Water, it seems like in Oklahoma, we either get too much or too little. As a rule we kind of know that we are going to have an over-abundance of rain in the spring, but when summer hits in full strength, water is going to be hard to come by. Let’s talk about some of the water challenges we face each year.

We all know that life without water is impossible, and we start to get a little nervous when we go a while without any rain. This is likely due to the cultural memory of the dust bowl which affected our area years ago. But it seems like the rain eventually comes. However, to many of us gardeners, it feels like we are currently in monsoon season. Anyone considering planting rice?

I know every year is different, but here’s a couple of stats from the Mesonet (the Mesonet is a joint project between OSU and OU to gather weather data throughout the state) for a little perspective. At the time of this writing, in the last 365 days we received about 47 inches of rain and in the last thirty days we have gotten about 11 inches. If you are a percentages person, that means in the last 30 days we have received about 25% of what we usually get in a year. This type of water accumulation can be a challenge for gardeners.

We feel your pain because, not only are Tulsa Master Gardeners home gardeners themselves, but we also have a 3-acre farm in which we grow vegetables as a way to teach Master Gardeners how to better grow vegetables. The fruits of our efforts are donated to area food pantries. At this point in the growing season, we are up to about 350 lbs. donated of crops including turnips, beets, collards, Swiss chard, and onions. But our gardening efforts have been hampered by the quantity of rain we have been receiving.

I was talking to a Master Gardener at our farm the other day who was relaying a conversation with a friend about how their garden was struggling this spring. When this Master Gardener shared with them that we were also struggling, it made them feel a little better about their seemingly failed efforts. So, here’s the deal. Full disclosure.

Our potatoes at the farm are pretty much a bust this year. We planted about 400 row feet of potatoes but I’m guessing we only have about 50 feet of potatoes that have survived the flooding. Not too long ago we planted about 400 row feet of beans and lost them. And our tomatoes are struggling. The reason for all of this - too much water. When the roots or seeds sit submerged in water, they not only tend not to germinate, but those with roots tend to rot.

We are also a little bit behind in getting seeds for other plants in the ground due to standing water in our farm. In fact, we just finished planting all of our summer crop seeds last week placing us about a month behind where we typically are this time of year. Feeling better about yourself? You’re welcome.

But this is what comes with the territory when we decide to become gardeners. We can try to control as much as we can, but Mother Nature tends to win these skirmishes. And yes, we are going to work on implementing some drainage strategies for our farm next year, but for now, it is what it is.

One of the challenges with strictly using our eyes to determine the need to water our plants is that symptoms of both over and under-watering are similar - the leaves on the plant begin to wilt and the plants begin to slouch. Many a plant has succumbed to overwatering because the gardener saw the limp leaves and assumed that the plant needed more water when in actuality it was suffering from too much water. More water was added in an attempt to solve the perceived problem, but this additional water only led to root rot which destroyed the plant.

To ascertain soil moisture accurately, a finger in the soil is hard to beat. Stick your finger down in the soil a couple of inches and see if the plant is indeed dry or wet. Or water moisture meters are inexpensive and can be a good investment if you want to be a little more technical in your methodology.

Potted plants are particularly susceptible to overwatering because those small drain holes in the bottom can get clogged. If this has happened, you are going to need to remedy the drainage issue. A screwdriver or coat-hanger can be used from the bottom of the container to open up that drain hole. If that doesn’t work, you’ll probably need to remove the plant and clean it out that way.

In raised beds or in-ground gardens it’s not quite that simple. Raised beds are a little better since they tend to drain fairly well, but with in-ground gardens you are limited to hoping for some days without rain to dry out the soil, or you’ll need to implement some sort of drainage system to allow this un-wanted rain to make its way out or your garden space.

All this to say, the abundance of water we have received this year is a problem for all of us. You may need to replant or replace. But if it was easy, we probably wouldn’t be gardeners. For more information or rainfall, soil temperatures and other weather relate issues, you can visit www.mesonet.org. See you in the garden! I’ll be the one with my waterproof boots on…

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: Tom Ingram