We are going to start this post with something important: you are not alone.
Here at Maple Park Farm, we are dealing with root rot in portions of our vegetable gardens. Our cut flower fields were hit hardest by the flooding. We have been watching crops we worked all season to grow sit in standing water. Last week, we made the difficult decision to cancel our u-pick program for the rest of the 2026 season. There is no saving those gardens this year.
That was a hard decision to make. And we know many of you are facing similarly hard decisions in your own yards and gardens right now.
So this week, instead of pretending everything is fine, we want to give you something useful: a practical guide to what's happening in wet-season Alberta gardens, what you can do about it, and, honestly, when it's time to let something go.
What the Rain Does to Your Garden
When soil stays saturated for extended periods, a cascade of problems begins. Roots that sit in standing water are deprived of oxygen, and without oxygen, even healthy roots begin to break down. That breakdown invites the fungi and bacteria that cause the diseases we are all seeing right now.
Here are the most common moisture-related diseases showing up in Alberta gardens this season, and how to recognize each one:
| Disease | What you are seeing |
| Powdery Mildew | White or grey powdery coating on leaves. This forms in humid air even without wet leaves. Common on squash, cucumbers and roses. |
| Downy Mildew | Yellow patches on top of leaves with fuzzy grey or purple growth on the undersides. Worse in cool, wet conditions. |
| Root Rot | Wilting despite wet soil. Mushy, blackened roots with a foul smell when you pull the plant. We are seeing this in our gardens right now. |
| Leaf Spot | Brown or black rings or spots on foliage. Spreads through water splash, which is why consistent overhead rain accelerates it rapidly. |
| Botrytis (Gray Mold) | Fuzzy grey growth on flowers, fruit or stems. Thrives in cool, humid conditions. Particularly destructive on cut flowers and strawberries. |
| Early/Late Blight | Rapid browning and collapse of tomato and potato foliage. One of the most heartbreaking diseases to watch spread, and it moves fast in wet weather. |
Your Five-Step Recovery Plan
If your plants are showing symptoms, here is what to do, in order:
- Stop watering. Let the top 2–3 inches of soil dry out completely before you irrigate again. The soil is already saturated; adding more water makes everything worse.
- Prune hard. Remove all infected leaves and stems, cutting at least six inches below any visible damage. Thin crowded branches and stems to allow airflow. Humidity trapped in dense foliage is what allows these diseases to spread.
- Clean your tools. Disinfect your shears or pruners with 70% isopropyl alcohol between every single cut. This is not optional; dirty tools spread disease from plant to plant faster than rain does.
- Improve drainage. If you have areas of standing water, carefully dig shallow trenches to divert the water away. Gently aerate the soil with a garden fork to help it dry. And this is important: do not walk on wet garden beds. Compacted wet soil damages root structure and makes drainage worse. We have written about this before, and it bears repeating. Use a board to distribute your weight if you must access a wet bed.
- Address root rot directly. If a plant shows classic root rot symptoms — wilting despite wet soil, black mushy roots, foul smell — dig it up carefully. Trim away all blackened roots with clean scissors. Replant in fresh dry soil with improved drainage, or for container plants, add extra perlite to increase aeration.
When to Let It Go. The Alberta Short-Season Reality
This is the part nobody wants to hear, but it's the most important thing we can tell you as Alberta growers.
We are in zone 3. Our average first frost date in this region is September 10–15. That gives us roughly 55–60 days from today.
If a plant is severely diseased right now, more than half its foliage gone, root system compromised, blight spreading, the honest question is not 'can I save it?' but 'if I do save it, will it have enough season left to actually produce?'
For fast-maturing crops such as radishes, lettuce, spinach, and beans, replanting now still makes sense.
For longer-season crops like tomatoes and peppers that are severely affected, the math will not work in your favour. That's a hard truth, and we are living it ourselves this season with our cut flower fields.
Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is pull the affected plants, improve soil drainage, and direct-seed something fast that will still give you a harvest before frost.
A Note From Our Farm
We cancelled our u-pick program for the rest of 2026. The gardens simply cannot be saved this year, and we would rather be honest with you about that than keep our events page up and disappoint people who make the trip out.
It has been one of the hardest growing seasons we have had. And if your garden is struggling right now, we want you to know that it is not a reflection of your skill or your effort. It is a reflection of an exceptionally wet Alberta summer.
You are not alone. Keep going where you can. Let go where you can't. And know that next season begins the moment this one ends.
📍 18311 Township Road 502, Beaver County