Dealing With The Weather

We had rain almost every day for month or more, which has led to a near total loss for our tomatoes.  The roma tomatoes are still hanging in there and producing, but all others were rotting almost as soon as they were formed.  I cut the plants down to about 8 inches tall.  I figure there is 2 months of growing left, lets see what will happen, after all, we have nothing to lose at this point.  Talking with the neighboring growers, they have all experienced the same thing.

Our peppers are growing, but not like previous years.  Again, I blame the cool, wet weather.  With days in the 60s and nights in the 40s in the middle of July & August, it's just not the optimal conditions to grow peppers.  My super hots do have lots of peppers on them and look healthier than my sweet peppers, so hopefully we'll be able to sell some.

The cool, wet weather has given us an abundance of pole beans.  We always have a lot of beans, but this year it is going to a whole new level.  I put in less plants than normal, about 50% less, but they have produced 100% more beans so far with 2 more months to go.

1/2 bushel of beans

So far, the pole bean experiment is working well and we will continue to grow pole beans in the future.

• They are easier to pick;
• Don't require as much back pain to get to them;
• Require less seed per pound of beans;
• And produce extremely well

 In the future though, I may have to figure out a way to support more of the vine.  An 8 foot high support would be great, but would also require a ladder to harvest the beans.  I'm going to experiment next year with an arch and see how that works.

This season has left me with the conclusion that there is no point in complaining or worrying about the weather, but just accept what you get.  When the weather is poor for one type of vegetable, others will thrive.