Pandemic-Climate Victory Garden - Year 2!

Growing a vegetable garden is one of the best ways to be prepared for modern disasters of all kinds. A lot of times these days when disaster is about to or has struck, the grocery stores are cleaned out. Often, not to be resupplied for some time.

Thus growing some of your own food could mean the difference between being well fed and not so well fed, enjoying some little luxuries, or being deprived. Also, home grown veggies taste completely different than the bland store bought produce that has had the life and nutrients beaten out of it by corporate agriculture. And you don’t need a big yard, any patio or balcony with some sun will do!

Last year’s victory garden did pretty well. I learned a lot and got lots of great veggies to eat. This year I decided to greatly expand my efforts after a winter of obsessively watching YouTube gardening videos. 🙂

My old wooden planter was falling apart so I decided to go with a couple of Birdie’s Raised Beds. These are made in Australia and are currently available from only one place in the US as far as I know, at EpicGardening.com.

There are many knockoffs and similar beds out there, but after watching Self Sufficient Me and Epic Gardening on YouTube, I decided to go with the Birdie’s Beds. I have not been disappointed. These beds are outstanding.

last year's garden — Last year’s raised bed — a 3 year old cedar, tiered planter held together with bungie cords. The humid climate and the bugs ate away at it pretty quick. Also seen are a few SmartPot fabric pots, which are great.

this years garden — This year’s set up. Birdie’s Raised beds and a few more fabric pots were added beyond what’s seen here.

My backyard gets plenty of light as the sun swings from left to right across my backyard and across the raised bed you see in the picture above. That’s why I set them up in the long and narrow configuration.

steel bed bolted together — These beds come with multiple panels that bolt together and can be put together in different shapes, from long and skinny to square shaped). I used a cordless driver and a small wrench to speed up the process. Each bed took less than an hour to put together.

brick work — Bricks removed from my patio to countersink the raised beds a little and make it look nice.

Filling the lower part of the planters with wood and other yard waste means less money spent on filling up with expensive bags of garden soil. The decaying wood also feeds the planter from below and helps the bed to retain moisture.

This is a gardening method called Hugelkultur. Check out this excellent video from Self Sufficient Me to learn more about Hugelkultur.

filled beds ready to go — Topped off with high quality garden soil, a little cow manure, and compost from my compost bin. The color difference is due to the lower one having dried out a little.

some early leafy crops — New steel Birdie’s raised beds. Supposed to last 10 or more years! Note I cut the bricks to make it look cleaner. That was quite a chore. Cutting bricks is more finesse than force.

in-ground bed expansion — I expanded my in-ground bed by about four times. The original footprint is seen at the lower right corner. Had some garlic plants overwintering there. My goal this year was to try and plant some corn in this area.

This year I also raised the bar on my seeds. Last year I got seeds mostly from Amazon. After watching all the YouTube gardening videos over the winter, I upped my seed game.

This year I got seeds from Kitizawa Seed Company, Baker Creek Seeds, as well as a company I used last year, Hoss Tools. All three of these companies have a huge mix of excellent seeds. I did order sweet potato slips from Park Seeds, and they were ok. I have generally not had great luck with Park Seeds, though they do have a good rep.

kitizawa seeds! — Some seeds from Kitizawa Seed Company layed out on a dirty counter in my garage. 🙂

Ohh! I also got a lot of great plants off of Etsy. I got my garlic bulbs, dragon fruit cuttings, fig cuttings and sprouted fig plants from there. All did great except for the fig cuttings. More on these below.

Due to the warm climate here in Houston (Zone 9a), I have already been gardening for some time now. New this year… I used seedling trays to start before it was warm enough to plant outside — with mixed results.

Seedling trays are a great way to get a jump on growing your garden, but there is definitely a lot to learn to do it right. I think I learned more about what NOT to do, than what to do.

