I've got lettuce still in pots, planted 5 strawberry plants I hope don't get washed out. Lots of starts still in the greenhouse ready to harden off. Lots of mud everywhere, the rain is knocking the flowers off the apple trees (but they were started to drop anyway), I hope the blueberries are more sheltered b/c they looked good last week. What a miserable week. Farmer's market starts June 3, I'm not sure what I will have to bring, hoping to just get out there and transplant the tomatoes and peppers then (maybe seed the cukes, squash, pumpkins and edamame Memorial Day weekend if it's dry enough), but I haven't even started hardening them off yet (except for not heating the greenhouse any more). Gonna check them tomorrow if it's not pouring as much as today. What miserable weather!

I have a new veggy bed this year that I recently planted with 5 tomatoes, 2 peppers, 2 eggplants, 2 summer squash, and some herbs and flowers. I also planted some hanging strawberry baskets and made a little strawberry step pyramid using river rock that is doing well - except the birds are pecking every berry just before it's ripe. I have to come up with some sort of bird netting to keep them away.

ajsmama - I hope you're luck turns around, I've been pretty fortunate with my garden so far *knock on wood* I've only lost about two plants (due to wind breaking the stem) and there was a slight break in the rain to mound up my stems a bit, which have been a tremendous help. We should see the sun again Sunday, and hopefully your area will do, I really hope you make it to your Farmer's Market!

peachymomo - It sounds like a nice set up you've got. My veggie beds are all new this year as well, we just bought our first house and before the paint was dry on the walls I ran outside with tons of plans for our garden (which luckily has been working out pretty well). The birds haven't been too much bother here, although they have managed to eat a few seeds, nothing to ruin my progress. My problem seems to be squirrels, they've eaten all the leaves off of one of my butternut squash & pumpkin plants then spit the leaves out next to it (just to add insult to injury lol). I hope once you get your netting up it does the trick!

becki - where are you, zone 6 and you've already planted (and gotten leaves on!) squash - tomatoes too? Or just hardening off tomatoes? Did you start the squash indoors? I just may do that next week, though I prefer to direct-seed them, gotta see how muddy it looks like gonna be for the rest of the month!

asjmama - I'm zone 6 in Central New Jersey, with the exception of this week our weather has been pretty nice, in the 70s and 40-50s at night. I was bit by the gardening bug early and couldn't resist start the green beans and squash inside. They were doing fine but once I put them in the ground (on mother's day) they really took off, and have tons of their true leaves coming in, and so far have faired well, reaching. The cherry tomatoes I put in the garden, I actually cheated and bought from the store because I completely forgot to grow. The Roma tomatoes I've been growing I'm hardening off now (along with the peppers & eggplants) and hoping (if the weather permits) that I can get them into the ground this weekend or early next week. It may help you make up some time, if you're weather doesn't turn around.

Ah, much farther south than we are. And not in this stalled system? Looks like next week is only 30% chance of rain each day (except mid-week 1 day is 60%) so maybe I'll harden off tomatoes and peppers but ground might still be too wet to plant Memorial Day w/e...maybe I should start the cucurbits inside this week!

I have every thing in the ground. Tomatoes (3 varieties), 3 varieties (colors) bell peppers, hot peppers, Asian greens (heat loving), eggplants (3 varieties), long bottle gourds, English Ivy, cucumber (4 varieties), dahlia tubers, zucchinis, Bitter melon, Bush beans, Cluster beans, Long string beans(not sure of name).

Waiting for Snake gourd, Round bottle gourd and Ridge gourd seeds to germinate.

Hopefully I got in every thing.
I live in north jersey, temps we ok until this monster rain got here!!

Anna

Well, up til Mother's Day we still had lows in mid-low 30's here, I was thinking last weekend it *might* be about time to direct-seed, but DH's car broke down Sat AM after I ran DS to Scouts, spent all weekend dealing with that (sold the car Sun to guy whose driveway I pulled into) and picking up DS in the SUV we were planning on selling since we just bought a new (used) pickup the week before.

Sunday of course poured, got 5 strawberries transplanted last week and some composted wood chips added to one area (where I'm planting edamame), checked out the blueberries and apple trees (looking good!), checked the property line (neighbor has his farm for sale and has been logging, sounded close), but I spent the rest of the week on the phone with insurance companies & various state agencies trying to get farm insurance, change auto policy, get plates returned from old car, get sales tax exemption from state, farm plates for new truck...and then the rain came! Monday I bought push-in fence posts and some electric fence tape to keep the deer out of the edamame but I haven't been able to get out there to put it up and it's too cold and wet to plant the edamame anyway.

