This July, the Bangor area was much cooler and wetter than normal. But could that mean a bad crop for the notoriously finicky tomatoes growing in many Maine gardens?
Tomatoes are sensitive to abnormal weather and can experience a number of malformations, from cracking to the unsightly blossom end rot depending on their conditions. But experts say that despite slowed growth due to the weather, the tomato season may not be bad this year.
The average temperature this July in Bangor was 66.3 degrees Fahrenheit, which was 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit below normal, said Peter Girard, director of digital communications and media relations for Climate Central. Bangor also received 243 percent of the normal amount of rain based on data from the SC-ACIS, which provides access to climate data from daily U.S. weather stations, Girard said.
If the weather warms, Caleb Goossen, crop and conservation specialist at the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, said that soil will dry out again and the soil’s microbes can get back to work. In the meantime, Goossen said that gardeners should look out for early blight and Septoria leaf spot on their tomatoes.
“Both of these fungal diseases require a period of continuous leaf wetness in order to infect plants,” Goossen said. “They’re both common to see on tomatoes, but they can really take off after long periods of rainy days like we had in July.”
For leaf spot, Higgins recommended organic copper, sulfur or chlorothalonil fungicides. Otherwise, it’s just a matter of waiting for the warmth to come.
Goossen said that late blight had a slow start this year and doesn’t seem to be a problem.
“If late blight had been present here when we had all those back to back days of rain it would likely have been a major concern for potato and tomato growers, as it would have spread rapidly and likely been quite destructive,” Goossen said.
Still, the wet days that dominated July might have caused waterlogged soil for some gardens, particularly those with poor drainage, according to Goossen.
“When a soil gets waterlogged the water takes up the pore space between soil particles that would normally have air in it,” Goossen said. “In severe, prolonged situations the lack of oxygen will damage or kill plant roots, and impair their ability to get water and nutrients to the rest of the plant. The other issue that may be occurring in some high rainfall locations is that continuous rain leaches nitrogen from the soil, and the lack of oxygen in the soil can cause ‘denitrification’ of what would otherwise be newly available nitrogen.”
Overall, though, the season hasn’t been terrible for tomatoes.
Melissa Higgins, wholesale manager at Sprague’s Nursery in Bangor, said that she has surprisingly not heard many customers complain about their tomatoes this season, compared with last year’s persistent dry heat.
“For us this year it was really hot and dry early on and gave most tomatoes in my opinion a real good start,” Higgins said.
Goossen said that the cool July temperatures might have slowed tomato growth somewhat, but he is hopeful for the heat in the coming weeks.
“They will mostly be back to where they would be after enough warm sunny days, assuming that’s what August really has in store for us, and it’s looking like heat is headed our way,” Goossen said.