My Garden Can’t Catch a Break
Does anyone need any rain? I got too much of it.
My rain gauge showed 4.5 inches Wednesday morning, but with the way the wind was blowing, I doubt it caught everything that fell.
My garden, for the second time in a little over a week, looked like a shallow lake. I lost a bunch of tomato plants during the last deluge, and I may lose some more now. I had been saving a few tomato transplants in the greenhouse as a backup. But the wind blew my greenhouse down Tuesday night. The plants inside got swamped, but I think they will survive.
The greenhouse, however, might be a goner. The wind crumpled the metal tubing that makes up the frame of the hoophouse. The clear vinyl cover was ripped in several places. I’ll try to patch it back together this weekend.
About a month ago, I planted a “three sisters” plot with a variety of field corn called “Texas Gourdseed,” several varieties of pole beans and butternut squash. Native Americans invented this farming method centuries ago. The corn is planted first. When the corn plants are about a foot tall, the beans and squash are planted in the plot. The corn stalks serve as a trellis for the pole bean. The squash act as a living mulch, shading the ground to help reduce weed pressure and soil evaporation. There are so many benefits to this method. The hairy squash folliage deters deer from getting in the patch. And the beans capture nitrogen from the air and deposit it in their roots, helping to fertilize the other plants.
By Wednesday morning, just about all of the corn “lodged” – which is what you call it when wind blows over a corn patch. The whole mess was laying in the mud, corn tops, beans and all. Corn plants can sometimes stand back up after they lodge, but I’m worried about the weight of the bean plants.
The weather this spring has not been the greatest for gardening: a record freeze in February when it was time to plant potatoes, and now we might see a foot of rain over a two-week period by the time this weekend is over.
It’s easy to get discouraged. But I know what I need to do: raise my beds. This kind of rain makes it easy to find the low spots in the garden. I plan to bring in extra compost and maybe even some topsoil to raise the low spots. I already started building some channels to help the water drain better.
How are you dealing with the excess moisture? Do any of you employ interesting garden designs to keep your plants above water? Please share them with me by sending an e-mail to andy@fayettecountyrecord. com.