What to do When it Rains Every Day

Try not to be bummed out by a rainy day and instead celebrate the wonderful magic pouring down from the sky! When it rains, several things happen that don't happy when we water our plants ourselves,

1. It usually saves you time! I say usually because sometimes we get a light sprinkle on a hot summer day, and sometimes we get a heavy downpour! If the former, be sure you check your soil moisture after it rains. You may find it is dryer than you think. If you stick your index finger in the soil and the tip of your finger is dry, you may need to water even after a rain.

2. Rainwater is a "soft" water, meaning it doesn't have minerals and salts added to it like city water does (like chlorine, etc.) These chemicals can alter the pH of our water supply whereas rainwater has a naturally acidic pH which is good for our plants! Fun fact, plants need a slightly acidic growing environment - usually 5.5 - 6.5.

3. Rainwater contains helpful minerals and nutrients that help our plants grow! There are nitrates (or nitrogen) in rainwater which is the first nutrient our plants need to grow. Rainwater also contains trace amounts of organic matter, actual living or previously living particles, which adds to the soil biome and makes your plants happy!

These are all benefits to having fresh rain fall on your plants. But there are also some other things that happen when it rains to keep in mind. The harder the rain fall the more saturated your soil but also the more likely to introduce pathogens to your plants. Where do pathogens come from?! A healthy soil environment.

Farmer Erin...! you just said healthy soil?!

A healthy growing soil will have many living things in it. Animals, plants (obviously), bacteria, fungi, and other micro-organisms are all found in soil. We need all of these things to grow happy, healthy, plants. There are some animals (bugs, insects, etc.) and fungi that can be problematic to our summer crops, especially tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, melon, and zucchini.

As the rain hits the soil it can splash up fungi from the soil to our plants. It can also motivate bugs that have been incubating in the soil to emerge. While we celebrate frequent rain showers, it is good to keep these two results in mind. Fungal disease spreads through contact with the soil and affected leaves. Bugs and insects seek shelter and cool, dark, spots to camouflage themselves.

When there are pauses in the rain and your plants are dry, pop out to assess and complete these essentials for your tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, melons, and zucchinis,

• Keep plants trellised and supported. For tomatoes, this could be mean staking, weaving, or caging them. For cucumbers, train the vines to grow up a vertical structure. I love using a folding A-frame trellis for cucumbers, and melon! By keeping the majority of the plant off the soil, you reduce the chance of fungal spores affecting the plant.

• Trim bottom leaves of your tomatoes. Keeping in mind that fungal spores come up from the soil, and like moisture, a great practice to reduce the risk of a fungal issue is to cut the bottom leaves of your tomato plants that are touching the soil. Early and late blight are two common fungal disease (both of which I have seen this week) for tomatoes that are soilborne. Early blight shows up as bright yellow spots with dark brown, ringed, centers on the outer part of tomato leaves. Late blight, which can come anytime during the season, shows up as grey-ish brown splotches on leaves, almost like the leaves are wet or soggy.

• Watch for white splotches on your cucumber, melon, squash, and zucchini plants. This is a fungal disease known as powdery mildew. It is very common and just like blight, its spores are soilborne. Trim any affected leaves and treat with Neem oil, an organic fungicide.

• Do not overwater. This is more for those who have an automatic irrigation system in place versus those of us who hand-water our plants. If you have an irrigation system set-up, maybe you keep a closer eye on the forecast the next few days and only run the irrigation when we haven't had sufficient rain.

• Clean yourself, and your tools. Keeping in mind that fungal diseases spread through contact, if you suspect leaves may be infected try to cut and touch only those leaves. Keep a bottle of Neem oil ready to spray your hands (I never wear gloves when treating fungal diseases), tools, and plants as you move from one plant to another. Also, don't leave your trimmings lying around. Once you remove affected leaves from the plants, bag them up and throw them away! Skip the compost.

• Check underneath bottom leaves. This is where bugs and insects will show up first! Take a peak from time to time to see if you notice anything that may be hiding in plain sight! The best way to treat your plants for bugs and insects is to manually remove them when you see them! It takes practice, and getting used to, but you got it!

Celebrate the rain these next few days, and keep an eye on your plants! Celebrate the new growth from the nourishing precipitation, and keep an eye on any rouge spores or new visitors.