"The Climate Change-Resilient Vegetable Garden shakes up the "old" rules of vegetable gardening and teaches the resilience and adaptation required to grow food in a rapidly changing climate"--
Discover a new, more dynamic and durable way to grow food in the extremes of our changing climate in The Climate Change–Resilient Vegetable Garden. Whether it’s water-usage restrictions, extended heat waves, disastrous flooding, “super weeds,” or prolonged pest lifecycles, the coming years will be filled with daunting challenges for food growers around the world. What’s a gardener to do? Author Kim Stoddart outlines
a clear path toward building resilience in your vegetable plants, your soil, and yourself.
With actionable tasks that reduce resource use, stabilize the garden’s ecosystem, and offer regenerative solutions to the most challenging issues faced by gardeners, Kim comes to the rescue with advice to help you weather these storms with ease.
Learn to:
- Foster adaptation by selectively breeding your favorite veggie varieties for local growing conditions
- Nurture biologically active soils that are better able to support your plants
- Create bioswales, berms, and rain gardens to improve your garden’s flood tolerance
- Plant windbreaks, erect cold frames, and make mini hoop tunnels to protect plants from wind, snow, and surprise frosts
- Enhance biodiversity in your garden to increase pest predation and keep “bad” insects in check
- Discover intensive planting techniques to improve yields while protecting your soil and reducing water usage
- Select the most adaptable fruit and vegetable crops to grow and tend them in a climate change–savvy way
- Recycle rainwater, repurpose household items, and live lightly on the land for a more resourceful gardening life
Even long-time vegetable gardeners will face unexpected challenges in the years to come. Take the time to
build resilience in yourself and your garden by shifting your thinking today, and you’ll
be prepared for the unpredictable future ahead.Reviews
"...absolutely filled with clever and easy ideas to reduce time and effort and always keep an eye on waste and sustainability." * Splash Magazine * "...packed with loads of tips and advice." * Washington Gardener * "...focuses on edible gardening in a sustainable and resourceful way. This is an accessible guide to resilient gardening with lots of solid steps to implement." * American Gardener *
Introduction - What climate challenges are we facing, and whats to
come?
1 How to Be a Resilient Grower
Why building resilience in the gardener is as important as building
resilience in the garden itself. Plus, project ideas to gain confidence.
2 Building Resilience from the Ground Up
How to nurture biodiversity below ground, and why it matters.
3 Climate ChangeFriendly Garden Design Ideas
Tips to protect against the extremes, including the risk of wildfires.
4 Saving Resources
How to reduce water use by capturing rainwater, layering plants, mulching
properly, and irrigating in a more regenerative way.
5 Save Money While Saving the Planet by Recycling and Repurposing
How to transform waste into wonderous gardening materials.
6 Breed and Propagate Locally Resilient Plants
How to select the best, most resilient plant traits for your specific
climate.
7 Climate Change SOS
Quick solutions for extremes of weather, from floods and droughts to
wildfires and insect plagues.
8 Natural Pest Control in a Changing Climate
How to deal with introduced pests, encourage a diversity of good bugs, and
create a balance so pests dont become problematic in the first place.
9 Vegetable Garden Planting Guide
A crop-by-crop look at how to build resilience into your favorite edible
garden cropsplus meet some untraditional crops that already come with
resilience built in.
10 Plant Protection
Learn how to use structures and plant covers to protect your veggie plants
from climate extremes.
11 Troubleshooting Guide
Helpful solutions to some of climate changes biggest vegetable gardening
challenges, including timesaving tips.
Conclusion
How to connect with and enjoy your vegetable garden in a changing climate.
Resources
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Index
Kim Stoddart, co-author of The Climate Change Garden, also writes on climate change gardening and resilient gardening for publications such as The Guardian. She has gardening columns in several magazines, including Grow Your Own and Country Smallholding, and edits The Organic Way for Garden Organic. Kim also contributes regularly to a range of publications, such as Gardeners World magazine, Bloom, The Telegraph, The Lancet, and The Daily Express. She is a homesteader and runs courses online and in person via greenrocketcourses.com.
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