Not completely sure what the problem is. You have puddles, and then you don't? A temporary puddle certainly won't cause rotting of stems. Now, if it rains really hard, it's hard to avoid having some temporary puddles.

I'd like to believe that when the rain stops, at least within the hour, the puddle is gone.

You might want to consider the structure of your bed. Was it dug deeply, or is it just a few inches of loose soil on top of hardpan? If it was dug deeply, with a lot of compost mixed in, you shouldn't get puddles. Sounds like you don't have a serious problem, but probably need some more organic matter dug in eventually. Puddling points to a non-friable soil.

The problem is if the puddles remain for an extended time. Sounds like your soil is okay

As the others have said, you should be fine. Watering with a hose can create puddles. As long as they soon disappear it's not a problem. It's just a case of water being put down faster than the soil can soak it up.

Rodney

Thanks everyone, I am hoping you are right. I am going to see what happens when I start watering with a light sprinkler. It was not dug very deep, but I did try to loosen it up and add compost. Wish me luck and thank you for taking the time to respond!

I can tell you right now what will happen with the sprinkler. The tomato and squash will catch diseases and die.

You should eventually (as in, before next season) dig to at least a full spade depth, and work the compost and any other organic matter you have around into that depth. If in the fall, dig in leaves, especially if you're in the south and the soil stays more or less warm. Now, if this is the first time the bed is dug, it's going to be hard work, penetrating the compacted dirt. But if you dig in lots of compost and organic material, the digging will be far easier in following seasons.

I'd also suggest doing a test hole after irrigation, and just see what it looks like. Is there a muddy layer below the surface beyond which water has a hard time penetrating? You don't want your roots swimming in that. If so, at least for this year, you're going to have to be very careful not to overwater.

Dorthy, If you are not using a raised bed approach then suggest you use instead a rowed garden approach. (It was not clear in your post if your garden was mostly level/flat.) Because of our excessive rainfalls, rowing is the most common gardening method in southern states. (...we collected 5 inches of rain in the rain gauge last Wednesday.) The concept is for the top of the rows to be above ground level and for the valleys to be below ground level. Row width varies depending on the vegetable being planted... usually 3 to 4 ft wide. Raising the garden bed by adding mulch, soil, sand, etc. will over the years helps to improve drainage by elevating the valleys to near or above ground level.

This post was edited by grandad on Tue, Jun 3, 14 at 13:01