Welcome to the Pacific North Wet, um I mean the Pacific Northwest where outdoor growing has challenges! We are in the direct line of what seems to be a never-ending Atmospheric River and it has brought record-setting moisture to our region. While at this time last year we were dealing with heat (including the record set at the end of June for high heat) this year we have struggled to make it to seventy degrees! This blog will discuss the impact the environment has upon the growing season thus far.
Seeds were sprouted inside as usual under a fluorescent light in peat grow cubes, and the selection this year was from Ethos out of Colorado with some feminized varieties, Green Bodhi in Oregon, and the rest from me (which is very exciting) that were bred last summer. These cultivars are based on a cross of Sour OG x Illusion OG that is called SOIL, and they are mostly F1 crosses except the SOIL F2. They moved into red Solo cups outside at the beginning of May and just didn't do much.
Cool and wet conditions also mean low light and this has greatly slowed the rate of growth that normally happens to seedlings sprouted mid-April and moved outside in May. The development of leaf sets and stalk girth and subsequently root growth has been slowed to a crawl. On the plus side is that transplants do not experience much shock, but they also don’t have the explosive growth seen in drier seasons. Slugs and rain damage add to the sorry state of most of my seedlings this season, and they also are squat and wide because of the drumming from the rain.
All of the moisture has had a great impact on the soil literally by clumping it together and pooling on some surfaces making it very solid and non-permeable. The rain washes away nutrients and in preparation for the summer season dry slow-release amendments are the best choice. They also require a soil mixing that helps with the compaction and aeration, so it is more labor intensive but will pay in the long run.
The constant rain has made it physically more challenging to get into the garden and get things done, so all the early preparation has fallen behind. The soil was prepped in containers one day and then transplants went in a couple of days later, while the raised bed had to be weeded first, soil turned and amended and then leveled out. And on the June full Strawberry moon on the 14th the rest of the seedlings were transplanted. Overall, it has been more little bits done here and there instead of doing it in one fell swoop as in past years. It feels disjointed to me but the plants don't seem to care!
Now that they are in their permanent homes and getting established, they are beginning to take off in concurrence with the Atmospheric River tapering off. The current forecast is dry but cloudy with sunny conditions and even an 80-degree day predicted in the next week. The hope is that the soil amendments will kick in and the sun will dry things out while encouraging growth. The adversity and diversity in this season is good for genetics bred here to adapt to PNW environments, and there is plenty of time left in the season to see how everything responds. As the saying goes, “Summer doesn't start until the 5th of July in the PNW
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