Excessive Rain and Farming
Rain, rain, go away…..so the nursery rhyme goes. As goes our thoughts this rainy, wet spring. While rain is important for all kinds of things from our gardens and farms to ecosystems to hydro-electric power to drinking water, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Last year we were praying for rain for crops as the drought pressed on and temperatures soared into the 90’s in July and August. This year we are praying the rain stops, at least for a while. We began the month of June at a deficit of 2+ inches of rain, and now, just a few weeks later we are at a surplus of over 3 inches. Constant rain provides optimal conditions for fungal growth on plants and crops this time of year and into the summer. In a previous article last year, we talked about solanaceous diseases (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant) such as blight and Septoria, vine crop (cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, etc.) diseases such as downy and powdery mildew, and cole crop (cauliflo...