After drought conditions the past several summers, gardeners may have thought they had this season figured out when they planted crops in May. Then it started raining.
This June was the sixth-wettest on record since 1871, according to the National Weather Service. There were only 10 days last month that did not rain. And so far July is not looking much better.
The good news is that gardening experts said there is still enough growing season left so late summer crops could produce well yet. But so far growers around the state have been dealing with unexpectedly waterlogged fields — ones that last year required supplemental water and irrigation.
Seeds not staying put: Parts of Maine have gotten heavy enough rains that newly planted seeds are washing away. Crystal Sands, a small farmer in Eddington, is on her fourth carrot planting.
“The carrots were this series of unfortunate events,” Sands said. “The first time we planted them this big bunch of rain washed them out and the next two times they did start to grow but very slowly.”
That slow growth was hit head-on by seed destroying insects and fungi that are thriving in the ongoing humid conditions.
Now on her fourth planting, Sands has hopes for a productive carrot crop later this season.
“I’ve had several growers telling me they had to replant their sweet corn,” said David Handely, vegetable and small fruit specialist with University of Maine Cooperative Extension, “One fellow in Farmington planted his first crop one day and the next day it was under a foot of weather after the Sandy River flooded.”
Where are the berry pickers?: The strawberry crop faced its first threat in early spring with heavy frosts. Growers dodged that bullet by irrigating or covering the berries and ended up with pretty fair production of nice looking fruit. But farmers who depend on customers picking their own berries are now watching their berries rot.
“The rain is keeping pickers away,” Handley said. “There is a fair amount of fruit and it looks pretty good — they just can’t get people to pick it.”
It’s leaving some berry growers scrambling to pick as many berries as they can to sell at farm stands and farmers markets, Handley said.
As strawberry season comes to a close over the coming days, Handley predicts it’s going to be the same situation with pick your own raspberries.
Not Christmas in July: Evergreens beware: Christmas tree growers are noticing some heat or weevil damage to new growth on trees. The tips of branches on otherwise healthy balsam fir trees are turning brown on a few farms and there are two possible culprits.
The larval — or grub — stage of the root weevil will feed below ground on the roots of the tree. If enough weevils are feeding on the roots it can leave the tree with not enough of a root system to sustain new growth. The humid, warm weather provides ideal conditions for the weevils to survive.
Heat stress can also cause the newly developed ends of the fir branches to bend or droop and turn brown. There was a string of record-breaking heat days in June that may have damaged some Christmas trees.
At the same time, growers have to keep up with the pests attacking the greens, especially slugs.
It’s not all bad: Some crops are actually thriving in spite of the rain. Greens like lettuce, kale and spinach that normally bolt in the warm days of July are lasting longer and not going to seed as early as normal due to the wet conditions slowing their growth.
At least there are blueberries: So far the Maine blueberry crop is also looking really good, Handley said.
“If things do dry out in time, we have the blueberries to look forward to,” he said. “It should be a good harvest.”
Sands predicts she will have the best blueberry harvest she’s ever had this year — assuming the sun comes out long enough.
The crop could be a week or so late compared to other years, but at least it will be there.
