Market gardener Peter Butler, who grows Asian vegetables and a variety of lettuces in paddocks in Cranbourne, Skye and Heatherton, said a lot of the crops were under stress because of high rainfall.

"They aren't ruined yet because the crops were planted in the best ground. We are lucky because sometimes we take a gamble and will plant crops in paddocks that are now overflowing with water. Unless you grow rice, it has been too wet for most vegetables.

"We are at the stage where we've had enough rain for current crops."

Fourth-generation grower Craig Arnott of Clyde said it had been the wettest winter for more than a decade. "We normally use recycled water in the dry, but a wet winter makes access to paddocks difficult.

"Crops are under a lot of stress. It's probably average rainfall for this time of the year, but with so many years of dry weather, it looks like wetter than normal."

Bureau of Meteorology climate specialist Harvey Stern said Victoria had experienced above-average rainfall after 13 years of dry weather.

"Above-average rain has been recorded across the state in August and more rain is forecasted for the months ahead. Melbourne has already hit its August average of 50 millimetres. The statewide average to mid-August is about 40 millimetres."

Dr Stern said the south-east had its best rainfall after a long dry spell, but parts of Gippsland had missed out and were still experiencing a dry spell.

"It's been a cold winter in which the mean temperature for Victoria in July was 7.9 degrees.

"But we are expecting a warmer-than-average spring that will end the cold spell on Tuesday, with temperatures of 19 degrees."