This past week was nerve-wracking and stressful for many in the northeast, farmers included. We battened down the hatches on Tuesday evening, getting everything secure and put away as best we could for the impending storm on Wednesday. The main thing that I was most worried about was the large amount of rainfall that was forecast for our region. Wind (typically the most stress-inducing element for me) appeared to be of secondary concern, at least for this storm. But we braced ourselves for upwards of 7-8 inches of rain, which we had no need for, as the ground was already saturated. On Wednesday the rain created new channels all over our field. Water rushed down the streams created by the driveways. It poured relentlessly, all day, which felt like one of the longest days I've had in a very long time.
Ida brought us about 8 inches of rain. At the end of it all we were left with soggy fields, some sad looking crops *cough* tomatoes *cough*, and some water in our basement, while many others had to bear the brunt of Ida and were not nearly as fortunate. We're super grateful and feel very lucky to have made it through the storm with very little damage.
All of that to say...because of the wet weather we have had in late summer, and particularly due to the amount of rain that Ida brought, we've had an extremely difficult time getting fall crops into the ground. The clay soil holds onto water (as many of you know well!) and needs to dry out before we can prep beds to plant. Dry windows for fall plantings have been few and far between. Some fall crops will be delayed. We are doing everything that we can to get seeds and plants in right now before the latest planting windows start to close for cold-hardy crops.
Another consequence of the wet conditions is that some summer crops are ending abruptly. Tomatoes are all but finished, and the husk cherries are REALLY unhappy with all the rain. I suspect that eggplant and peppers will continue until frost but they will slow down significantly. Enjoy what's left of summer while you can!!
