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kms4me

Crummy weather continues... How about you?

kms4me
14 years ago

We had a late spring, colder than normal summer, severe drought for most of the spring/summer. September was pretty beautiful, other than the last few days of clouds and cold rain, which stretched into early October. Normally we have the first light frost October 15, instead we had a killing freeze October 8, followed by snow three of the last four days, and temperatures 20+ degrees BELOW NORMAL. My gardens are full of black, mushy leaves, broken stems, rotten vegetables... even my broccoli looks down for the count.

I usually love fall. Unfortunately, the rain, cold, snow, have all caused most of the leaves to fall off the trees without changing color. Even if the weather warms, it won't be a pretty autumn.

So what am I mourning most? The seeds I wanted to harvest that the killing frost took out prematurely. I was THIS close to harvesting kirengeshoma koreana, THIS close to harvesting golden leaved tricyrtis seeds, THIS close to harvesting lisianthus, THIS close...

So how was your growing season?

Kate

Comments (12)

  • bigred
    14 years ago

    We have had the wettest year I can ever remember. Even July and Aug. were wet when we're normally in severe drought and hanging on for first rains of Oct. Flash floods have just about been the norm. It has rained so much this week,I haven't even been able to get to the barn for my halloween decorations.

    We went to next town over yesterday. Some of the city streets were so flooded ,we barely managed to get across some of the streets. By the time we got back home and turned the news on,it was reported some of the streets we had just been on were even more under water and closed with some cars left abandoned so I feel lucky we made it home.

    Our temps have been unseasonably cool all year with mostly mid-90's for hottest parts of summer and only a few days of trile digit but all the rain has been the biggest change.

    Peggy

  • rbrady
    14 years ago

    Terrible weather here, too. We had a wet spring and summer, with below average temperatures. I could probably count on my hands the days is was 85 or warmer and I don't think we ever hit 90. Now it is cold, gloomy and wet with more rain in the forecast we are also 20 degrees below normal. Snow flurries are forecast in the next few days. I have had some serious zone envy this year.

    My growing season ended up being so-so. The plants that enjoy the wet weather bloomed like crazy and I only had to water once. My conifers are suffering from being too wet-I might lose some. Ditto with my sedum and roses. Not enough heat and too much rain.

    Here's hoping for a better winter!

    Rhonda

  • beverlysc
    14 years ago

    We had an extremely hot summer here in South Carolina after many spring floods. Temps. stayed in the high 90's and not enough rain so had to do alot of watering. Finally starting to cool off this past week. Had mums blooming in September so probably will not be blooming for fall. Still have many flowers blooming and the jasmine decided to start blooming again. Strange weather...hoping for a mild winter.
    Bev.

  • poisondartfrog
    14 years ago

    Nasty in SE Kentucky too. We got off to a slow start in spring and we've had all day drizzling rain for the last two weeks with temps well below normal. We should be in the low 70's now but today we are struggling to hit 50. I am also afraid that there are seeds that just won't get to ripen this year.
    Alana

  • kms4me
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Droughts, floods, cold temperatures except for Beverly, who had hotter than normal weather to contend with. I've yet to hear from anybody who had a normal, good gardening season!

    October here continues to be depressing. We had a brief two-day respite, partly sunny, with temps hitting high 50s, low 60s. Temps will drop like a rock starting tomorrow, with more rain for the next several days and nights below freezing. It's the coldest October ever on record here in MN.

    I've been cutting back a lot of dead foliage. Luckily have a few mums and asters that still look fairly good, hardy geranium leaves are turning their brilliant colors despite the wet weather, a few azaleas have pretty leaves, but there's not a lot in the garden that doesn't look like crap. Happily, our huge, ancient sugar maple by the house has held onto its leaves despite the rain and snow, and they are turning lovely bright yellow and red, one of the few bright spots in an otherwise barren landscape.

    SIGH.

    Kate

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    14 years ago

    The summer temps seemed to be about normal here, from what I remember. I'm guessing I ran the AC about a normal amount of days.

    A wet spring...good for digging out the Star of Bethlehem bulbs until the foliage went dormant in early May.

    A wet summer. The grass stayed nice and green, never browning out and going into summer dormancy as it usually does. The Con side of it though was there was no reprieve from mowing all summer.

    No watering was necessary for anything that was planted in the ground, at least not after things being initially planted out. The Con is that I have 2 big pot ghettos, one of sun plants, and one of shade plants that had to be watered a good bit in spite of all the precipitation.

    With so much rain, there was a lot of times that weeding was so easy, with weeds coming out so easily as opposed to breaking off due to hard dry clay. The Con was that if I didn't immediately Preen and/or mulch immediately after weeding, weed seeds sprouted almost immediately.

    Normal (or a bit above) temps are predicted for today and Wed with no precipitation, just perfect for weeding, Preening, mulching, spraying, edging, mowing, pruning things back and cleaning up some beds and the veggie garden. I'll just keep chugging away, trying to get everything done that I have been behind on all season. I also have hundreds of new daffodils to be planted. I haven't counted them just yet, but think I have probably acquired over 200 new (to me) named cultivars this summer and fall. Whoo-Hoo...looking forward to Winter Sowing and then spring blooms, especially Daffodils!


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  • medontdo
    14 years ago

    this year was terrible! it was dry most of the year, but when it was wet, it rained for days on end. it was a very weird year indeed. and that's not the end of it, it has already almost snowed here, and the freezing weather has been awful! its been in the 70's in the last few days. but to return to the 40 in the next week. but i noticed that the wasps have hidden all of their nests in places where the wind won't get to them. which is highly unusual. i'm really worried about this year! ~medo

  • bigred
    14 years ago

    It's rained so much here.Even in what are usually our drought months. Every time I try to get started back working in the yard,I get two days in and it starts raining again. I can't get motivated when it's stop and go,stop and go...heavy on the STOP. SO I come on here to do a little seed trading and SASES and what happens...the blasted email via GW are messed up.

    Peggy,whose feeling grumpy and aggravated.

    I think I'm just gonna give it up for the season! Grumble-grumble-mumble

  • kms4me
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Peggy, I understand the grumpy and aggravated.

    Today is day 15 out of the last 21 that we have had rain or snow--we are up to 8 inches of precip for the month. Though I have a ton of work I could (and should!) do inside, it just doesn't feel right or fair to have to be indoors during what is usually one of the most beautiful months of the year and the one I love the most.

    The gardens were too waterlogged to make doing anything in them prudent, so this afternoon, in desperation, I went into our woods to do the thing I hate the most (and seems the most futile): pull up buckthorn seedlings. That's how desperate I was to get outside.

    Pulling up buckthorn in the rain. How sad is that.

    Kate

  • ruthz
    14 years ago

    We had the 6th wettest October ever I think.
    We usually have a lot of hot days in September and October, but this year has been wet and cool.
    Today is a beautiful sunny 70 degrees. I got a couple of Plumeria repotted.

  • ruthz
    14 years ago

    Make that 76 degrees and sunny, finally.

  • poppy_power
    14 years ago

    Today rainy,cold and mix of snow flurrries.BRRR!

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