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REFLECTIONS ON A SOGGY, SWEATY, SWATTY SUMMER
If you've ever pondered how plants might grow if they received more than adequate moisture for an entire growing season, this year has provided the answer. I've done enough sweating and swatting to last me until spring.
Summer rainfall at my home has totaled 26.5 inches through mid-September, with these monthly totals: June, 8.35; July, 4.8; August,11.2; and September (through 9/10), 1.6.
I've seldom seen a corn crop that stands as tall and supports as many ears as this year's crop. I haven't heard any yield estimates but area farmers are likely discovering that their silos are being filled with silage from fewer corn acres than usual. Well-above-average corn and soybean yields are anticipated throughout much of Minnesota.
Unfortunately, abundant crop yields don't necessarily equate with bounty in the garden.
Many gardeners have complained this year about flowers that lack the spectacular colors of normal years, vegetables besieged by disease and insects, and many other problems. Although I've picked more green beans lately than I thought possible, vine crops, tomatoes and many other plants have suffered because of excess rain.
Perhaps more than any other plant, trees responded to the above-average moisture with vigorous growth. I took a yardstick on a walk around my yard to measure growth of various woody plants. Here are new-growth totals (in inches): river birch, 26; hybrid maple, 15; sugar maple, 12; red oak, 28; bur oak, 10; bicolor oak, 9; blue beech, 6; white pine 10; blue spruce, 8.
I asked gardeners in other parts of Minnesota for their rainfall totals and observations on how all the moisture affected their gardens. Betsy in Isanti said she stopped measuring rainfall after 21 inches fell in 2-1/2 months. "You know the water table is rising when hundreds of salamanders head for the house (ours)," she wrote. "But I'm definitely not complaining because I haven't had to drag 300 feet of hose to water the garden for nearly the whole summer."
On the downside, Betsy said her tomatoes have cracked tops and many plants have over grown. "This is the first time in my life that I actually dug up and threw away perennials. I never thought I'd do that.
"Here's a funny sidelight: When people come over to our house, our 6-year-old son shows how strong he is by pushing a 4 ft. garden stake all the way down into the ground, flush with the grass. People are pretty impressed! After several summers of drought here, however, I'm thankful for the rain."
Deb from Little Falls reported 28-3/4 inches rain from June - Sept. 6. "After the 4-1/2 inches of rain last night (Sept. 5), my woods is a lake. I did have fun with the four-wheeler, though. I haven't had a chance to get a Brush Hog to clear my over-grown paths so I borrowed my dad's 4-wheeler to make the paths a little more passable. In one low, marshy area that flows to the river, the water was almost to the seat and this area is normally dry this time of year."
Deb reports widespread problems with powdery mildew on many plants "and my coneflowers are a mess. The last two years we had long periods with no rain and that is a big change this year. My grass has to be cut constantly. My vine crops lost some of their produce to blossom end rot. There are only two butternut squash on my huge vine."
Cynthia from Washington County reported 29.2 inches of rain from June - Sept. 6. "My soil is sandy, so my gardens are very happy. It's been one of my best gardening years. In our soil, even after several inches of rain, our plants need water in about four days. In other words, it hard to have too much rain where I live."
Mary from Stearns County reports 27.1 inches rain from June - Sept. 6. "I had to pull the pump from the pond four times this year and put it in the window well to keep the basement from flooding. It takes 3 inches to get it to that point."
I read recently that the Farmers Almanac is predicting a severe winter with plenty of snow. Heavy snow, combined with plenty of subsoil moisture, will ensure the crops and gardens get off to a fast start next spring.
Lately, I've been looking forward to snow because that will be a signal that the local army of mosquitoes won't greet me at my back door. I never thought I'd look forward to a killing frost in September but at those moments when mosquitoes have invaded my nostrils, ears and the underside of my glasses, I find myself yearning for cross-country skiing weather.
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PUTTING DOWN ROOTS:
A Delightful Blend of
Gardening Wisdom, Wit
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by Cliff Johnson |
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