Too Much Rain

Well of course, after a few months of drought we are dumped on with a week of monsoon rain. In the past week Florence has received almost 5 inches of rain. The average for this time of year is .85 inches a week.

This poses a huge problem because our soil is very heavy and takes a long time to drain. So, we've basically had standing water in the garden at least since Sunday. One of the reason I've made so many raised beds this past year is to try and alleviate some of this problem, however, this remedy has its limitations. Yesterday I was forced to pull up a tomato plant that was dying of disease, and as soon as I did so the hole that was left promptly filled with water from the surrounding soil. The beans are dying from root rot, white mold and southern blight is on some of the tomatoes, there's intense cracking on several of the tomatoes, and water wilt. Not to mention the fact that any leaf from any plant that makes contact with the soil instantly turns yellow and dies, further exposing the plant to soil-borne diseases. Many of the plants are literally rotting in the ground.

Mold at base of tomato plant

Cracking on Cherokee Purples

Oh, and the good news is that there's rain in the forecast for today and tomorrow. If this keeps up we won't have any garden left. Maybe next year I should consider growing rice.

Newly planted corn rows