The Modern Victory Garden

The weather in our region has been setting records this spring for wetter and colder than normal temps.   Last year was much the same but what made last year worse overall, was that it never really improved and the entire summer was cool and gloomy.   While we have started out cold and damp there is still some reason to be hopeful that summer will actually yet arrive this year and give us six to eight weeks of warmer and drier conditions before the onset of fall conditions.  

Our garden produce is important to us because it is the food we regularly eat.   Whatever the weather year turns out to be, I need to get the most out of the garden I can.   My challenge as a modern victory gardener is to manage weather risk as best I am able and maximize my garden’s productivity in all years.  

 In my garden, many crops are doing just fine despite the not so great weather so far.   Some of it can be attributed to the type of crop being grown.   I know my area is prone to this kind of weather so I plant a fair amount of cool weather loving crops like peas, spinach, cabbages, broccoli, kale, and other greens.   It is tempting to plant less of these and more of the sun and heat lovers like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, beans, and corn.   Given a choice, we love to eat the warm weather crops more than cool weather items but I have found it does not pay to fight the environment I am given, because the odds start to stack against me for success.   So I devote a fair amount of garden space to crops that will grow well in our area, even in the gloomiest of summers.   Recently I blogged about some of these staples for my growing climate – cabbages and kale.   These cool weather crops are (of course!) balanced with a decent amount of planting area reserved for warm weather crops, because not every year is cool and wet and even when it is – some items still produce satisfactorily despite the weather.  Like everyone else, we love those items too and certainly don’t want to do without them, even if they are challenging to grow in some years (for tomatoes it is most years!).         

Some of the warm weather crops are also doing okay this spring.   Much of that can be attributed to being well grown initially under protected conditions; careful hardening off before transplanting; and using additional protection once outside to keep the plants as comfortable as possible in the less than ideal growing conditions.   The pepper, basil, and tomato plants I grew extra early and then planted out with continued protection of either a grow tunnel cover or the unheated greenhouse are good examples of this.   I have five pepper plants in the greenhouse that are absolutely loaded with peppers and have lots more forming.   The tomatoes are growing and have fruit set and flowering.   And the basil is some of the nicest I have grown.   All of them have been grown under protective cover almost exclusively since being set out.   If I had just shoved these out into the elements at my usual planting time without going to the extra effort of giving them cover as needed – the results would not have been the same.   I can guarantee it.   It IS extra work to put covers on; to make sure they are ventilated adequately on warmer days – or to remove them entirely and put them back on periodically – but the effort is not that much for the potential reward provided.  

Not everything works out though despite efforts to manage weather risk.   Every year has its share of plant losses or reduced production from weather related stresses.   This year is no exception.   I lost all my cucumber seedlings transplanted out earlier this spring and had to reseed the lot of them.   They were just too unhappy with the cool and wet conditions.   The replacement seeds are starting to emerge but it is rather spotty and I will be surprised if I get much of a cucumber harvest this year.   Similarly, the first planting of pole beans did not germinate, not a one of them.   I recently reseeded these too and I am now wondering if any of those will come up because so far there is not one sign of them emerging.   I lost almost all of my zucchini transplants (granted I only put a few out) and several of my butternut squash plants.   I direct seeded some replacements of each of those too and am impatiently waiting for those to emerge as well.   The survivors are hanging in there but they are much smaller than they should be and are not exactly thriving.   My point in telling you all of these sad tales is not to garner your sympathy but to emphasize that this is just part of the process.   While disappointing, it is not the end of the world.   The trick is to roll with it and try to recover as best you can from these set backs.   If it is not too late to do another planting – then give it a whirl!   Ultimately you may salvage a decent harvest from the crop or at least salvage something of a crop.   If not, the beauty of gardening is that you have another chance at it next growing season.             

This year’s weather is certainly posing lots of challenges and more of my energy has to go towards managing weather risk, but on balance I think I have more successes than failures in that effort to date.                    

Tonight I snagged a few photos of things going on in the garden that I have not talked a lot about lately.   Here’s a picture of the back portion of the side garden area.   To the right you can see the spring broccoli patch growing and next to the greenhouse is the second generation horizontal pea trellis and the pea patch.   

The peas and broccoli are two of my “safety net” crops that grow wonderfully when we get prolonged wet and gloomy weather.   There is a limit to how much cold and wet they will take and still thrive, but their comfort with cool and damp weather is quite high.   The peas have gotten quite tall and are now up to the second horizontal trellis support and are not only latching on but growing on through.                              

The are just beginning to flower and within the next week this patch should become a mass of blossoms.                        

The broccoli is also doing well and has formed central heads as well as the first of the side shoots.   The heads are starting to size up and it will not be long now before we get to begin enjoying some fresh broccoli.   I am really looking forward to it because this is one of my favorite vegetables in the garden.           

Celery is a plant that does not like really cold conditions, but it is quite content with cool and wet.   It is a good crop for my region for this reason.   For those in drier and hotter areas it can be a real challenge to grow celery well, but it is another plant that is in my arsenal of “if all else fails weather wise, this one will grow just fine” crops.   I have a fairly big patch of celery growing this year and they have formed succulent stalks that are very crisp and good tasting.   The lack of heat stress and lots of wet weather has done them well.                                   

Some of the plants that are doing fine despite the weather are the bush beans and the corn.   Both are more than satisfactorily growing but they definitely would be further along if the weather were warmer and drier.   These are warm loving crops so the fact that they are holding their own is pretty admirable given they really have not gotten much help other than the corn - which was started indoors under lights and was pretty well grown before I planted them out.   Here are the corn plants the day I planted them out (April 30th).        

Now here is the same corn patch five weeks later on June 8th.            

The corn plants are obviously growing, are healthy, and progressing along, but given they went into the ground five weeks ago would typically be much taller by now than they are.   All things considered though, they look great and I am pretty pleased they are holding up so well.                    

The bush beans were direct seeded and are also small for their age, but again they are doing pretty good.   Much of that can be attributed to the variety of bush bean I am growing – Royal Burgundy.   This variety is known not just for the purple-podded beans it produces but for also being a good producer in cooler and wetter conditions.   Choosing varieties that work for your area’s climate is another critical part of managing weather risk.     

I hope the weather eventually warms up and dries out and stays that way for a stretch of time that could be properly called “summer”.   It would certainly make things a little easier.   No matter which way it decides to go ultimately, I have crops in the ground that will provide for us.  All part of the process of managing weather risk.               

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener