I live in N. Raleigh, and we've had over 15" of rain since June 1. That number is conservative because my rain gauge was filled to the top at 6" on the day Alberto came through, and my gauge showed 3" when I returned home from a week of vacation (presumably some of the water evaporated). Fortunately, my house is on a hill so nothing is drowning, but the rain has washed mulch out of place all over my yard. My grass looks better than ever and hostas are thriving. My biggest problem is keeping ahead of the deer with repellent spray because the rain washes it off so soon.

Dorothy, After you received the rain from Ike, how quickly did they die? And, would I be correct in assuming your soil already had a lot of moisture in it before the rain from Ike? Usually, one heavy rainfall won't kill healthy tomato plants in just a matter of days. However, if this year's heavy rains had kept your soil pretty consistently wet, then Ike could have been "the straw that broke the camel's back" and finished them off. Normally, when we have exceptionally heavy rainfall here in Love County (like we had in the spring and early summer of 2007), my tomato plants will first show signs of nutritional deficiency for several weeks before they begin to die. There's not much you can do if that happens, and as you watch the signs of nutritional deficiency appear and worsen, you know they'll be followed by yellowing of the leaves, dropping leaves, and the wilting and then death of the whole plant. Usually, in order for the soil to be wet enough to kill the plants, the soil will have that sour smell. Here, in the raised beds (4" to 8" above grade) where I plant tomatoes and peppers, it takes about 8 weeks of excessively moist soil to kill a tomato plant. But, of course, everyone's situation is different and a lot of how long it takes would depend on how well you soil drains. There are many diseases that kill plants very suddenly, and I know that you probably have seen some of them in your many years of gardening. If it wasn't the rain from Ike that finished off already-too-waterlogged tomatoes, then it might have been southern blight. I haven't seen it often, but it will take out a plant in just a day or so, and without the foliar spotting that precedes a lot of the other wilts. As much rain as you have had, I would suspect it in the death of your plants....the cukes and okra as well. Even if they didn't die of waterlogged roots, I suspect the rain encouraged fungal and bacteria diseases that thrive in wet soil and on wet foliage. Dawn

it might be sun scorch. If it rained and then got sunny the leaves on top may have been burned? Its hard to say without a picture. I probably would just get rid of those dead leaves. If u tug them a little and they seem to be ready to come off I would just get rid of them.

Most likely - way too much nitrogen. That is the most common cause of no flowers. Next best bet is not enough phosphorus. Dave