I think the peas I planted rotted in the ground, and the rest fermented in the fridge. I've got a flat of microgreens in the house, and 16 pepper plants in the bay window. Lettuce in pots outside is starting to get water-logged, 1 died, the leeks in the pot need to be transplanted, but I think I'll end up using those like chives. And I haven't been able to get to the greenhouse to bring my tomatoes and cukes home(probably not worth it anyway, no room to put things in my garage, too wet to start hardening off). Not that I could bring them home in my car anyway (DH has the SUV at work this week) - and the truck still isn't registered b/c I'm waiting for the tax exemption permit...

When the going gets tough, the tough do laundry LOL! (and hang out online)

aaaaaaaa - How lucky you are to have everything in the ground! I'm hoping to finish up this weekend so long as the weather permits (which the report is looking like it may so my fingers will remain crossed!) We've been hit pretty hard, but not nearly as bad as everyone else, the rain stopped for a bit today and I was able to check out the rest of the damage, luckily it seems like drainage isn't a problem for our garden, and everything seems to be doing great, seems like the high winds broke 3 of the cucumber plants, so I may throw some seeds in once the rain stops.

ajsmama - Sounds like you've had MORE than your fair share of troubles but hopefully your luck will turn around! We've gotten a good deal of rain but for the most part the garden has been doing really well (minus a few broken cucumber stems from the downpour). Although it would be my luck that I get my shipment in today for all of my bareroot plants that I had ordered (we just bought our house so while trying to manage the garden, I bought tons of plants for our backyard and a few trees). Our weather is supposed to take a turn Friday/Saturday, so hopefully I can get all the beds tilled and planted in time. (I made a typically mistake and bought SOOOO many plants, 20 pink wiegla's, 4 rose of sharon trees, 2 weeping willows, and tons of other bulbs!) So long as the rain doesn't get too bad today I'm going to be out planting my rose of sharon trees, I've got them soaking now I've got some fern leaf bleeding hearts I'm hoping to pot up too until I can get everything situated. LOL I love your quote at the bottom, mine would read "When the going gets tough, the tough pot everything in their mud room!" LOL I know my fiance can't wait until the plants move outside, ah one day! :)

I started peas under protection in late february, and then took the frames off in late march. They are doing very well now and I noticed today the first blossoms. Certainly will be the earliest peas I ever got.

Most of my peas I planted late, end of april, so that will be interesting to see if they can produce before hot weather.

I planted my peas way too late, was just trying to get some N into the soil but I checked them today when the rain slowed to a drizzle - nothing but weeds coming up. No peas, no rye. And standing water in spots.

Blueberries and apples have dropped their blossoms (no big deal on the apples, it was about time, but I'm worried about the blueberries). Blackberries are starting to bud, may not have raspberries this year since all I see are leaves, no flower buds. Strawberries got some petals knocked off, but stems are sturdy and I've got some berries forming.

The leeks actually look pretty good for being all crowded in 1 pot (like I said, they'll never make it into the ground, I'll just cut them like chives).

So overall, not bad. Just can't wait to get out there and plant the veggies (and herbs)! I wonder if it's too late/wet to plant spinach? Temps are supposed to get near/into the 80's next week, though it's been cool this week.

(Oh, and my mud/laundry room is tiny, no room for potting. I've got to do that outside or move the SUV out of the garage. But I got 5 loads of laundry done - all caught up!)

Good luck on all those bareroot plants/trees!

I've been mostly planted out for about a month, but this 1 1/2 " of rain this week has just made everything nice and perky and the ground cover I planted in my new herb garden is taking really well!
I'm in No CA where we usually don't get much, if any rain from May-Oct! This nice rain will give us a few more days we can do some digging and plant a few perenials! Not something we can usually do this time of the year!
I'm ready for the sun, though! Nancy

