Erratic global warming
Scientists don't like
the term "global warming" because not all areas are getting hotter. And
even spots like ours where the average temperatures are rising showcase
a much more prominent change --- more climate extremes of both sorts
(highs and lows).
The smart way to react
in the garden is to resist jumping on the early-spring
bandwagon or the out-of-zone-perennial
bandwagon, no matter
how tempting they both might be. I've been dragging my heels
despite warm weather, planting at my usual times, and was very grateful
for that fact when the mercury dipped to ten degrees early Thursday
morning. I might even have to replant the spring lettuce that's just
barely germinating beneath the quick hoops --- luckily a handful of seeds is easy to scatter. Thank goodness none of our fruit trees have yet bloomed!
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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It is time for a greenhouse. To not have one is to smack a green thumb with a hammer. Mitigate the effects of 'climate change'
Down here in Savannah (outskirts) we are normally out of frost danger after mid February. We had 83 degrees in mid February. And we dipped to the high twenties two nights in a row lately, I covered but think I lost a couple tomato plants.
In my native Minnesota at the 45th parallel, my folks have kept track of the ice in and ice out date on the nearby 900 acre lake, it used to be November 20th or so iced up fully and stayed frozen over until early to mid April, getting 30" of ice. Now it seems mid December is the rule and mid to late March is break up, maybe 15"-20" thick. They set record 60+ degree temps in mid February this year.
To make lemonade out of lemons, we all saved on heating this year weather we paid for propane, electricity or burned (less) firewood!