Vegetable garden not growing? Here are some wet weather tips for northern Ontario

It hasn't been the easiest summer for gardeners.

That's according toSusan Richards, the garden centre manager at New North Greenhouse in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

The amount of rain, coupled by cooler nights, hasbeen a challenge for anyone looking to grow warm-weather crops.

Although raised planters areless affected by the unfriendly weather, Richards says gardens deluged by the heavy rains are seeing rotting roots and mold.

But the news isn't all bad. Richards told CBC's Up North afternoon radio show that there's still a chance to salvage something from the garden.

The first step? Give your plants, even the rain-damaged ones, a chance to make it through to the end of the season.

"All you can do is remove any damaged fruit and poor-looking foliage," Richards said. "And give your vegetables another shot of organic granular fertilizer."

Richards says all that rain we've had washes nutrients fromthe soil.

"They can't stay in the soil when they're deluged. So keep fertilizing a little more often," she said.

"Those cold season crops [like kale]will do well into October. I'm still picking leaves from my kale plant. The kale peters out in the heat, but they've done well."

Richards also suggests keeping air movement around and under the plants, in the chance that September turns out to be good for growing, as it has in recent years.

"Plants can grow right until frost," she said. "The last few years we haven't seen any frost until Thanksgiving. And everything's delayed this year."

• September will see warmer than normal temperatures, making up for a 'bummer of a summer'

This year's common complaint: plant disease

Most of the complaints Richards received from gardeners this summer were about the amount of disease they were seeing on plants.

"Without a doubt [the majority of complaints are] disease-related, dueto damp weather," Richards said. "[The season] started with the bugs, then tapered off with the rain."

The dampness kept away powdery mildew, which Richards said she was glad not to have dealt with until late in the season.

"Last year it was humid, so [powdery mildew] went through my cucumbers and squash. But it's cooler this year."

Listen to the interview here.