This year the heavy rains damaged the strawberries so badly, Mr. May explained, that the farm's "pick-your-own" fields were not opened to the public. Instead, he said, what few berries remained from the flooding were plucked and sold at May's at the stand.

"The strawberries were ripening up, but they just went and rotted out from the flooding," Mr. May said. "We didn't even have enough [strawberries] to let people into the fields."

Because farmers can pump water into their fields through irrigation systems whenever they want, rain is the last thing most need this time of year -- but rain has fallen on 19 of the first 23 days of June. Farmers say too much rain drives customers away and spreads bacterial disease.

"Most of the diseases are funguses and they just love [the rain]," Mr. May said.

During strawberry season, rain is especially dreaded.

"The strawberries soak up too much water, and when they're ripe, they'll split around the cap," said Faye Anderson, owner of Anderson Farms in Riverhead. "Because the strawberry is open, it's more prone to any type of fungus around it -- just like an open sore on your hand."

The rain forced Ms. Anderson to close her u-pick stand last week.

"No one's going to come in the rain," she said, shaking her head.

Farmers along the North Shore are bemoaning one of the wettest Junes in Long Island history.

"Most of my crops aren't doing too well," said Philip Schmitt, owner of Schmitt Farms in Riverhead. "Honestly, it's sickening."

Small ponds of stagnating water fill muddy trenches of yellow, moldy lettuce up and down Mr. Schmitt's fields; the June deluge destroyed 60 to 70 percent of his crop in some areas.

"It's really sickening," he reiterated.

But farmers are not the only ones experiencing wet-weather woes.

Many farm stands that order their produce are also feeling the pressure this summer. To passersby, a cart of fresh fruit and vegetables and rows of colorful impatiens takes up a good portion of space at the Little Red Farm Stand on Yaphank-Middle Island Road in Middle Island. But off to the side is what motorists can't see: rows of sunflowers, watermelon and sweet corn that have been placed on the garbage pile either because of water damage or because of the simple fact that they exceeded their expiration date.

"It's very slow," said Medford resident Lily Cuesi, who works at the farm stand on Fridays. "It's not a good year. There's too much water."

Vineyard owners also have their challenges this season.

"If you don't spray the vines, the grapes get mildew on them," said Bud Koehler, owner of Osprey's Dominion Vineyards in Peconic. "Every time we spray, the rain comes and washes the spray away. You might as well just start all over again."

Central Park records indicate that this month has already been the sixth wettest June since 1869, and things are only getting wetter.

Some farmers, however, think there's still a chance to recuperate.

"It's a pretty bad start," said Mr. Schmitt, who grows everything from spinach to sweet corn, "but we have a long way to go. We're still planting, and we'll be planting until September.

"If the weather straightens out, things could turn around."

Likewise, Mr. May said it is still too early to tell exactly how much damage has been done to the farm's business.

"We are hoping that the sun will come out and give us a little burst at the end of the season. But we shall see."

bdegnan@timesreview.com

peggy@northshortesun.com

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