Too much water!

[Ruderunner]

So for the last month or so we've had high humidity, rain nearly every day, sometimes very heavy.

My garden is water logged. To the point that one can smell the decay.

Indeed, my zucchini have died from root rot, pickles too. Tomatoes have had to be de leafed to a height of 4 feet and then some. My cabbage is turning into sourkraut before picking, literally.

I've been going through and pulling plants and defoliating in an effort to get airflow and sun on the soil to help evaporate the moisture. Might be too little too late.

 

[DirtMechanic]

So for the last month or so we've had high humidity, rain nearly every day, sometimes very heavy.

My garden is water logged. To the point that one can smell the decay.

Indeed, my zucchini have died from root rot, pickles too. Tomatoes have had to be de leafed to a height of 4 feet and then some. My cabbage is turning into sourkraut before picking, literally.

I've been going through and pulling plants and defoliating in an effort to get airflow and sun on the soil to help evaporate the moisture. Might be too little too late.

I started out with tricho and the organics like actinovate but there were so many different opportunistic fungi slipping through that I used agri-phos which killed the good and the bad I guess. The garden smells normal though.

 

[Marck]

I don't know the size of your vegetable garden, but if it isn't prohibitive, I recommend building raised beds.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I don't know the size of your vegetable garden, but if it isn't prohibitive, I recommend building raised beds.

Or just stop your wife from tilling down your hill-rows.

 

[Ruderunner]

Ah, well technically the one tats having the worst time is a raised bed. But, due to various factors, I didn't make raised rows as I normally do.

The soil isn't muddy, damp yes but not mush. The general level of humidity has been awful. Go outside before sunrise, temperatures about 70f and you feel sticky in minutes. A half hour later, just trimming tomato plants and you're likely to be dripping.

Sunshine has been scarce, oh it rises and brightens the sky but there's enough cloud cover or haze that you don't see anything but a bright blur most days.

I can't remember the last summer like this. Nothing is getting a chance to dry out.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Ah, well technically the one tats having the worst time is a raised bed. But, due to various factors, I didn't make raised rows as I normally do.

The soil isn't muddy, damp yes but not mush. The general level of humidity has been awful. Go outside before sunrise, temperatures about 70f and you feel sticky in minutes. A half hour later, just trimming tomato plants and you're likely to be dripping.

Sunshine has been scarce, oh it rises and brightens the sky but there's enough cloud cover or haze that you don't see anything but a bright blur most days.

I can't remember the last summer like this. Nothing is getting a chance to dry out.

And all those wonderfully immediately available nutrients you thought would be useful got flushed down the rainspout so everything is starved. Oh but it is not starved evenly, since certain nutrients are water soluble and other like phosphorus just wont go away so you get to deal with imbalance because you obviously do not have enough to do.

 

[Ruderunner]

Are you recommending some sort of fertilizer? Something that allows the plants to make use of the extra moisture?

My plants are damp to the touch until almost noon on days without rain lately. Days it does rain they're wet almost all day. We've been getting multiple short showers, sometimes hard rain but usually 10 minute drizzle for almost 2 months.

It's like Florida but less sun and breeze.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I would think the rain has washed away a lot of nutrients, and tomato for example has more K in them than N. I understand P is relatively immobile in soil, so that means it does not leach as easily. I would think 0-0-K would show a general vigor increase.

 

[Marck]

So the problem is due to too much wet weather... One idea is to build a temporary tent-roof of clear plastic over the beds. It would be open on the sides for air flow. However, that might very well be too much labor and expense to be worth it.

 

[DirtMechanic]

So the problem is due to too much wet weather... One idea is to build a temporary tent-roof of clear plastic over the beds. It would be open on the sides for air flow. However, that might very well be too much labor and expense to be worth it.

And wind. Here those frog strangler 2 inch per hour storms have a lot of wind energy. Literally it would have to be a very strong luffed sail at a minimum. Just one more justification for a greenhouse really.

 

[Ruderunner]

Yes, wet weather is the primary problem. A greenhouse is not possible, zoning regulations.