So I just uploaded photos from 10 days ago here: Flickr: bodhimama's Photostream (http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurenware)

And for about the past ten days, it has rained almost every day. Not just a drizzle, but hard soaking rains and thunderstorms and wind.

We had a particularly huge storm come through last night. Now, my Salad Bowl lettuce is rotting into the ground, the Romaine isn't far behind, the mesclun is pretty much toast. My tomatoes fell over and I had to stake the cages to get them upright. The peas fell over into the beans and I had to resurrect them and tie them to stakes as well. I sunk in mud up to my shins several times - right in the garden! It is sodden.

Any advice on the lettuce? I don't know if I let it go too long, or what. I guess I did because I just harvested romaine with 20" long leaves. :D It doesn't fit in the salad spinner...I want to keep some whole to use for wraps for lunch. I am calling friends and neighbors to come get lettuce. The Salad Bowl is so delicate and pretty - but the outside leaves are rotten and it looks so hammered by the rain. If only it were going to dry out - it's blue skies and birds singing right now, but more rain is in the forecast.

I propped up my blown-over corn...the beans and squashes and carrots don't care a whit about the rain and wind, thank goodness.

Ugh. We had huge rains a while ago but fortunately we had big sun too to dry it up.

I wish I had advice about the lettuce, can you harvest from the middle and leave the edges or isn't it that sort of lettuce? taste it maybe?

Your garden LOOKS really good tho.

Your garden is inspiring - so beautiful and bountiful. I hope you get plenty of sunshine and your plants revive.

Rhea

Awww...thanks you guys...I so needed to hear that today.

The lettuce will be okay - but those pics are of it at its peak and I should have harvested it then, I think. I just tasted it and it's fine - the salad bowl is starting to bolt a little, just one or two heads. And what's rotten is what's flopped over touching the ground. It's just that it got all lighter green and buggy and gross now; a week ago it was lush and looking more "alive." It may be just a bit past its prime (not helped by the intense rain) and I need to harvest it asap, I think. We can definitely just not eat the rotten leaves. But, you see how much lettuce it is!

I am a perfectionist...truly need to get over it. It's all good, and I just worked righting tomatoes and propping up corn (it's too wet for the corn to hold though - it just keeps flopping back down in the slightest wind) and felt really good to be in the garden and have it producing food for us.

But thanks for the positive comments; they really help brighten my day!

wow!! i think your gardens are truly truly beautiful and amazing!

i think so much of gardening is a learning experience. you'll know more next year and even more the year after that and....

but, i am jealous. i think it all looks great!