Talking About the Weather

Wegelia 'Carnaval'

Yesterday, we had 4 inches of rain. Tuesday we had 4 inches of rain. It is raining yet again today. The normal amount for June for our area is about 2.89. In Green Bay, they have had only double that. I haven't checked, but I think we had measurable rain nearly every day in May.

Yesterday morning, I got my corded electric lawn mower and trimmer out and finished the back yard-- barely. The grass was still damp and it was raining when I finished. I did not trim my hedges, nor mow my front yard. I heard many gas-powered mowers coughing away at many other very damp, over-grown yards.

Last night, driving to my brother's, the ditches were roiling with running water.

Many property owner are cursing the rain and damp. Winter was rough on our homes. We have yet to have had enough dry, warm weather to paint and spruce up our homes.

Fields are too wet for farmers to get out to cultivate.

It has been a wet, wet, cold spring, and now a cool, ten degrees below normal cool, summer.

Potatoes planted late do look good. They seemed to have raced to get caught up with their late May 1 planting date. Many fields are coming into bloom. Last year, I had some very large potatoes. When I cut them open, I found them to be hollow, having sucked up to much water, much too fast. These potatoes do not keep well.

Traveling north to Clintonville Tuesday, I saw several recently planted corn fields. These were corn fields planted with rows maybe a foot a part and heavily planted; with the farmer acknowledging his crop would not make ear corn, but rather silage; that fermented, unripe chopped corn and stalk roughage for winter cattle food.

After getting the rewind spring and fixing my string cord, and changing out my spark plug, I was able to get my Mantis tiller to run a scant couple hours before the rains begin. I was not able to finish cultivating the family garden. I fear the weeds. If there is weed seed in the soil of the family garden, with this rain, it will germinate.

There are parts of the family garden I did not manage to plant because of the rains. These will be able to be tilled without regard for crops and perhaps planted with a second fall crop. Where transplants were planted, most rows were mulched with compost, wood chips, or shredded paper. Many of our transplants, particularly heat lovers, were planted through landscape fabric. Cabbage had landscape fabric laid down on each side of the row. I tilled 80% of the berry plot and potatoes rows, before the tiller became uncooperative.

This weekend we are looking to dry out a bit. Hopefully, Sunday, the sun will shine and the tiller will cooperate, and the weeds will DIE!