WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – A rainy day might make for slick conditions on the road. But it’s important for plants to get a necessary amount of rain. This summer, that hasn’t been happening.
“From the beginning of August until yesterday, basically two weeks, were extremely dry,” said Sue Gwise, Consumer Horticulture Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County.
Sue Gwise says this time of year is typically the driest time of year. However, Jefferson County is not officially in a drought.
According to data from the Northeast Regional Climate Center, Watertown was under its monthly rainfall averages in June and July. August isn’t over yet, but it’s well under the monthly average thus far.
Gwise says the numbers aren’t alarming, however gardeners have their work cut out for them.
“My master gardeners are telling me things like, they’ve been in Watertown for 20 years and they’ve never seen the ground crack, yet we’re not in a drought,” said Gwise.
Gwise says the rain has been spotty this summer, and it hasn’t fallen too hard, so it doesn’t sink into the ground as much and leads to dry conditions.
“And it’s noticeable because this is the time of year when a lot of our vegetables really need a lot of water, a lot of things are coming into fruit. And, they need water to bring that fruit to maturity,” said Gwise.
Gwise says hopefully the rain the last couple of days helps, but it likely isn’t enough to make up for a dry season.
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