A garden and greenhouse expert has given tips to would-be vegetable growers across the US.
Laurie Garretson told the Victoria Advocate that now is a great time for growing your own fruit and vegetables.
She explained that gardeners should not stress about creating the perfect green space as there is always likely to be some disease or pest ruining things.
The expert noted that many people have come to her complaining that their squash plants seem to be rotting at the bloom end.
“This is a fungus problem,” Ms Garretson said. “Rainy weather and overhead watering on the plants‘ foliage can lead to many different types of fungal diseases.”
While the problems may dissipate if the rain dies down, gardeners can treat the plants with fungicide if the weather remains damp.
Tomatoes can have a similar problem, which can be identified by a darkened, leathery spot on the bottom of the fruit.
This can be caused by a dry period, followed by heavy rain, which washes away nutrients in the soil.
It can be avoided by mixing in a couple of spoons of Epson salt in a gallon of water and pouring it around the base of each plant.
USA Today recently published an article which warned gardeners that it is not just their plants that need looking after in hot weather – their pets do too.