the runoff will simply demolish all your plants at once. Every plant that is not to be watered much will be lost, and other plants will drown slowly if the rain lasts more than a day.

You build the wall as tightly as you can, and you must level the soil at the top of the wall. The wall will absorb a good bit of the moisture, or you create a downspout that leads the water to a different part of your property. Erecting the wall will take a whole weekend, but you will have protection for the garden.

#2: Heavy Rains Will Bypass The Wall

The wall you build cannot prevent heavy rains from destroying the plants in your garden, and you must plant your garden on a slope that allows the water to run off easily. The wall itself is already above your garden, and you must allow the garden to slope down to prevent the plants from drowning. The finest wall in the world will not save your garden if heavy rains bypass the wall for a day or two.

#3: Why Use Wood?

A wall made from wood planks will help absorb more rain than a stone wall, and you must consider how much rain you get in the summer. A home that sees very little runoff does not need a wood wall, but a home that sees considerable runoff from other properties in the summer must have a thick wooden wall that will absorb moisture all summer.

Planning your garden in Ann Arbor MI requires a bit of planning prior to building any sort of wall. You must place your garden in an advantageous spot, and the wall must be built after the fact. You cannot save some gardens from heavy rains, but a garden that has been planned well will survive a rainy summer when flanked by a wall.

Your family depends on the garden you plant every year, and you must consider how a wall will help protect your work. The garden will regrow every year, but it can all be lost without adequate protection in the summer storm season.