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4 Offseason Gardening Projects to Get You Ahead for Next Year
By Brian Barth
Late fall, after the last crops have been harvested, is a time to rest and reflect on the successes and challenges of the gardening year. But for those whose need to putter around in the garden doesn't end when cold weather comes, there's surely a few lingering chores. Get them done now and you'll be ahead of the game in spring.
Tool Maintenance
Tools take a beating during the year, and the offseason is the perfect time to give them a little TLC. At a minimum, wash off the dirt, dry them with a towel, and store them in a rain- and snow-protected place. You may also wish to sharpen cutting blades, and oil the joints on pruners and other hinged equipment. Hardware stores often offer the service for a modest fee.
Hose Repair
Ditto on the TLC treatment for your hoses. There always seem to be a few leaky connections that you never have time to repair throughout the year. Often, all that's required is a new rubber washer in the female end of the hose. Any out-of-commission hoses that were cut or split open during the year can be repaired with an inexpensive coupling, rather than discarding them. You will find hose washers and repair kits at any garden center or hardware store.
Mulching
Wise gardeners know that bare soil is the enemy. It washes away in the rain and turns into a brick in the summer sun. Late in fall, after the vegetation has died down, is a great time to take stock of the places in the garden that could use a covering of mulch. Besides, you're likely to have some fallen leaves on hand, a free and high-quality form of mulch that enriches the soil more than wood chips.
Build Something with Wood
Not all gardening projects need to take place outdoors. If you have a shed, garage or basement, along with a few power tools and a little carpentry know-how, now is a prime window for building that new planter box you've been dreaming of or the hand-painted birdhouse that your spouse would love as a Christmas gift. Avid gardeners never have time for such indulgences during the growing season, so knock yourself out while you can.
Reposted with permission from Modern Farmer.
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Poverty and violence in Central America are major factors driving migration to the United States. But there's another force that's often overlooked: climate change.
Retired Lt. Cmdr. Oliver Leighton Barrett is with the Center for Climate and Security. He says that in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, crime and poor economic conditions have long led to instability.
"And when you combine that with protracted drought," he says, "it's just a stressor that makes everything worse."
Barrett says that with crops failing, many people have fled their homes.
"These folks are leaving not because they're opportunists," he says, "but because they are in survival mode. You have people that are legitimate refugees."
So Barrett supports allocating foreign aid to programs that help people in drought-ridden areas adapt to climate change.
"There are nonprofits that are operating in those countries that have great ideas in terms of teaching farmers to use the land better, to harvest water better, to use different variety of crops that are more resilient to drought conditions," he says. "Those are the kinds of programs I think are needed."
So he says the best way to reduce the number of climate change migrants is to help people thrive in their home countries.
Reporting credit: Deborah Jian Lee / ChavoBart Digital Media.
Reposted with permission from Yale Climate Connections.
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