Gardening Problem: fertilizing problems?

Question

I have a large garden, growing summer squash, tomatoes, bush beans, pole beans, sugar peas, and cucumber. I live in the midwest and we had a lengthy bout of rain that seem to last for a month. Cucumbers had deformed ball shaped fruit and leaves turned brown. I added liquid fertilizer and now I am finally getting normal cucumber. My question: Does a lengthy rainy season cause fertility issues with plants? Do you fertilize more if it has rained too much? I had to plant my garden 3 times due to flooding in my yard and losing seeds in the high waters. We have plenty of bees. So I would just like to know if the rain has been the problem so that I can learn from this and make accurate notes for next year's garden. Thanks for any information!

Answer 1

Water does tend to dilute/wash away fertilizer.  If it tends to be rainy a lot try a time released fertilizer like osmocote, while using your liquid fert once a week.

Answer 2

Heavy, continuous rain can cause the nutrients to leach from the soil.  Probably the easiest solution for you would be to invest in a home soil test kit.  They are inexpensive, will tell you the pH of your soil, which nutrients are lacking, and most include instructions on correcting pH or fertilizer deficiencies.