🌧️ Has it been a wet, dry, or normal year for you so far?

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So... how's the weather? 🤣

Here in North Texas, we are 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 in an El Niño year (and possibly a super El Niño?)

Normally, by June, we're in a pretty serious drought. Instead, I'm writing this while yet another big storm rolls through, and we've already gotten 1.08 inches in the last three hours alone. For June so far? 𝟰.𝟲𝟵 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹, with an average 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝟴𝟱%. That is not normal for us.

𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗹 𝗡𝗶ñ𝗼?

El Niño is a natural weather pattern that happens when the Pacific Ocean warms up more than usual, shifting rainfall and temperatures across the globe.

For those of us in the Western Hemisphere, that tends to mean wetter, rainier conditions than we're used to.

I've heard a lot of you mention struggling with the rain this year. And for me, it's one of those things that feels like a blessing and a curse at the same time.

I've barely had to water my garden, which is great. But I'm also dealing with more plant disease than I've seen in a long time, and that's 𝘯𝘰𝘵 great.

𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀

Here are the two I'm personally facing right now:

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲

Wet conditions (soggy soil, water sitting on leaves, high humidity) create the perfect environment for fungal and bacterial diseases to spread. I'm battling this right now on my bush beans, watermelon, strawberries, cucumbers, and tomatoes. (Photos attached). → We'll talk more about how I'm managing this in today's Q&A.

2. 𝗡𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀

When a lot of rain comes at once, it can literally wash nutrients out of your soil before your plants ever get a chance to use them. (The fancy term for this is "leaching.")

On top of that, waterlogged soil makes it harder for plant roots to absorb the nutrients that are still there. The result? Yellowing leaves, slow growth, and plants that just look... off.

I actually covered this in depth during the fertilizer workshop, so if you want the full picture, definitely go back and watch that.

But the short version is: 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲.

Unlike granular/dry fertilizers that need to break down slowly in soil, liquid fertilizers get absorbed quickly. When your plants are stressed by too much rain, that fast boost of nutrition can make a real difference.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 (𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁) 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿?

P.S. If you have questions you want covered in today's Q&A, drop them here too; I'll make sure to get to them when we go live!

🌧️ Way too much, we're drowning over here

☀️ Dry as a bone, wish we had some of yours

🌤️ Pretty normal season for us

🤷 It's been all over the place

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🌧️ Has it been a wet, dry, or normal year for you so far?