The reason to get a jump on growing season in most places is to increase your productivity before cold weather comes in the fall. The reason to do it in a warm climate is to make the most of those plants that do not do well in the intense summer heat.

seedling tray, heat mat and controller — I used Burpee seedling trays and a Vivosense heat mats and controllers.

planting log — The trays come with these handy planner sheets so you can keep track of what’s where.

leggy seedlings — Seedlings starting to emerge. The heating mat and tray are on cardboard on a cement floor. The cardboard keeps all of the heat from being soaked up by the floor. Note some white spots on the soil. This is mold. The soil that came with the trays is low-grade coconut fibers (coir) and makes for a pretty lame seed starting medium. I started later trays with plain indoor plant potting mix. The mold is partly due to poor soil, the self-watering nature of these trays and keeping the plastic cover on too long.

up potted seedlings doing well — Robust seedlings up-potted into 2 inch containers with high quality potting mix. One problem was the epic cold snap we had here which delayed my ability to plant outside. So some of these seedlings got ‘leggy’, meaning they were long and spindly. This is partly a function of not enough light. Another lesson learned.

Here’s what I learned using seed trays, mostly what I did wrong, but some things I did right…

use a high quality potting soil or mix to start your seeds
heat mat temps have to match the optimal germination temp of the seeds you are starting (you can usually look this up on the internet)
plant lots of extras of your most desired plants (extra plants you don’t use are great to give away to friends!)
a grow light would probably help
timing is important. start seeds too early and your seedlings may get leggy and outgrow the tiny cells in the tray
up-potting is helpful to keep seedlings on track
after seeds sprout, remove the cover so mold won’t grow
transplanting into the soil is also a tricky time for seedlings. You have to get them used to the outside or you will get transplant shock and you may loose your plant. I speak from experience on this one. :/ (also another reason to have extras!)

I am not sure if I will use seed trays next year, as it might be more trouble than it’s worth. Though I may try one more time since I bought all the gear now. LOL!

Check out this YouTuber MIgardener, to see how to do seed trays the right way… 8 Most Common Seed Starting Mistakes.

This year I decided to also increase my use of fertilizer. Properly used, fertilizer can boost plant growth and yields of fruit and veggies. Improper use can mess things up. I am still trying to figure it out.

In a nutshell, fertilizers have different proportions of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium, also known as the N-P-K ratio. The NPK numbers (usually as a percentage) are the three numbers you see on fertilizer packages.

assorted fertilizer — Fertilizer. I’ve upped my fertilizer game this year, with mixed results.

Basically, nitrogen (N) promotes growth of leaves, while phosphorus (P) helps with flowering and fruiting. Potassium (K) supports overall plant health. These various nutrients are needed in different proportions at different times in a plant’s life cycle.

A fertilizer with a higher nitrogen number is useful in the spring when plants are putting on leaves. Later, when flowering or fruiting starts, a fertilizer higher in phosphorus is helpful.

Put too much or the wrong N-P-K combo on your plants, and you can potentially disrupt your plants natural growing cycle and end up with low fruit or vegetable production, and very leafy plants. Not ideal.

I’m still trying to figure out the optimal use of fertilizers so I won’t pretend that I know any more than that, but there are many greatYouTube videos…

The Millenial Gardener on YouTube has some great advice about fertilizer, as well as lots of videos about growing figs and other fruits/veg. He hits the fertilizer pretty hard, and I’m not sure I am ready to go that route yet, but still good info.

seed potatoes — Kennebec Potatoes from Park Seeds. Cut in half and left in the box for a while so the cut dries over. Cutting into smaller pieces gives you more potatoes to plant.

potatoes being planted — Potatoes planted.

in-ground bed looking good with lots of sprouts — From upper left, going clockwise… corn shoots, Hatch chili, garlic, and potato.

corn tassel — Corn! Seems like the corn is doing well in this climate so far.

My first harvest came pretty quick. It’s nice to plant something fast growing so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor early in the season. For me, radishes, arugula, spinach, swiss chard and cucumbers were my early crops.

harvest of radishes in a bowl — First radish harvest. I pickled them.

jar of pickled radish — Pickled radishes were very tasty on sandwiches! (pickled radish recipe)

first cucumber harvest. four cucumbers on the kitchen counter — First cucumber harvest.

two jars of homemade dill pickles — Fresh cukes and dill from the garden. First dill pickles I ever made. They were far better than any store-bought I’ve ever had. The dark red oval shaped things are chili tepin pods. (Dill pickle recipe)

bountiful carrot harvest — First big carrot harvest. If you don’t thin the seedlings out, you will get lots of smaller carrots, which is one way to grow them.

