Climate change again

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Holy fuck! The same here in the south of italy.
A really cold winter with no rain/snow and then lot of rain in april and may.
Just yesterday we had a hailstorm and now it seems it's all ended (but it fucked up two plants.. and I couldn't check all of them).
And now, it will be a dry and hot summer.

Yep, you live in a true Mediterranean climate, the original region to carry the name, California has a true Mediterranean climate as well(as well as the wine growing regions of Australia, Chile, South Africa and the rest of the Mediterranean basin).
My climate is called a cool Mediterranean climate, cooler in winter and summer than Italy or the California valleys, but sharing the tendency to get over 90% of all rainfall in the winter months, with winters that are normally very mild temperature wise compared to the rest of America at my latitude, the snow we did get this winter was way out of norm. My summers are normally very dry, very sunny, and warm/hot.

When we don't get enough rainfall in December, January, and February, we are basically screwed because it won't fall in large enough amounts any other part of the year to catch us up. Many folks not familiar with Mediterranean climates would classify my Summer as a drought, but since its normal to be dry that time of year, I just call it summer. The drought this year actually started right around Christmas.

 

[Guest]

Hey all,

I have a number of spots where the soil is rich and drains very well that dont clump regardless of moisture so i was able to get 12 more planted. Im up to 25 with only 15 more to go.

Avc, I do plant in wet ground as long as it doesnt contain too much clay. I try to make sure my ground is worked a bit before the rain arrives as it is less likely to clump and cake

Hey BC, it sure is good to hear from you. I hate to hear that your getting drier: the lack of moisture is the most difficult outdoor growing problem i have ever encountered. I hope im ready this year, although i have to say that even though i have a watering system in place now, as Ive planted the plants i couldnt help but ask myself if i could get around to 40 plants and water even if i have a watering device in place. The math says that just providing a gallon per plant per week will be a daunting task.

Well, it seems like only been and mr. stinky are off the page, he he. I don't watch a lot of tv Mr. S. but i do notice the deaths of the500-700 year old oaks and poplars high on the ridges, so we know that the weather has changed over the length of their life to the point that they can no longer survive.

In 1801, on the same farm i live on now, my family built a pond of about 3 acres. The pond is spring fed, so it remained full, regaurdless of rainfall. Today, the pond is mostly dry, and when i add the tree problem to the mix, in my mind something has changed in the 230 years that my family has lived on this farm.

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Its a known fact that Conifer tree deaths are very much on the rise here in the west. A certain number of trees die each year, due to many factors, but the averages have been on the rise for years, the culprit is drought. Once the drought weakens the trees, bugs and diseases attack and finally kill the trees.

And it is on the rise, no doubt about it...............

Funny that you mention a spring Silverback, we also have a spring on our family's land that was very reliable all the way through the summer 25 years ago, that now dries up by late July. Its a shame because the spring is the highest on our land, and used to supply most of our buildings below it, now we are forced to haul water from lower(and lower quality) sources to supply the higher areas of our land, not a good deal........

 

[hamstring]

We have some Boxwood bushes in my yard and the last few years I have noticed they are going down hill finding dead and dieing branches on them. I took the time to do a little research and it turns out that Boxwoods are must susceptible to wet conditions allowing pests to infect their roots.

That finding just solidifies what my last 3 years of guerilla gardening have been like. Rain and flooding. My climate has changed quite a bit the last 5-7 years. It’s hard to get a handle on these changes in my guerrilla growing because it’s so hard to find good spots especially if they are underwater.

PEACE

 

[LazLo]

I've lived in this area for nearly all my life. Kids got sleds for Christmas 40 to 60 years ago and went out and used them. Now the kids get bikes and go out and ride them. The past 2 winters have been brutal. Last month was in the top 10 for cloudy and rainfall. After Memorial Day last year we had low 30's nights with dry winds. Killed off 7 of my 20 seedlings. This year planting date is moved to June. Haven't had a real spring in over a decade. The August rains are't what they should be and the first frost date gets later and later.

silverback

My ancestors came to the east coast long before the American Revolution fleeing the climate of Europe. The Little Ice Age devastated growing conditions and changed farming worldwide. And then the "Summer without a Summer" in 1816 resulting from the eruption of Mt Tambora the year before. Westward expansion of the colonies is a direct result of these events.

Man has had strange effects on earth's climate. The loss of 2/3 of South America's population to disease after the white man arrived reforested the former villages and fields and changed the climate. And.....the disease they suffered from was unknown to the whites.

To paraphrase George Carlin, the earth has it's ways of dealing with us parasites.


Never lose your nerve, temper or kyes.

 

[Rob547]

So I read this thread a day or two ago. Only being an outdoor grower last year, summer weather isn't something I've always paid attention to but I've been thinking about it since I read this thread.
Day or 2 ago was thinking how its been a while since we actually had a thunderstorm. When i was a kid, maybe 10 or so years ago, always had a good amount of them, good ones too. But for the past couple years, nothing. I remember one brief one maybe 2 years ago. Last season was realll rainy, seemed much more so then I remember, cooler too. Then there was record snow fall (I believe) in about 30+ years.
Then just earlier there was a thunderstorm! Not big, but lasted a while. I think that's about the only sign I need to forecast a shitload of rain this season.

 

[grimcreeper]

We're soaked here. My guerilla plots are ok but I keep having to bring in my new seedlings because of the torrential downpours. Trekking to check on the outdoor spots leaves me covered in mud. Looks like it may be a tad drier next week, so hooray!

 

[Guest]

More rain for me. Its storming like hell, 2" of rain today and rain tommorow. All of the spots i have left have more clay in the soil. It willl be a week before i can plant.

Me to grimcreeper.

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

We now, on May 8 have all the rain we are supposed to get for the month of May, and still down half a foot for the year, LOL! It will be interesting to see how all this heavy late rain affects the summer water supplies, it probably won't make alot of difference past June.

I also read about how the depopulation of the americas by Smallpox helped reforest areas that were deforested for centuries. If global warming is a fact, its possible that this shameful, unfortunate event may have bought us a few extra decades against the effects of global warming. Ironic, don't ya think?

Yeah, now when we do get a T-storm in summer, it only brings dry lightening to very dry mountains full of dry vegetation, which brings us wildfires! Oh fun fun!