Yes someone should do some serious research on this in the UK. There are still many unknowns about the benefits of biochar in a temperate climate and in reasonably decent soils.
We've just been through the worst of the summer dry heat here in the Philippines. It didn't feel any worse than last years temperatures but I lost a few well established 4-7 year old trees, some natives, which I thought would be bearing the brunt of it.
The veggie beds completely stopped for me (but I'm not a very good gardener so it's not saying much) and an organic market gardener nearby said that despite watering (trickle irrigation I think) morning and afternoon their yields were significantly down.
Another local fruit farmer was telling me that despite watering their trees about 50L every 3 days (which blew my mind since that's a crazy amount) they were still losing them to the heat.
It's getting harder and harder to get new seedlings started unless you have the time to babysit them throughout the year.
There's high humidity here along with the heat here so it's hard for plants (and humans) to cool down via losing water through leaves (or skin). Over 30 C, germination of most plants stops so perhaps we should be altering our sowing schedules to earlier in the season too.
Yeah I imagine it must have been pretty bad there for people. I mean the heat here in mid-summer is exhausting but at least we have fans everywhere, we’re set up for heat. It’s too scary to think about what’s potentially to come with the El Nino.
We are experiencing increased heat and dryness here in Colorado also. Thank you for all these insights and ideas. I am definitely mulching. Yesterday I carefully cultivated around each tomato, squash, pepper, and melon plant, then watered and re-mulched. That seemed to help them.
Dear Mr. Crawford: Thank you for sharing so generously your well-curated trove of knowhow. As I read the initial paragraphs I recalled the experience of a few forest gardeners in Phoenix, Arizona, where these temperatures are standard year-round. At first, I expressed scepticism to the extended family member who assured me there were Phoenix forest gardeners. Nevertheless, when I reached your list of pro tips (i.e., thoughtful considerations), there is near-complete concurrence with their advice for small forest gardens in desert suburbia. One tool available to such gardens is drip irrigation hoses attached to plumbed outdoor spigot. (I understand the contradiction of plumbed water in the desert; that's a conversation for another day.)
Thanks Ryn. Twenty years ago the thought of using drip irrigation in England was laughable but not now - I know several tree crop growers using it right now.
Truly, we are entering a New Era. Techniques that were laughable have become essential. The Phoenix forest gardener has since emigrated to the real forests in British Columbia. Before he left, his video narrator said that feet of mulch preserved cooler temperature and moisture for non-succulents.
Could it be time to re-evaluate the benefits for our climate, here in the UK, of incorporating biochar into the rhizosphere?
Yes someone should do some serious research on this in the UK. There are still many unknowns about the benefits of biochar in a temperate climate and in reasonably decent soils.
We've just been through the worst of the summer dry heat here in the Philippines. It didn't feel any worse than last years temperatures but I lost a few well established 4-7 year old trees, some natives, which I thought would be bearing the brunt of it.
The veggie beds completely stopped for me (but I'm not a very good gardener so it's not saying much) and an organic market gardener nearby said that despite watering (trickle irrigation I think) morning and afternoon their yields were significantly down.
Another local fruit farmer was telling me that despite watering their trees about 50L every 3 days (which blew my mind since that's a crazy amount) they were still losing them to the heat.
It's getting harder and harder to get new seedlings started unless you have the time to babysit them throughout the year.
There's high humidity here along with the heat here so it's hard for plants (and humans) to cool down via losing water through leaves (or skin). Over 30 C, germination of most plants stops so perhaps we should be altering our sowing schedules to earlier in the season too.
Yeah I imagine it must have been pretty bad there for people. I mean the heat here in mid-summer is exhausting but at least we have fans everywhere, we’re set up for heat. It’s too scary to think about what’s potentially to come with the El Nino.
We are experiencing increased heat and dryness here in Colorado also. Thank you for all these insights and ideas. I am definitely mulching. Yesterday I carefully cultivated around each tomato, squash, pepper, and melon plant, then watered and re-mulched. That seemed to help them.
Dear Mr. Crawford: Thank you for sharing so generously your well-curated trove of knowhow. As I read the initial paragraphs I recalled the experience of a few forest gardeners in Phoenix, Arizona, where these temperatures are standard year-round. At first, I expressed scepticism to the extended family member who assured me there were Phoenix forest gardeners. Nevertheless, when I reached your list of pro tips (i.e., thoughtful considerations), there is near-complete concurrence with their advice for small forest gardens in desert suburbia. One tool available to such gardens is drip irrigation hoses attached to plumbed outdoor spigot. (I understand the contradiction of plumbed water in the desert; that's a conversation for another day.)
Thanks Ryn. Twenty years ago the thought of using drip irrigation in England was laughable but not now - I know several tree crop growers using it right now.
Truly, we are entering a New Era. Techniques that were laughable have become essential. The Phoenix forest gardener has since emigrated to the real forests in British Columbia. Before he left, his video narrator said that feet of mulch preserved cooler temperature and moisture for non-succulents.