Climate change presents challenges for St. Albert gardeners

Global climate change is here. 

Based on temperature readings taken throughout the world during the past 50 years, the average yearly world temperature has been rising. Glaciers are melting, the sea is rising, storms are more vicious, and gardeners must be nimble in adapting to these changes.

Three years ago in St. Albert, we had a record temperature in June of 37 C, and my tomatoes and raspberries did not produce. In 2024, March to June was cool and my cucumbers, beets and beans did not germinate; I’m not the only gardener that has had this experience. Then in July we had a two-week heat wave; fortunately, September was warm and my tomatoes bore well.

What is happening?

For centuries, the temperature of the earth was relatively stable, with some fluctuations. The combination of carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour, and some other elements captured enough of the heat from radiating into space, and therefore kept the earth’s temperature relatively stable. With the advent of industrialization and the increase in population, the use of oil, gas, and coal exploded and as more and more carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere, especially into the upper atmosphere, it captured more heat and world temperatures started to rise. The majority of the warming has occurred since 1975, at a rate of roughly 0.15 C to 0.20 C per decade, and is reaching an average temperature increase of almost two degrees.

Variations in temperature highs and lows and conditions such as drought or excessive rainfall or wind seem to be more extreme.

As gardeners we must be prepared to adapt to these extreme conditions when they occur.  Some suggestions are:

1. Check the weather forecast daily;
2. Save water.  Have at least three rain barrels or more depending on the size of your garden.  Also save house water wherever possible and add it to your outside rainwater;
3. Add at least two inches of compost into your garden soil and incorporate it into the first six to 10 inches of the soil. Compost holds water and therefore increases the availability of water to the plant roots;
4. Make mulch. Collect fall leaves and mulch them using your lawn mower. Spread them in at least two-inch layers over your flowers and vegetable beds. This will reduce surface evaporation and therefore reduce the amount of watering needed;
5. Forget sprinklers. Because water on the warm surface evaporates quickly, more water is needed to get down to the roots. Use drip hoses or tin cans with the bottoms cut out, inserted into the soil. Fill the cans once or twice depending on how dry the soil is;   
6. Invest in a moisture meter to help you to determine when to water. This is especially useful when deciding when to water your container plants;
7. The germination of seeds is affected by soil temperature. Adjust your planting dates to fit the weather forecasts and invest in a soil temperature gauge to determine when to plant your seeds. For example: cool weather crops such as carrots, lettuce, onions, spinach, or Swiss chard may be planted earlier; cucumbers, beans, potatoes, squash may be planted later, and still have time to mature. With warmer springs, both cool and warmer weather vegetables can be planted earlier.