The primary document in this blog post is a table (link to pdf file) with evaluations of vegetables grown the last two summers in a 1/4 acre vegetable garden that borders the Wickiup Hill Outdoor Learning Center near Toddville. In the summer of 2014, I started gardening at this site located on a small farmstead that is now mostly timber and pasture. The garden has no source of electricity and no running water, but there is a small spring-fed creek nearby that serves as my primary source of water (other than rainfall). The garden encompasses about 11,000 square feet and is divided into two sections: one 5,000 square foot area surrounded by a 5' tall deer fence and a second area (what I have named the West Field) that is slightly larger and has no fencing. The West Field is gardened jointly by myself and another gardener who has the garden area between my primary garden and the West Field. In the West Field we plant potatoes, winter squash, pumpkins, watermelons, and cantaloupe–plants that will not usually be bothered by deer, which are prolific in the area.
In the table you will find a column that identifies when the seeds were sown in 2021 (either in a greenhouse or direct sowing) and for the primary garden it will often identify the raised bed(s)where each variety was planted (links to two garden map pdf files for north-side and south-side Wickiup garden). The table also includes comments on vegetables planted in previous years and a few vegetables grown in pots at home and the Alumni House Garden.
Although the primary garden has a fence around its borders, the garden has nonetheless provided nourishment for a substantial number of animal invaders in recent years. In 2019 the extensive flooding of the nearby Cedar River drove raccoons out of their preferred habitat, and many of them migrated to my garden. In their frequent night-time visits they dug up dozens of plants and beds that had just been seeded. They were particularly attracted to beds where I had applied an organic fertilizer containing blood meal. During the late spring and summer the owner of the property and I trapped over 25 coons. Twice I trapped two coons in the same live trap in one night.
In the spring of 2020, the garden experienced for the first time a serious invasion of cutworms. During a one-week stretch in May, nearly all the tomatoes, eggplants, and pepper plants were cut down, just above ground level. Although I had wrapped all the tomato seedling stems with newspaper, most of those plants were neatly sliced off right above the paper. Later that summer, several rabbits found entrances under the fence. I eventually added 3' high chicken wire around the garden, but not before the rabbits had done appreciable damage to several crops, wiping out the beets and eating many bush beans. New problems developed when the August 10 windstorm destroyed large sections of the fence. Deer immediately started grazing in the garden. While they are willing to eat just about anything (the first year I gardened in this location, the deer ate to the ground all my tomato plants), they are especially attracted to the brassicas, strawberry plants, sweet potatoes, and pole beans. Although the garden’s fence is only 5' tall, there is an inner ring of 4' tall trellises (8' long steel livestock panels) and supports for raspberries and blackberries. Because the deer would need to jump over both the fence and this second row of steel panels and supports, they rarely enter the garden if they cannot find a hole in the fence.
In the spring and summer of 2021, a primary challenge to several vegetables was an invasion of mice. I first noticed the problem when young pole bean plants were dying, the stems being eaten at about 1" above soil level. Suspecting that mice were responsible, I set out several mousetraps around the bed and eventually caught and killed a half dozen mice. I then discovered mice inflicting similar damage on a lovely 16' row of snow peas on the opposite side of the garden. I also found paths the mice had created for invading several beds of fingerling potatoes. Simultaneously there was a notable increase in the mouse population attacking the potatoes in the West field. All the garden paths are mulched with a layer of newspapers and hay, providing the mice with ample hiding places. Although I will continue using mouse traps to help counteract this rodent invasion, I’m still researching organic options, including planting flowers and herbs reputed to help repel mice.
One notable challenge with this garden is that it does not have running water–and thus all watering must be done by carrying water from the nearby creek. This means that the soil may not always have an optimal moisture content. Although I am fortunate to have a supply of free mulching material (baled hay from a nearby pasture), I frequently must rely on the vegetables and fruit to handle long dry spells without much assistance from me. In most cases, the plants in the Wickiup garden are adept at dealing with short droughts. For example, I rarely water zucchini plants, but once they are established they keep pumping out large fruit from soil that appears devoid of moisture. In most years the biggest watering challenge comes in May and June with freshly sown seeds and tender transplants. Because the garden is located 15 miles from my home–and because I have other obligations in life besides caring for this garden–I cannot be at the garden every day or at ideal watering times. The challenge of timely watering may explain why in 2021 I had such low germination rates with several vegetables. I continue to experiment with various seed-sowing strategies to increase germination rates and the survival of new seedlings.
In the table’s evaluation column, I have adopted a simple Plus marking for indicating my overall assessment of each vegetable variety. A 4 Plus (+ + + +) is reserved for varieties that I have found to be highly satisfactory in all respects, and these are varieties I most likely will plant again in the 2022 garden. But the garden will also include varieties that have not yet received a high rating since it has become evident that performances can fluctuate significantly from year to year. Companies sell particular kinds of vegetable seeds because they have done well in the past. Just because they fail to perform in my garden one year may not mean they won’t be successful in the future. I also love to experiment with new varieties. Just leafing through a Baker Creek or Johnny’s Seeds catalog reveals hundreds of different vegetables that sound enticing and I would like to find out how well they can perform on this land in east central Iowa. Because this is such a large garden, capable of growing far more produce than my immediate family could possibly consume in one year, I have plenty of space for trying out new seeds. I expect that when I send in my seed orders for the 2022 garden, about 1/3 of my requests will be for seeds that I’ve never sown before. This past year I discovered several new favorites (such as Arkansas Traveler tomatoes and Little Finger carrots); I trust 2022 will prove equally rewarding.
With a few minor exceptions, all the seeds used in the garden for 2020 & 2021 were purchased online from the sources listed below (asterisks identify seed sources used for the first time in 2021).
Annie’s Heirloom Seeds (Madison, Wisconsin)
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (Mansfield, Missouri)
Botanical Interests (Broomfield, Colorado)
Croatian Seeds (a family seed supplier located in Croatia)
Garlic Store (Fort Collins, Colorado)
* High Mowing Organic Seeds (Walcott, Vermont)
* Hudson Valley Seed Company (Accord, New York)
John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds (Bantam, Connecticut)
Johnny’s Selected Seeds (Winslow, Maine)
Maine Potato Lady (Guilford, Maine)
Pinetree Garden Seeds (New Gloucester, Maine)
Seeds from Italy (Lawrence, Kansas)
Seeds ‘n Such (Augusta, Georgia)
*Solstice Seeds (Hartland, Vermont)
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (Mineral, Virginia)
Territorial Seed Company (Cottage Grove, Oregon)
Totally Tomatoes (Randolph, Wisconsin)
*Truelove Seeds (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
*Turtle Tree Seed (Copake, New York)
Victory Seeds (Molalla, Oregon)
Wood Prairie Family Farm (Bridgewater, Maine)
link to complete blog post.