I have spent the last two days from early in the AM-dark in the garden, at least 14 hours straight each day. We've had unseasonably cool weather and I'm taking advantage of it! This year a huge new garden area was built, and it's not done yet. The soil is rock solid clay (mushy mud if wet), and needs TONS of compost and other amendments to make it passable. I've finished and planted the center beds with the help of a friend (thankfully, younger, stronger and faster than I am!). So far there are about 20 sweet peppers in, some seasoning peppers (a favorite) and a few hot peppers, about 20 tomato are in. LOADS more will go in once I finish up ammending and backfilling raised beds. There are a few okra plants, yard long beans, pole limas, pole beans, bush beans, summer squash, ground cherries (first year for those)...we are still eating from the lettuce bed and harvesting onions and carrots. I have seeded out about 12 different winter squash and/or pumpkins and 3 types of cucumbers and will plant those in the next few days. A friend with a small bulldozer came and cleared out some overgrown areas in the way back of our property and it's the perfect spot for growing winter squash for now.
I still need to plant melons.
I have planted TONS and tons of annual seeds for flowers and in the new garden the center had 4 prickly pear cactus and assorted perennials with a small rose. We plan on using the prickly pears and cactus pads as food source.
The pomegranate is blooming, so hopefully we'll get some fruit from it this year!

I'm near Nancy and loving the rain. Planted my whole garden last weekend and had just landscaped a side yard which included bringing in 4 yards of soil and compost between the two. The rains were welcome to give everything a good drink. But now it's time for sunshine.

I'm waiting for my squash, carrots, cucumbers and pole beans to sprout. My tomatoes are happy and are almost at the point where I need to start my first row of trellis to hold them up. And I'm just harvesting the last of my broccoli, peas and cabbage from my spring crop. In a week or two, I'll have 6 heads of cabbage to do something with!

Here is a link that might be useful: loribees garden blog

I've never heard of seasoning peppers before, are those like Paprika? I am very curious!

Seems like the squirrels have come out and decided to eat my butternut squash in the delay of rain we had. Now I'm debating building a top for my garden fence. But everything else is doing pretty well, but waiting for the sun to really grow, which they're calling for tomorrow & Monday! I'm hoping this will give everything a nice chance to grow a little bit more, before the next week of ran (after Monday we're forcasted to get rain all next week). I'm sure my neighbors think I'm crazy, I've planted 10 bareroot mock oranges and 4 rose of sharon trees in the rain lol.

I've never heard of seasoning peppers before either, and am interested too! :)

Yeah! I just saw the sun. According to the weather forecast, we've got 4-5 hours before the next thunderstorm moves in, the weekend looks good, and next week we only have about 30% chance of showers each day instead of this persistent rain. I think I'm going to pull things out of the greenhouse Sunday or Monday and start hardening them off - with any luck I'll be able to transplant by Memorial Day, maybe even seed!

MORE rain, I can't believe 3 weeks later and it's just been more of the same! Had over 1" the other night, probably have that today since it is pouring (though not overflowing the gutters since DH cleaned them out after water started pooling under the porch and coming into the basement).

Planted a couple dozen pepper plants on Friday, still haven't put out tomatoes and the rest of the peppers (put them back in garage this AM, we've been going in and out so much I don't know if they know they're hardened off LOL). Tomato trellis is all up and I started digging for squash bed but yesterday the tomato trenches were wet on the lower end (a couple really wet) and the squash bed looked like a hog wallow. I did add some pebbles to the bottom of 1 trench, dug out farther for drainage, and added some partially-composted wood chips and more top soil to all the trenches. We'll see how it looks Monday when the rain stops. I don't know if I'm even going to plant squash this year - though I finally started 6 cukes inside the other day.

I bought 2 rain barrels - didn't hook them up, but just left the tops off this AM - we'll see how much they collect in 48 hrs! Need to get the sauerkraut washed out of them.

I'm just hoping I can plant out 60 tomatoes and about 30 peppers b/t Monday and Thurs - then the rains come again!

With the drought and the floods in the South, and all this rain in the Northeast, is anybody going to be able to grow any crops this year? CA doing OK? How's FL?

Are we all going to have to live off canned goods for the next year?

I've got tomato plants, cukes, peppers, iceberg lettuce, sweet onions, shallots, butternut squash, string beans, sugar snap peas, various herbs and the spinach had to be pulled up after three pickings.

It looks like the rain may drown many except the tomato and pepper plants which are doing good.

We in No CA are finally getting some spring weather! We are supposed to hit 80 later this week (about a month late)
Everything is actually doing well, though with our late rain!
If the heat stays, I'm hoping for a successful year! Anything is better than last non-summer!

AZ could sure use some rain to put out the huge forest fires we've got going on in the mountains. I just saw yesterday that the smoke is going all the way out to the Atlantic Ocean!

AZ could sure use some rain to put out the huge forest fires we've got going on in the mountains. I just saw yesterday that the smoke is going all the way out to the Atlantic Ocean!