2020: Underwater gardening

In the year 1815, an Indonesian supervolcano named Tambora blew itself up into the earth's jetstream, causing worldwide crop failures for many years.  In 1816, the world-circling ash cloud caused Northeastern America to suffer "the year without summer", with colder, wetter weather, and a significant lack of summer heat and sunshine.  Many rural families were reduced to eating rodents, pernicious weeds, and there were unsubstantiated rumors of cannibalism.  In our garden this spring of 2020, here at Rancho McGinty, we have seen some day time temperatures into the low 70 degree Fahrenheit range, with a few days of sunshine, and though I would never compare our wussy weather to "the year without summer", I've gotta say that this is a garden season for the record book.

Thankfully, Pat and I planted a bunch of cool weather crops (cabbage, broccoli, potatoes, etc.) in early April, and those plants look pretty good (see pictures below) - that said, our warm weather crops (grinding corn, squash, pumpkins, etc.) have yet to show their eager green faces through the dirt.  We may have to plant new seeds, or forego some or all of our favorite locally-grown foods, if the weather does not warm up in time for the plants to mature before the appearance of the evil first frost (which appeared with a BANG last year at the end of September!).

I planted onions and leek starts through black weed fabric, with drip irrigation beneath, and that combination is a winner, at least for now.  The second year seed onions I planted (salvaged from last year's bountiful harvest) have already produced seed pods (hopefully, every gardener, both the new and the experienced gardeners, learned this spring that veggie seeds are not always available).

Our annual garlic crop looks fantastic, with spears about thirty inches tall, and just starting to form "pigtails" (garlic plants produce delicious seed pods called "scapes").

My Korean sweet potatoe experiment is still on hold:  though planted a month ago, we have only recently noted a few reddish-brown leaves where there should be neighborhood-sized leaf invasions by now.  I plan to cover the dirt around the individual plants with black polyfilm in an attempt to boost the soil's heat.  Stay tuned.

Pat transplanted some cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts into raised beds, and through black weed fabric in the main garden, and they seem to be in good shape - additionally, she covered the plants with hooped (is that a word?) floating row cover, to increase the soil temperature.

Finally, Pat planted some seed potatoes into green "grow bags", as an experiment, to determine if a small scale spud crop is possible. 

By August, we all may be whining at high volume about the Summer heat and drought, but for now, I make sure to examine the areas between my toes for webbing, every time I shower off the mud.

So far, our local garden club may not legally meet, though the rules may relax sometime soon, and we can perhaps gather for an outdoor garden tour or two.  Meanwhile, I plan to buy better rain gear, mow the jungle/lawn between rain showers, and expand our recipe binder with meals involving potatoes.

See you on the dry side, Jim.