Despite its hot, early start, this summer has since turned wet and cool. We've seen rain for 15 of the last 30 days, adding up to a bit over 7 inches ---  nearly double our usual average.

So what do gardeners do during a wet summer? Watch plants grow slower than usual. Snip off blights as soon as they form so the fungal diseases don't spread to take out your entire planting. If you've got spare compost or manure, topdress to replace the leached nutrients. Barring that, plant nitrogen-fixing cover crops like soybeans so at least the next generation will be adequately fed.

On the plus side, at least we haven't had to do much watering this year!

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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