[EinNYC]

You don’t have good drainage. Must be very clay-heavy soil. You need to lighten it up by tilling in humus like peat moss and such, make it a nice loamy soil. It’s been raining cats and dogs down here in Queens, but I never have water puddling in my garden because I amended the soil before planting anything. Now it’s light and loamy, and I have gorgeous plants and flowers to prove it.

[Bommer]

Yep I agree. It’s poor drainage. Have the soil tested. If it’s raised bass, drill holes in the side to let water drain out

[dayglored]

Well, it's true there's heavy clay about 18" down, but this field was a potato farm decades ago, and the topsoil has been tilled and productive in years past. It usually drains acceptably. We add MiracleGro type soil to the existing topsoil wherever we plant, and of course mulch. But it seems like the entire top layer, a foot or so down, is saturated.

But mainly though it's the houseplants that freaked me out by dying. They're not in the field soil -- they're just in their regular pots they've always been in.

[Vaquero]

If Queens is like the rest of LI it’s sand. My soil needs the loam etc to hold the moisture. Drainage here in central Suffolk is way too good.
I love all the rain. This year I’m trying raised beds in boxes.

[onona]

Ditto EIN !

[entropy12]

dayglored, EinNYC knows what he/she is talking about. Improve your drainage and all be well!