Right there with you, Zach! This has been the WORST gardening spring that I've had in the 19 years we've been in Co. Twisted, stunted, browning peonies and lilies, weeds popping back up almost immediately after clearing......it's the biggest act of gardening faith imaginable to even keep up with weeding this year, much less add to an existing bed or create a new one.

Om Mani Padme Hum, Zach.

About to move into record-breaking heat, here. The only recourse is to adjust and adapt.

Here's wishing You and Everyone the Best.

Steve

Yep, this has been crazy. I've been covering my tomato plants that I set out in the ground on Sunday almost every other day to protect them from heavy rain and/or hail! I've lost 3 so far - don't know whether they were weak to begin with, or if the heat Mon & Tues got them, or what. But the others are looking pretty good (do have some burned leaves on a few). So glad I covered them last evening as we got a very heavy down pour about 10, including a bit of small hail. I hate keeping them covered as they need the sun, and I've also notice roly poly bugs and such running around when I uncover them - worried they'll attack the plants. I did put down some granular bug killer last night because of that which is suppose to be good for ants and more. Normally I wouldn't, but since the plants are not even near fruiting at all, thought it'd be ok.

All my other plants are looking overall ok, but we shall see if this keeps up!

Marj

All my perennials are turning yellow and brown from being underwater for so long. I really though we might catch a break this week, but, it just wasn't meant to be. More rain and thunderstorms through next week. At this rate, I'll be buying all new plants next year, maybe ill scrap the xeriscape idea and start my own peat bog.

Rushing around trying to protect veggies from hail every day is no fun, either, but at least I think "hail season" will pass in the next few weeks. Rain on the other hand seems to be an constant threat, and even if not, by the time it peters out, it may be too late (who would have thunk that rain could be a gardeners nighmare?)

Meditation isn't helping when I am reminded of how much time and money has been spent this year with each new leaf that shrivels and dies.

Raining again ... hope it doesn't get too bad as I have the tomatoes uncovered :(

Ok, digit - I'll try it!

Om Mani Padme Hum,
Om Mani Padme Hum,
Om Mani Padme Hum ...

How quick is this suppose to work?!

LOL

From Thornton:

Hey, my one neighbor was out WATERING his grass yesterday morning! But then he'd do that even if it was under standing water!!! THEN he went to the backyard and "rototilled" (a little cultivator) the mud patch he plants his tomatoes in. That gets done at least once a week--whether it's under water or not!

My tomatoes/eggplants are still in pots! It's been too WET to even try to turn over the soil where they get planted! (Maybe my neighbor will till the mud for me! Hmm!) It was just starting to dry out and I had been contemplating the possibility of getting it ready to plant! But now I'm glad they're not in the ground--and I can keep them up on the covered deck and out of the WATER!

Boy, the LIGHTENING last nite! Luckily most of it was all around me--on all four sides, but wasn't directly OVER me! And still going at 1:00 a.m.! How unusual is THAT for Colorado! It's been raining here again--lightly--for half an hour already this morning! Wonder what the afternoon will bring?

Around midnite last nite I was up to about .4" in the rain gauge, this morning up to about .5". North of here, Berthoud/Ft. Collins, etc. they were talking about more like SIX INCHES! Almost afraid to say this, but, I've lucked out so far with NO hail.

Zach, I'm bettin' your xeric stuff will make it! They may struggle and look pretty bad this summer, but I bet they'll still be there next spring! Hang in there!

Skybird

This has been so bad lately, I'm keeping the weather site opened and
keep checking it for storm watch. Saw the 'heavy' rain indicator
showing up in my area, so went back out and covered the plants. Glad I
did - it's just starting in again with rain/thunder/lightning (no hail,
though - fingers crossed that keeps up)!

We need another mantra, digit! Here's one for stopping the rain: NAGA RADZA 'course, I'm adding my own meaning in there to be careful it doesn't stop it completely all summer!!

Has anyone heard from gimancini? The Berthoud tornado was awfully close to the swap location.

I think we are all in the same boat, Zach - we may literally have to get into a boat pretty soon!

I decided yesterday that it was time to start bringing my houseplants outside for the season. Great timing! One of the plants I brought out was a cactus. I bet it loved the torrential downpours last night...

