Too Much of a Good Thing

Many people have blamed their garden failures this year on too much rain. How is that possible? Part of the problem is that the roots and lower stems rot. Another problem is powdery mildew and other funguses. The use of raised beds can improve the “wet feet” situation. It is too late for that remedy this year.

It is not too late to replant a lot of things. If done quickly, most squashes and squash relatives can be planted and still make a crop. It may even be a better time because a lot of the squashes natural enemies have passed the busy part of their life cycle. Don’t plant the new seeds in the same location as the old ones. The pulled up vines should go in the trash rather than in the compost. You may want to plant the squash where the winter garden was supposed to go and then plant the winter garden in the squash beds. Tomatoes are iffy. It depends on when the 1st frost arrives. Do not pull up the tomato plants until they are completely dead. They will continue producing some tomatoes.

The powdery mildew is another problem. It can be stomped out with a sulfur spray. The problem in our garden with both the bugs and the mildew has been the daily rain. The sprays will be washed off before they can do any good. BT is sprayed for bugs. It only kills larvae not grown beetles.





David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/