Palak Paneer on the stove — Palak Paneer, my favorite Indian spinach dish made with spinach from the garden. Got the Paneer cheese at a local Indian grocery store. (palak paneer recipe)

basil harvest for pizza — From upper left going clockwise… Thai basil, arugula, lemon basil, Caloro and Jalapeño peppers, and oregano. These things ended up in a homemade pizza. Yum.

amazing swiss chard! — Tons of Swiss Chard, with two Cayenne pepper plants in the middle. I tried to make chard soup. It did not go well. I’ll figure that one out one of these days.

swiss chard eaten by caterpillars — I got two massive harvests and still had a lot left, but then the caterpillars found the chard!

chard dug up and sent to compost — Chard ripped out and sent to compost.

caterpillar culprits! — Caterpillar culprits fleeing the scene of the crime! They were moving so fast I wasn’t able to focus the camera. 😉

I also tried some new things this year. Watching YouTube I learned that you can grow your own Dragon Fruit. This is a somewhat bizarre plant, sort of a tropical cactus that makes amazing fruit.

dragon fruit plant — Dragon fruit cuttings I bought off of Etsy. They sat around inside by a window and did NOTHING for months. Then suddenly they plumped up and started sprouting.

dragon fruit plants transplanted into big pot and growing — Dragon fruit plants getting big! My inspiration to grow dragon fruit came from Epic Gardening and their collaboration with the Grafting Dragon Fruit YouTube channel. Also, the Jack Daniels whiskey barrel planter was a steal at the local big box hardware chain for $39! I got two of them.

I have always wanted a lemon tree. This year they kept running out of lemon trees at the local big box store as soon as they’d put them on the shelf, so I got a lime tree instead. Then I was lucky enough to be at the store when they were unloading some Myer Lemon trees. I have both growing in containers.

myer lemon tree — Myer Lemon tree from the big box store. No lemons yet.

small lime budding on lime tree — Baby lime on my new lime tree.

This year I expanded my fig tree collection. I ordered some cuttings off of Etsy, but could not get them to root properly. Later though, I found another Etsy shop that sells small, already rooted fig trees, so that was a win. I also ordered another full grown fig tree from Stark Brothers nursery.

Beers Black Fig tree moved to outside — New Beer’s Black Fig tree from Stark Bros. I ordered some fig tree cuttings off of Etsy, but I could not get them to root. Later though, I found another Etsy shop that sells pre-sprouted fig tree cuttings, so I got an LSU Purple and a Violet de Bordeaux.

Chicago Hardy Fig tree loaded with small figs — My 2 year old Chicago Hardy Fig tree from Stark Bros. Loaded with figs!

Another new thing this year, I turned over large parts of my lawn to wildflowers. Hoss Tools sells some amazing wildflower seed mix. I got the “Bee Feed” and Southeastern Wildflower mix.

This provides excellent forage for pollinators, who will then also help pollinate my vegetable garden. Also, less to mow means less time and energy (personal, electric and gasoline) spent mowing. A win-win-win!

wildflower garden — Wildflower – Bee garden. Got to reclaim some of my lawn, so a little less to mow. There are two other reclaimed areas like this in my yard.

late spring garden in full bloom — Late April. This spring we had weeks of endless rain, which probably set the garden back, but still doing ok. Increasing total rainfall and extreme rainfall events have well established links to climate change.

As the climate shifts around the world, what we can and can’t grow, and how soon or late we plant it, is also shifting. Historical data shows that the planting zones in the US have been shifting northward by about 13 miles per decade.

In practice, this means that gardeners will have to change when they plant certain crops, and also shift to growing more heat tolerant crops.

In steamy south Texas we will shift from a Zone 9 to a Zone 10 (like south Florida) and would probably do well to plant more Asian varieties of garden plants that are tolerant of the heat and humidity. For example, planting Malabar spinach instead of traditional spinach (though even the rats and possums seem to like the Malabar better!).

changes in hardiness zones — From The Arbor Day Foundation

Another benefit of heat tolerant plants is that they are often more resistant to pest and disease pressure, which is sure to increase as the world warms around you and your garden.

As cooler zones heat up you should be able to plant things a few weeks earlier than you normally would, like planting tomatoes in late March instead of April or May if you lived in the Midwest. Or maybe plant some crops that you never could before.

Not only are growing zones moving, but we also have to contend with more extreme weather and drought. For example, not only was there an epic cold snap in Texas this year that delayed spring planting, but this spring also brought weeks of endless rain, which made for a slow start to the growing season. (Rainfall is one of the things that has been increasing in direct response to warming conditions.)