And it hailed; luckily it was only about pea-sized hail here. My lettuce doesn't look very good - part of that was just from the weight of the rain more than from hail damage - but I think it will recover. My poor artichoke seedling, which I have babied for several months and finally planted out earlier this week, only has two of its four leaves left. The peppers and tomatoes show some leaf damage but I think they will be OK. The potatoes and onions look just fine, neither the rain nor the hail seem to bother them. I do have almost all of my vegetables planted out (and at the mercy of this rain/hail) because I have them in raised beds where the soil was workable, but I wanted to make a new area for my beans and squash; no idea when that will get done or when it will be planted since the gumbo clay is too wet to do anything with it except look at it.

And, weeding?? The soil is so wet that I don't even like to walk on it to GET to the weeds, so I am very far behind with that as well. The weeds, of course, don't seem to be the least bit bothered by having their roots underwater.

My main concern, of course, is for all of the perennials that have had their roots underwater or sitting in totally saturated soil for days at a time. Oak trees, ninebarks, dwarf conifers, cacti, peonies, Irises, lilies, ornamental grasses, etc., etc., etc., all drowning out there. Not good.

After last night's rain/hail, I have standing water in my back yard again. I pumped some of it out this morning without making a noticeable dent in the "lake" before it began raining again. I can see how I will be spending the coming weekend, in between the rain storms.... And the fact that perennials - especially trees and shrubs - often don't show the damage caused by weather - flood, drought, cold, etc. - until months after they have experienced the harm tells me that we may not know what has survived this spring weather until much later this year or even next year. (And what will we do if all of the earthworms have drowned as well?!?)

The lightening was incredible last night, Skybird. There was more than an hour of continuous lightening flashes with a continuous rumbling of thunder here in Westminster - there didn't seem to be any pauses in between at all! It was pretty amazing, but every thump of hail and burst of rain on the roof made me wince, thinking of what was happening to the plants outside.

And then waking up on this cloudy-rain-threatening-again morning and looking outside to see what daylight there was reflecting from the water in the lake that my backyard had again become....sigh.

All I can say is, I am glad I don't farm for a living, that I garden by choice and don't depend upon it for my income and survival.

Holly

I haven't planted a single thing from the swap--in fact, I have it in a wheelbarrow for ease of moving in and out from under a tree that protects it from hail. I had to dump the water out of the wheelbarrow this morning! Looks like I need to do it again; we just had another deluge for about 30 minutes, complete with thunder and lightning.

Okay, I just realized that first statement was a lie. I planted half of the potato starts that I got. I was so nervous turning over even a little bit with the pitchfork that I ended up just loosening, tossed the taters on top, and then I covered in leaf mulch! Good gravy, I dunno if I'm EVER going to get my other stuff planted. But the peas are loving the rain, anyway! LOTS of it. No rain gauge, but a tub that we usually use for a dust bath for our chickens (dust... what's that?) was out in the garden and now has almost 3 inches of water in it!

All our friends in CA are envious.

Best,

D

The ranchers are trying right now to do the first hay cutting. One of my neighbors got his cut, dried, and baled right before this last storm hit, but most of them haven't even cut yet, and its tall enough that its getting knocked over in the rain and wind. What a mess - there's a 3-4 day window coming up again starting tomorrow, but I don't know if it will dry out enough to work. On the upside, irrigation supplies are looking pretty good.

I have managed to get all of my veggies planted, in between the rain storms and pumping water out of my backyard, except for my squash and cucumbers. I have no more room in my raised beds, no soil elsewhere that is dry enough to be workable. My backyard, in which area I was planning to put some of the squash, has spent most of May and now into June under water, despite my daily efforts to pump it out, so is in even worse shape than my veggie garden area. I may have to do without squash and cucumbers this year.

The only good thing about all of this rain? Colorado no longer has any areas considered to be under exceptional or extreme drought conditions, and, as of May 26th, the last area of severe drought disappeared under the onslaught of our monsoon weather. So, now we are down to areas of moderate drought (southwestern corner of the state) and Abnormally dry ( northwest and some small areas in the southeast corner of Colorado.) Looking out at the lake my backyard has become, I try to let that comfort me!

Holly

Holly -- Take a look at the drought map and then compare the most recent assessment to that of exactly one year ago. Colorado is doing great. http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CO

Janni, that was what I was referring to in my last paragraph above - the fact that this "monsoon season" has greatly lessened the drought here in Colorado. That is the only positive I see so far in terms of the amount of rain we have/are receiving. Hopefully this is a major positive for the farmers and that is certainly more important than the effect it has on my drowning landscape, but I can't help but selfishly wish that much of this rain had fallen elsewhere than in the Denver metro area!

No rain here in Westminster yesterday, not even a drop - YAY - but I see the clouds are starting to gather over the mountains again today. Needless to say, my pump and my hoses are still out and ready for their next use!

Holly