Farmers in Leicestershire fear acres of crops will be lost if it does not rain in the next fortnight.
They say they are "absolutely desperate" for wet weather to make up for last month – the driest April in 73 years.
Without rain, thousands of plants could die and farmers will have much smaller yields than expected.
Gardens across the county are also suffering, with flowers and plants withering due to the lack of water.
David Beaty, of Medbourne Grange Farm, in Medbourne, near Market Harborough, said: "We are getting absolutely desperate for rain now.
"We are just not going to get the yields we want without the rain – it's as simple as that."
Mr Beaty, who grows oil seed rape and barley, said: "We could lose crops all together – it could be as much as 30, or even 50 acres.
"The spring crops we planted in March and April haven't seen any rain at all really.
"Most of us use fertiliser to help bulk the crop up and we are putting it on the soil, but without the rain the plant isn't able to take it up.
"We are very, very worried."
Milly Stokes, of Farndon Fields, grows oil seed rape, wheat and more than 40 different vegetables at her farm near Market Harborough.
"Things are absolutely dire," she said.
"The oil seed rape has about 10 days left before we get real problems, after that the yield will just get less and less if we get anything at all."
She said the farm had a reservoir, which stores water from the winter but that could be empty soon.
Ian Bourne, who manages 20 acres of land at his farm in Osgathorpe, in north west Leicestershire, said: "It is very unusual indeed to have this little rain. It looks like yields are going to be much lower than we would hope."
All the farmers said it was too early to say what the financial impact of the dry weather would be.
Gardeners around the county are having to turn to their hosepipes to keep their flowers and lawns in full health during the dry spell.
Gardening experts also recommended other methods to help retain moisture in their soil.
Matthew Hoare, plant area supervisor at Palmers Garden Centre, in Enderby, said: "It's a good idea to mix compost in with the soil because that can help retain the moisture."
Matt Foster, plant area assistant at Glebe Garden Centre in Countesthorpe, said: "We'd recommend installing water butts to catch any rain that does fall."
Mercury weatherman Dave Mutton said the last time it rained in Leicestershire was on April 5, when 2.3mm fell.
He does not have high hopes for rain in the coming weeks.
He said: "This dry weather looks set to continue over the next couple of weeks."
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