If you live out West, there has been extreme heat and drought already, and this will only get worse.

Maybe the best way to figure out what will work in your climate is to grow several varieties of the same type of plant. Like this guy did to figure out the best tomato for a warm, humid climate.

Beyond your garden, there are huge ramifications for large scale agriculture. Not only are shifts happening south to north, but also east to west in the US. The “100th Meridian”, the longitudinal line that separates the arid West from the wetter Midwest and South, has shifted 140 miles east since 1980, and the US’ famed wheat belt is moving north. Another great reason to grow your own.

100th meridian moving east — From Redrawing the Map: How the World’s Climate Zones Are Shifting, Yale Environment 360.

Climate impact on commercial agriculture is just another reason to grow your own. There’s never been a better time to start or expand your gardening efforts. This will help smooth out the rough patches in a changing world — pandemics, climate change… whatever. Check out the links to resources below. Good luck in the garden!

climate change and growing zone mapping tool from the USDA — If you want to see how the climate for growing plants where you live might change over the next 50 years under the worst case emissions scenario (the one we currently are living), then check out this interactive viewer from the USDA Office of Sustainability and Climate… Climate Change Pressures in the 21st Century

More Reading on This Topic

My Pandemic Victory Garden – last year’s post!
Rainwater Collecting – previous post on this blog about catching rainwater for emergency and garden use
Redrawing the Map: How the World’s Climate Zones Are Shifting – an excellent article from Yale Environment 360
How Climate Change May Affect the Plants in Your Yard
These Asian veggies might be better for our volatile growing season than European staples
How to Plant a Victory Garden, Even on a Windowsill
Gardening for Climate Change – great opinion piece from the NYT Magazine

Great YouTube Gardening Channels To Binge Watch!

High Quality Seed and Plant Companies

Some of the Better Products Used This Year

If I mentioned it above and it is not listed here, that means I did not think it was a good product or company. Also, most of these links are affiliate links (except for the Birdie’s beds), so if you click and buy, this blog makes a (very) tiny bit of money to defray the hosting expenses of this blog, at no cost to you. Thanks!

Birdie’s Raised Beds at EpicGardening.com
Smart Pots – fabric pots in different sizes. I use 20, 30 and 40 gallon sizes. There are a lot of knock-offs, but the original seems to be the best quality.
Dr Earth Organic Fertilizer several different kinds. I use the general garden fertilizer (4-4-4). You can sometimes find the big bags of this at your local big box store for a lot less. Numbers are N-P-K content (Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium).
Miracle Grow Performance Organics All Purpose (11-3-8) – higher in N (nitrogen) good for early season leaf growth
Miracle Grow Performance Organics Edibles (9-4-12) – higher in K (potassium) which is good for overall plant health and root development
Miracle Grow Bloom Booster (10-52-10) – very high phosphorus content, great to promote flowering and fruting on your veggie plants
Neptune’s Harvest Organic Fish and Seaweed Fertilizer (2-3-1) – provides micronutrients that other fertilizers don’t
Neptune’s Harvest Organic Fish Fertilizer (2-4-1) – same as above
Jobe’s Organics Fruit & Citrus Fertilizer – used on my fig and citrus trees
CloneX Cone Solution – used this to feed my seedlings
Vivosun Seedling heating mat – very helpful to sprout seedlings indoors
Vivosun Seedling heat mat controller – you don’t need the controller, but it helps
2 inch seedling pots – great to “up pot” your seedlings, or to start them in to begin with
Ball Mason jars 16 ounce – great for preserving and storing your garden booty!
Ball Mason jars 32 ounce – you can probably get these at your local grocery store too.

3 thoughts on “Pandemic-Climate Victory Garden – Year 2!”

Ben June 30, 2021 at 07:40


Great post. FYI, your top climate podcasts post is one of the top results in Google search. It says it would be regularly updated and curated, but it has been updated since 2019. Keep up the great writing!
1. The Climate Advisor July 5, 2021 at 16:41
  
  
  Thanks Ben. I sometimes struggle to find time to work on this site, but I am definitely planning an update to the podcast post soon. There are so many great new climate change podcasts out there!
Foo June 23, 2021 at 17:23


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