Wet, Wet, Wet

I never have seen a wetter or colder June. Since my last entry on June 15 the fog, damp, drizzle, and rain has been almost continuous. Weather is good reason to believe that farmers are a fatalistic lot. There is an old New England saying that if you don't care for the weather, wait an hour and it will change. But the truth is that the jet stream pattern tends to stay in place for months and until it changes the weather tends to remain similar. Global warming is wreaking havoc with the jet stream, I suppose. Usually in early June it shifts from cold and damp to warm and dry; but it hasn't shifted yet. I assume it will, soon, but I was making that assumption a week ago, two weeks ago, and three weeks ago.

The soybeans I planted in early June rotted in the ground. I did get out to plant some snap beans about ten days ago and half have sprouted, amazingly. Today after two days without rain I was able to replant the soybeans, to the earliest variety (Envy), and will hope that they come in before frost and without too much trouble from September rains. The weather has to turn at some point. It's great weather for slugs, though. They are feasting on the lettuce and cole crops, competing for salad greens. It just means getting them off and washing the greens more thoroughly. Wood ashes are the best slug preventative but I used all last winter's on the gardens to lime the soil, so none was left for the slugs. The potatoes are enjoying the rain for sure. And so are the wildflowers, and the hay that grows rank. The apples are susceptible to fungus diseases. But it is indoor weather, much like winter.