Gardening Basics for a Changing Climate
What are some of the changes that we might expect? Earlier flowering times, a longer growing season with delayed autumn leaf fall, and extended late-season flowering may result from increasing temperatures.
Start with healthy plants. When purchasing plants at a garden center, inspect them for pest and disease problems. Buy a young, robust plant with healthy foliage, rather than choosing the one that is covered with flowers.
Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers, which produce flushes of young, tender growth that attracts pests. Compost and organic material is one of the best ways to enrich your garden soil.
As climate change occurs, our gardening practices must also adapt. By the end of this century, scientists predict that hardiness zones may become from one to two zones warmer in any given area.
With warmer temperatures, winters may become wetter and summers may become drier. Milder temperatures will affect birds, insects, and plants. Pests normally killed by cold weather may survive at higher rates. Life cycles of plants, insects, and animals may change with changing weather patterns.
Many animals depend on the flowering and fruiting of plants for food, so climate changes may alter their foraging and breeding patterns.
Changes may be gradual. Some plants may adapt, others may not. In some areas, planning ahead will make a difference. With trees, paying attention to their provenance (where they were grown) can be important now and may become more important in future. Research has shown that seedlings from southern populations may handle summer heat better than northern-grown seedlings of the same species. Other choices may also need to be made.
When planting trees, cold-loving species such as sugar maple (Acer saccharum) may no longer be viable choices for warmer regions.
What are some of the changes that we might expect? Earlier flowering times, a longer growing season with delayed autumn leaf fall, and extended late-season flowering may result from increasing temperatures.
As the hardiness zones shift, it may be easier to successfully grow frost-tender plants. On the other hand, wet winters may make it more challenging to grow bulbs, tuberous plants, and Mediterranean plants that depend on good drainage. Cold hardy plants that require a chilling or dormancy period could suffer from temperature change.
As gardeners, what can we do?
1. One obvious step is to be mindful of our energy consumption (carbon emissions), which is the cause of global warming.
2. Plant trees wherever possible. Deforestation contributes to the "greenhouse effect."
3. Look to drought-tolerant plants that can handle dry summers and rising temperatures.
4. Create wildlife gardens that include nectar plants, seed heads, berries, shelter, and water.
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5. Follow environmentally sound gardening practices, including: composting, good site analysis and plant selection, correct pruning and mowing, good watering practices, and proper sanitation.
One great way to start a productive composting habit is by using a compost pail in your kitchen. A kitchen compost pail takes the mess out of saving kitchen scraps for composting. Many are so good looking, they may inspire you to start composting if you're not already doing so.
In the garden, biological, environmental, and cultural factors all contribute to the success or demise of a plant. Biological factors are pests, diseases and competition from other plants. Environmental factors are those discussed above-temperature, rainfall, and general changes in weather. Cultural factors include irrigation, soil amendments, fertilization, and pruning. Through good gardening practices we can constructively address these issues.
Tips for Good Gardening Practices
1. Remember the old maxim of "the right plant in the right place." Do not try to work against nature, work with it. If you have a shady garden, plant a shade garden. If you have heavy clay soils, avoid plants that need good drainage. Soil can be amended, but only to a certain extent. If your plant is well situated, you will have a happy, healthy plant.
2. Look around your area to see what grows well. Remember to keep an open mind and to experiment. Every garden has its own unique microclimate and situation. Have fun discovering what works in your space.
3. Look for disease-resistant cultivars. There is such a wide selection to choose from these days that gardening with disease-resistant cultivars is easy.
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4. Start with healthy plants. When purchasing plants at a garden center, inspect them for pest and disease problems. Buy a young, robust plant with healthy foliage, rather than choosing the one that is covered with flowers. You are selecting for a plant with a good root system that will establish quickly.
5. Planting during the correct season will also ensure a healthy plant. For the vegetable garden, this means cool weather crops in the spring and fall and warm weather crops once that last chance of frost is past. Plant perennials, shrubs, and trees in the spring and fall, not during the intense heat of summer.
6. Proper spacing is important. Over-crowding can create shady, damp areas that are ideal environments for pests and disease.
7. Proper watering is also important. If you have an overhead watering system, water in the morning to allow foliage to dry. Most plants need an inch of water a week (½ gallon per sq. ft.). Many established plants will need supplemental watering only during prolonged periods of dryness. Remember to check the soil to a depth of a few inches to see if you need to water.
8. Remember not to over-fertilize your plants. Over-fertilizing damages plants and causes a build up of salts in the soil. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers, which produce flushes of young, tender growth that attracts pests. Compost and organic material is one of the best ways to enrich your garden soil. Add ½ to 1 inch of compost to your garden in the spring. A second application can be spread later in the year after fall cleanup.
9. Mulching suppresses weeds, retains moisture, and adds organic material to the soil. Add mulch to a depth of 2 to 3 inches once the soil has warmed up and after a good spring rain. Avoid mulch "volcanoes" (piling mulch up too high), and never pile mulch up against the base of a plant (it keeps in too much moisture and encourages infection).
10. Good pruning opens up a plant, providing good air circulation, giving the plant room to grow, and helping prevent diseases. Remember to remove dead and diseased branches.
11. When planting a vegetable garden, remember to rotate your crops. Diseases and insects over-winter in the soil. Many of them are specific to certain crops. Crop rotation prevents the build up of these pests and diseases.
12. Companion planting and plant combinations are better than monocultures. Disease and pest problems spread rapidly with monocultures, while mixed plantings tend to slow them down. Many pests and diseases are host specific and will not affect unrelated flowers or vegetables.
13. Avoid heavy chemicals and attract beneficial insects such as lacewings and lady bugs by planting herbs such as fennel, thyme, and dill. A productive and diverse environment will create a balanced ecosystem.
14. While it is important not to strip your garden bare, remember to keep it tidy. Regular fall clean-ups help prevent disease and pests from over-wintering. But remember that beneficial insects also over-winter in debris-keep some natural areas. Let seed heads remain on perennials for wildlife and winter interest.
15. Recycle all organic material in your compost pile for the next season. Remember: never compost heavily diseased debris-you do not want to risk reintroducing a problem back into the garden.
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In my area the change is already being seen in some of the varieties of grapes now being produced in the region. 10 or 20 years ago the winter temperatures were too cold to grow them.
I am using more wood chip and hay mulch to help hold water in the soil during long dry periods of the growing season.
For information on urban or suburban gardening and homesteading I have found the following to be a good sources of information for my personal use.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/
Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to Garden in Less Space with Less Work By Mel Bartholomew
 Heres my question?
 Why would someone get bored with doing IT for 10 years?
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Gardening Basics for a Changing Climate ... or a pandemic