Saturday, September 19, 2015

Rain, rain, go away. Come again some other day.

If hindsight were 20/20 I would have built hoop tunnels over the garden beds and covered them in clear plastic sheeting that could be pulled back for when it's not raining. It would have helped keep the excess rain off the growing beds and prevented many of the difficulties I've had. 

Too much rain has caused all sorts of problems in the garden......

...weeds. They are outgrowing my efforts to control them. Basically it's the tropical grasses that are the prime headache. These spread via stolons and rhizomes, making control a real pain in the neck during rainy times. 

...rot. So many of the veggies are rotting before they mature. The slightest bit of damage to them opens the door to bacteria, moods, viruses, etc. I'm seeing rot problems with the potatoes, beans, peas, tomatoes, chard. I suppose I'd see other veggies rotting but I haven't replanted them in weeks because of the constant wet conditions.

...diseases. Once the diseases start in the area, they quickly spread throughout the gardens. How? Via the body or legs of every cat, dog, turkey, pheasant, or human passing through. While I can keep people and dogs out of the gardens, I don't have any control on the others.

...splitting. The excess water has resulted in veggies splitting before they are ready for harvest -- tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, radishes, daikon to name a few.

..pests. The bugs are undergoing a population explosion. Aphids. Grasshopper types. Flea beetles. Stink bugs. You name it, there are scads of them now. 

For months I've been hoping that the rains will go back to something that I could call normal. So far no luck. I guess I'll just have to take the time to build those rain shelter hopp tunnels ...... ya know..... just to make it stop raining. The gods are like that, eh? 

2 comments:

  1. "The gods are like that".... they sure are! I had one season - the first season - where I got my come uppance and the next season I was a little more prepared. By the 2nd season I had the SUN shade (we have the opposite problem of what you have. We have TOO much sun and NO water) but I still have splitting problems because when it's 105 I have a really hard time gauging how much water to put on the plants. That's life in the gardening fast lane.

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    Replies
    1. Yup, gardening is like that. It's either too much or too little. Every year is a challenge.....but I like it.

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