My 2024 Victory Garden might end the season with just a Pyrrhic victory, given the lost battles related to excess rain early in the season, varmints that ate parts of several vegetable plants, and some sort of tiny worms or bugs that destroyed the remaining good cabbage plants that were just about ready for harvest.
Excess Rain
Regarding the excess rain early in the season, my area received 10.3″ of rain in April and May. The average total for these months, at least since 2020, is only about 6.0″.1This average is for the four years of 2020-2023; note, 2023 only had 4.7″ for this period. So, my area received 72% more rain than average during April and May from 2020-2023, and 119% more rain than last year’s 4.7″ for this period according to the National Weather Service.2At the National Weather Service link provided, choose Location=Warren; Product=monthly summarized data; Options=year (2020-2024), variable (precipitation), summary (sum).
Combine that with the fact that my garden plot has poor drainage and at least half of it sat under water multiple times after heavy rains. This, alone, destroyed over half of the just-planted potatoes. I probably should have planted rice. Fortunately, though, I planted a lot of potatoes and I planted them in different areas of the garden. The driest areas of the garden are where the potato plants have thrived, so far.
In a Nutshell (and a song)
Despite the set-backs, I remain steadfast . At times, especially during heavy rains, I do take solace in that song by Alice in Chains, “Nutshell”:
[I] face the path of time
And yet I fight, and yet I fight
This battle all alone
Victory Garden
That said, I’ve been harvesting here-and-there from the Victory Garden.
Here’s just one angle.
The tomato plants are 6-7 feet tall. I also have three new ones emerging by my compost bin; they just grow by themselves from seed from last year. If the potatoes produce like a boss, then I’ll consider the garden a success at season’s end. But, I won’t count my chickens before they hatch, as they say.
By the way, the clotheslines in the background have my running clothes on them. One of the lines is a Neon Orange Reflective 550 Paracord that I installed recently because last year’s cotton line dry-rotted. I’ll write a post about this paracord soon and how I used the leftover pieces for boot laces. [Spoiler alert: they are awesome!]
Nevertheless, don’t get me wrong about my set-backs. The Victory Garden is still putting food on the table for me and mine.
Rice, Vegetables, and Herbs
For example, today I picked a few ripe and almost-ripe tomatoes, an assortment of peppers, and a lot of herbs: Mint (pepper and spear), Oregano, Lavender, Rosemary, Lemon Balm, Fennel, and Thyme. I fried the peppers in lard, which I save from when I cook pork.
I also cooked a batch of brown rice after soaking it for 24 hours. This is the first time I did this because I re-read an article by the Weston A. Price Foundation that suggested doing so. Basically, soaking rice and grains helps release some of the Phytic Acid, which tends to hinder the absorbtion of minerals such as iron, zinc, magnesium, and calcium (think, tooth decay and osteoporosis).
After the rice was finished cooking, I stirred some in with the fried veggies and herbs.
After a few mintues, it was ready to season and eat.
Closing Words
I’m looking forward to more food from the garden: Italian Zucchini, Corn, Potatoes, etc. This meal tasted exceptionally good. I think it was partly due to my having just completed a long run this afternoon, my second long run since starting to jog again back in late May,3I’ll share a post about my long run in a few days. and the veggies, herbs, and rice hit the spot.
Footnotes
- 1This average is for the four years of 2020-2023; note, 2023 only had 4.7″ for this period.
- 2At the National Weather Service link provided, choose Location=Warren; Product=monthly summarized data; Options=year (2020-2024), variable (precipitation), summary (sum).
- 3I’ll share a post about my long run in a few days.
