The Modern Victory Garden

The 2011 year is not quite concluded and I will have more harvest totals to add in the coming four weeks to the running tally for the year.   Historically however, my harvests only average 5 pounds per month from December through April and therefore it is unlikely my final year-to-date total will improve very much from its current amount of 364.5 pounds.   So it looks like I will be finishing the year with somewhere in the neighborhood of 370 pounds of production from the garden for 2011 (at least the amount that got officially weighed).   This is definitely not a good report card given what I know this garden can produce.   Luckily, our actual demand for production has decreased by about 1/3rd so there has not been a real impact on us from a food source perspective.   Our daughter moved away to Pennsylvania in the summer of 2010 so the number of adults being fed from the garden went from 3 in 2009, to 2.5 in 2010, and has now settled down to 2 effective for all of 2011 and going forward.                              

In an “average” year, I would expect to see the harvest total to be closer to 475 pounds and a “really good” year could yield in the 700 pound range.   Obviously, at approximately 370 pounds of production – 2011 was a “poor” production year.   So the question that then begs to be answered is … why?    Here are the components as best I can determine.           

First and foremost, we had dismal weather conditions in 2011.   We continually set records for “low” daytime “highs” throughout the summer season.   It just never got very warm at all.   Granted, our region rarely gets all that warm during the summer, but for 2011 we did not even get a brief period of heat.   Compounding this, the spring was also very chill so plants were slow to get started and then never got an infusion of sun to give them a growth spurt to catch up.   The only positive thing I can say about the 2011 growing weather is that our summer was actually quite dry, which helped to keep the tomato plants reasonably healthy despite the cooler temps.   Had it been wet as well as cold, I would have been in a losing battle with the various fungal diseases that are endemic to my growing region.   The long term forecasts for my region are to get a similar season in 2012 to what we experienced in 2011. This is because the strong La Nina conditions from 2010/11 are back again for 2011/12 and while weaker than last year will still be moderate in force.  

There is not much I can do about the weather – it is what it is – but there are steps that can be taken to mitigate for less than optimal weather.   Knowing that next season is likely going to have much of the same conditions as this year, I can adjust my strategies to help improve my results.       

Out of laziness, I skipped using plastic mulch for the squash patch in 2011.   I will not be making that mistake again in 2012.   The extra soil warmth created from the brown Infra-Red Transmitting (IRT) mulch can help mitigate for some of the cooler ambient temperatures.   In addition, I will be putting a grow tunnel cover over the squash patch bed for the first portion of the growing season to increase the air warmth surrounding the plants during the cool early season period.   My squash plants eventually grew quite vigorously last year (despite the cold conditions), but because they got such a late start due to the chilly spring conditions they were unable to set and mature fruit before the cold wet rains of fall arrived.   I need to ensure the start of the growing season is more hospitable for them in order to avoid the same problems in 2012.   Putting these plants under a grow tunnel cover during the spring period however, will increase the potential for mildews and fungal problems to develop so I will also have to use preemptive applications of organic fungicides.                   

I am also planning to use covers over the potato patch for the first month or so after planting to ensure a warmer soil condition and thus a faster start for the plants.    Another step I am planning to take to adjust for the expected repeat of cool conditions in 2012 is to start my pole beans indoors and set them out as transplants, because the cool soil conditions of a bad weather year make germination more difficult.   I did that with the corn in 2011 and we got a good harvest from the patch despite the weather.   I will (of course) be also starting the corn as transplants in 2012 as well.        

Weather was not the only issue though that resulted in our less than spectacular production results.   For some reason I seemed to have completely skipped using containers on my deck to grow crops in during 2011.    I am not really sure why that happened actually.   Usually I use quite a few containers to expand my growing options and make full use of the limited area on my property that gets adequate sun.   I will definitely be putting my containers back to work for the 2012 growing season.  

While I am not thrilled with the overall level of production of the garden in 2011, there definitely were some excellent performers.   At the top of my list is the Lady Bell peppers.   These sweet red bell pepper plants grew vigorously, had a beautiful leaf canopy that kept to a low and compact growth habit, and produced a significant amount of good sized peppers that went to fully mature/ripened status with little pest or disease problems.   Definitely a winner for my growing region and conditions and I will be growing these again without hesitation.  

Another super performer this year was the celery patch.   I put it in a bed that is actually my worst bed on the property due to significant shading during much of the day.   The bed was amended with composted chicken manure as well as usual home brew compost.   The celery plants responded very favorably to the combination of cool weather, super amended soil that retained water exceptionally well, and seemed quite happy to be in partial or even full shade for large portions of the day – something most other plants (other than lettuces) would not be very tolerant of.   I will be rotating them to another bed area in 2012 but they are going to go into a nearby location that is similarly situated and I will be repeating the soil amendment combo for that planting area in 2012 as well.

The celery, peppers, rhubarb, Napa cabbages, green and red cabbages, kales, pac choi, corn, turnips, parsnips, peas (both shelling and snap), garlic, and lettuces all performed quite well in 2011.    In the “okay but not great” category, I would include the potatoes, bush beans, spinach, leeks, cucumbers, beets, swiss chard, Legend and Defiant tomatoes, and broccoli.    And the winners of the “poor performers” category would have to be the carrots (carrot fly infestation took out much of the crop), pole beans, onions, other tomato varieties outside of those specifically named previously, pumpkins, winter squash, and zucchini.   Yes, you read that correctly…. zucchini is on my list of low performers for the 2011 year.   Amazing I know, but it is true.   All of the squash family with the exception of the cucumbers (which made it into the “okay but not great” category) were dismal producers in this extremely cool growing year.         

That pretty much wraps up my 2011 production assessment and planned 2012 adjustments.   I think with the adjustments I am planning to make, I can improve the production in 2012, even if it does turn out to be another exceptionally cool growing year.                                            

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener