Besides wreaking havoc with outdoor activities, the torrential May rains that have soaked the area have also delayed planting for market gardeners, dairy farmers and those with home gardens.
Dairyman Bill Rust of Gorham looked out his kitchen window on Monday and saw standing water on some of his cornfields. Rust said the weather has caused him to be 10 days behind his normal planting schedule.
Rust said 15 inches of rain has fallen so far this month on his Rusty Knoll Farm in West Gorham. Rust hopes to finish planting his 145 acres of corn for his cattle by June 10 if not sooner. “You would like to have it in by May 31st,” Rust said.
In Buxton, Nancy Stedman of Little River Flower Farm on Turkey Lane said they were about two weeks behind in transplanting flower annuals outside. She’s hoping to plant this week. “We’re watching the weather,” she said Monday.
Little River Flower Farm plants mostly flowers, but grows a lot of cucumbers and tomatoes, which she plans to plant on Memorial Day. Stedman said fields have been too wet for tractors, but they did till some higher ground Monday. The delay in planting has caused Stedman to re-pot 7,000 annuals two to three times.
Stedman is optimistic for a good growing season. “Once the weather pattern goes, we’ll have a good summer,” she said.
They both said planting season arrived late last season too. Stedman said they were up to a month late at this time last year.
Rust planted about five acres of corn before the rain came, but was uncertain whether it would survive because of the recent cool weather. It’s too cold to grow anything except established grass, Rust said.
Hans Hansen at Hansen’s Farm Market in South Gorham agreed. “Seed will rot if it’s too cold,” Hansen said.
Hansen thought spring gardening is about two weeks behind schedule. He likes to plant early, gambling with the weather.
Hansen said the ideal planting time for home gardeners would be over Memorial Day weekend, but gardeners should keep a weather eye out for the danger of frost. He said seedlings already planted outside should be protected at night.
To avoid transplanting shock, Hansen recommended that home gardeners check soil temperatures in their gardens. A thermometer should be inserted into the soil at least two inches deep. Tomato seedlings should be transplanted into soils that are least 60 degrees while cucumbers get their best start when soils register 63, according to a chart provided by Hansen.
Gene Bibber of Gorham, a home gardener, plants a variety of vegetables including 50 pounds of potatoes. He has already cut them up for planting and is waiting for his garden land to dry.
Bibber hopes to have his potatoes planted by the end of this week but hasn’t been able to get on his land with his tractor. “I usually put the potatoes in by May 15,” Bibber said.
He said this gardening season is about two weeks late at his farm. Although he’s late in planting, Bibber is also optimistic. “Everything is going to grow OK,” he said.
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