Weather's been rough on gardens, crops -- but there's hope

By this time in a typical summer, you'd be politely refusing the offer of even more tomatoes from well-intentioned neighbors.

For many home gardeners, the cupboard may be a bit bare this year. Other plants and flowers don't seem quite right, either, wearied by wacky weather that included too much rain followed by record cold and a dry spell.

"It's been a strange year from the beginning," said Sharon Yiesla, a horticulturist with the University of Illinois Extension in Grayslake.

"Probably just about everybody's garden has been affected to some degree."

Planting was delayed by a wet spring. Then, Illinois was one of six states to experience the coolest July on record. And it was dry.

O'Hare International Airport reported less than half the normal amount of rain in July. Despite some recent storms and more expected today, August hasn't been much wetter.

It all adds up to a less than robust year for many plants, flowers and crops, particularly the backyard variety.

"We see a lot of people who still are not harvesting tomatoes," Yiesla said.

Some of those that have come along may have black bottoms, a condition known as blossom end rot. That happens when a plant doesn't get consistent moisture and becomes deficient in calcium, she said.

"If you see a few tomatoes go that way, do some regular watering and the ones that follow should be fine," she said.

Powdery mildew fungus on lilacs, phlox and other plants also has been in evidence, according to Yiesla, a result of warm days and cool nights.

Some trees and shrubs may already be shedding leaves, which is a sign of stress.

Vegetables need consistent watering to develop, so those that haven't gotten it for the past few weeks may be sparse.

"If they look like they started forming a couple of weeks ago, it may be too late," Yiesla said.

In the bigger picture, farmers in Lake and McHenry counties are gradually recovering from the wet spring, but they have missed rains lately.

In Lake County, the corn stalks aren't as tall as usual.

"Everything is well under what it should be," said Greg Koeppen, Lake County Farm Bureau manager. "It's not going to be a bumper crop."

McHenry County Farm Bureau Manager Dan Volkers expected corn yields to be down from 3 percent to 10 percent depending on location.

"Probably the big challenge right now is the USDA is reporting some huge yields on average," he said. That means lots of grain to market and lower prices for farmers.

The USDA's August crop report predicts the second highest yield on record for corn and a record high for soybeans. In Illinois, yields for corn or grain will be down slightly from last year, the agency reported.

"There's plenty of cucumbers out there," Volkers said. "I've heard others say the tomatoes and other (vegetables) aren't doing as well."

At farm stands, sweet corn was about a week later than normal, but other vegetables are rebounding, said John Didier, co-owner of Didier Farms in Buffalo Grove.

"They're all coming around right now," he said.