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Published December 12, 2007 06:06 pm - Gardening: Plan ahead for possibly earlier spring next year By Molly Day Submitted Story Scientists around the world have looked at the evidence and have decided that climate change is real.
Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses are trapping more heat from the sun and are contributing to rising global temperatures. For Oklahoma, climate change is likely to lead to earlier springs, later falls, shorter winters, more damaging late spring freezes, and longer dry, drought spells. Local impacts will vary and there will still be the natural cycle of drier and wetter years. These are the Oklahoma impacts summed up in the Oklahoma Climatological Survey’s statement on Climate Change and its Implications for Oklahoma. Climate change will bring new challenges to Oklahoma gardeners and farmers, but there are ways to meet these challenges. And new approaches can turn these climate challenges into new opportunities. Using water more effectively and minimizing warm temperature impact are nothing new to Oklahomans. To make the most of their water, gardeners have moved away from using sprinklers to drip irrigation systems. Using garden mulches is a standard Oklahoma gardening practice that lowers soil temperatures and reduces water loss from bare soil. Albert Sutherland, the agriculture coordinator for Mesonet, a joint project of Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma, in a recent conversation, talked about a number of ways gardeners and farmers are adopting new methods to deal with climate changes. In agriculture, fuel prices are having a big impact on farming methods. One example of new technology is using no-till farming instead of plowing. While no-till methods require bigger tractors to cut through the crop debris, in the long run, the fewer trips across the ground result in lower fuel costs. Irrigation methods that preserve water are being implemented on a large scale in agriculture. The worst offenders are of course, sprinklers that throw water into the air where wind and high air temperature can evaporate 30 percent or more of it. LEPA, Low Energy Precision Application, is a method that uses existing irrigation equipment by adapting it to emit larger droplets of water close to the ground. On a smaller scale, gardening practices that help preserve resources and reduce human impact on the global climate include: using natural mulches and drip or weeping soaker hoses to irrigate. “Climate change brings with it warmer temperatures and mulch lowers the soil temperature. Plants do not like their roots above 90 degrees F. Studies show that natural mulches keep the soil temperature 85 degrees F and under,” Sutherland said. Sutherland’s tips for gardeners: • Mulch the garden: Use grass clippings to mulch vegetable gardens; make compost to improve water retention of soil and mulch garden; use cottonseed hulls, straw and alfalfa baled hay for mulch. • For shrub beds: Pecan shells stay put better than most. Tree bark products, such as cypress and oak, float and can be harder to work with if you want to change the use of a particular bed and have to dig through the wood chunks. • Mulch around trees: Tree bark mulch works well. 
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