Playing in the Dirt: Gardening In A Changing Climate ...Middle East

97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com have partnered with NC State Extension Master Gardener℠ volunteers of Orange County for “Playing in the Dirt,” a monthly column providing information and inspiration to gardeners of all skill levels! Check back on Chapelboro each month for a new subject – from our gardens to yours!

By Mary Leonhardi and Margaret Cloud, Orange County Master Gardener℠ volunteer

North Carolina is experiencing climate change: warmer temperatures (especially at night), more frequent extreme rainfall and a rise in sea level, scientists have found.

“The continuing release of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere as a result of human activity makes for a warmer, wetter and more humid North Carolina,” the 2020 North Carolina Climate Science Report stated.

These weather patterns are prompting farmers and gardeners to change their methods of growing plants, both to help plants grow in changing conditions and to avoid harming the environment.

At the Cornell Botanic Gardens, the Climate Change Demonstration Garden shows how differences in growing conditions (mainly temperature and precipitation) affect plants. Visitors can compare plants growing inside the high tunnel (warmer environment) with identical plants growing outside in the garden. Photo courtesy of Cornell Botanic Gardens.

In 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a new Plant Hardiness Zone Map that moved most of Orange County into Zone 8a from Zone 7b, indicating that average low winter temperatures are rising.

Warmer temperatures could mean that some heat-loving plants will be easier to grow, or to grow for longer periods. But earlier flowering or fruiting of plants may leave bees without food (nectar) when they need it and birds without caterpillars to feed their young.

Plants or wildlife may struggle with extended periods of heat, drought or intense rainfall. Changing climate conditions can allow invasive plants to take hold and overpower our ecosystem. Warmer temperatures allow insect pests to survive the winter insead of being killed off.

In recent “Dig Deeper With Us” presentations in Hillsborough and Chapel Hill, Mary Leonhardi, a Master Gardener volunteer in Orange County, talked about changes that you can make in your garden in a changing climate. Here are some of her suggestions:

Soil and mulch

The main goal of climate change gardening is healthy soil. Soil is hurt by overdose of fertilizers and other chemicals, soil compaction, drought and flooding. All of these reduce the numbers of helpful organisms in soil.

You can help by using compost and mulch rather than chemical fertilizers. Compost and mulch provide food and habitat for beneficial organisms in soil. They help reduce soil compaction, hold moisture and mitigate effects of the air temperature.

Don’t use synthetic weed barriers such as black plastic sheets. They are made from fossil fuels. They reduce the transfer of carbon dioxide and oxygen between the soil and the atmosphere. They also can cause girdling of tree roots (the tree roots grow around the trunk instead of in the soil) and they prevent the nutrients of composted matter from reaching roots.

Avoid use of black plastic sheets in garden beds. They prevent the exchange of water and air and keep nutrients from reaching the soil. Photo by Ted Whitwell, courtesy of Clemson University Extension.

Don’t use cypress mulch. Harvests of cypress trees weaken or damage the natural habitats of cypress swamps, which are essential in absorbing wind and water storm surges.

Don’t use peat moss. Peat bogs store one-third of the world’s carbon (harvesting of peat releases lots of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere). Peat bogs prevent flooding, purify water and serve as a habitat for birds and plants. They take hundreds or thousands of years to regrow.

Don’t amend the native soil when planting. Avoid regular tilling or plowing. Tilled soil is warmer and drier and results in degraded soil structure.

Use cover crops such as peas, beans, clover and vetch to protect garden soil over the winter. They fix nitrogen, attract pollinators and reduce weed growth and soil erosion. Cut the cover crops three to four weeks before planting and allow the cuttings to compost in the garden.

Try “lasagna gardening” to create a new planting area. Cover the ground with layers of cardboard or newspaper. Wet it and cover it with wood chips, compost or leaves. Let it compost for three or four months and then plant your new garden area.

Provide windbreaks such as trees, hedges or ornamental grasses to help keep soil moist and stop wind erosion.

Adding compost helps improve the health of soil. It improves soil struture, supports beneficial organisms and improves the ability of soil to hold water. It also helps keep food waste out of landfills. Photo courtesy of NC State Extension, Henderson County Center.

Fertilizers and chemicals

Don’t overfertilize your plants.

Avoid fertilizing, overwatering and pruning plants after a drought. After a drought, some plants go dormant but may not be dead.

Avoid use of toxic chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides.

Plant choices

Choose your plants carefully. The North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox is a good source. You can select types of plants, light and moisture needs and other characteristics.

Native plants have adapted to the local climate over many years. They provide food and habitat to pollinators and other wildlife. They may withstand temperature and moisture changes better than non-native plants.

Use plants that are not invasive.

Choose plants that won’t outgrow the available space and are low maintenance.

Use groundcover plants to prevent weeds and soil erosion. Check the Plant Toolbox to make sure your groundcover isn’t invasive.

Use genetically diverse plants. Raising plants from seeds assures more diversity.

Group plants with similar needs such as light or soil moisture to help the plants’ resistance to stressors.

If possible, plant trees, especially oaks, which provide the most carbon capture and the greatest habitat for wildlife.

Help the environment by replacing a lawn with a natural landscape that includes native plants. Photo by N. Jordan Franklin, courtesy of Clemson University Extension.

Lawns

Reduce your lawn area. Grass is the most common exotic plant in the United States and requires high water use and use of fertilizers. Replace grass with native plant landscaping to support pollinators and wildlife.

The bee hotel at the Gold Park Pollinator Demonstration Garden in Hillsborough provides a home for 90 species of bees native to our area. You can use a smaller version in a home garden. Photo by Anne C. Gardner.

Support wildlife and insects

Choose plants that will encourage pollinators and other beneficial insects.

Leave seed heads on plants over the winter for food for wildlife and for insects that use the stems to lay eggs.

Leave a stick or wood pile over bare ground to provide ground nesting areas for native bees and other insects.

Leave the leaves on the ground in some areas of your yard; many insects overwinter in leaf litter. The leaves compost, feeding plants and soil.

Provide bug hotels to provide housing for beneficial insects.

Let some vegetables go to seed – they will provide food for pollinators and some will self-seed.

Provide a water source and cover for amphibians such as frogs. They eat predators such as snails, slugs, caterpillars, flies and beetles. Long grasses and natural areas serve as homes for them.

Leave parasitic wasps. They kill predators (caterpillars) by laying eggs on them.

Don’t kill pests such as yellow jackets and other wasps. They need protein to raise their young and therefore serve as good predator insect killers. They have a short active lifespan (late summer).

How a rain garden works. Courtesy of Clemson University Cooperative Extension.

Reduce water use

Use rain gardens, bioswales and French drains to help manage excess water in your yard.

Minimize water usage by choosing drought-tolerant plants and using drip irrigation.

Harvest rain water in rain barrels or buckets.

Rain garden in the Bolin Forest neighborhood in Carrboro. Courtesy of Friends of Bolin Creek (bolincreek.org).

For more information:

More from the Master Gardener volunteers of Orange County:

Free gardening talks: Join the Master Gardener volunteers of Orange County for “Dig Deeper With Us,” a series of free, monthly gardening presentations. Coming up in February:

Have a plant or garden question? Email the Orange County Master Gardener Volunteers at [email protected] or phone 919-245-2061.

Follow us on Facebook! Our page is NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteers, Orange County.

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