Over the last couple of months I received a number of inquiries about soil erosion in daffodil beds. At one time this summer, we had so much rain here that I thought I was the one that needed soil erosion help - I'll discuss that again below. So, I spent a lot of time on the web searching for articles on erosion. I found many more web sites then I really wanted to, however, very little that was direct or specific to garden beds.
At the time I started this article, my newly established daffodil beds looked like this picture with a furrow. However, between this stage and the one in the picture below, there was a major rain, and the washing away of nearly half my top soil. Lucky for me the fresh topsoil washed downhill to my stock pond and filled it up. I cut the pond's dam, drained it, and with a small bucket-loader, I reclaimed my precious soil. The pond? I'll tend to it later. Daffodils first.
Erosion Defined: "Erosion is the detachment of particles of soil and surficial sediments and rocks, occurs by hydrological (fluvial) processes of sheet erosion, rilling and gully erosion, and through mass wasting and the action of wind."
The one thing that I found to be common was the obvious, erosion is most likely to occur where the ground has been disturbed. Such as our Gardens. A site that I found to be quiet interesting was this one. Protecting your property from erosion is another site that I selected that seems to have helpful information.
On a page titled, "Quick Tips for Homeowners," I found a number of interesting comemnts and helpful suggestions. One was that you shouldn't wait until spring to "winterize" your property, as it should be done by late September to avoid damage. Other solutions included inexpensive items such as to seed bare spots, make trenches with a shovel to drain water away from trouble spots such as slopes, and check before storms to insure that drains and ditches are not clogged.
Garden Bed Erosion
I had my problems with erosion this summer, as I stated before, my early daffodil bed nearly washed away on me. I had made this new bed on the slope of a fairly steep hill on the south side of property. After digging it two feet deep and applying fresh well mixed soil, I though I was ready for bulb planting. Little did I know that a heavy rain would wash most of the bed away, including my precious and expensive topsoil.
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