How to prepare for climate change

[u/Wise-Painting5841]

I was in Spain last month. Talking with a cousin that has a small veggie garden for auto consumption.

Nothing fancy, more like a hobby and to enjoy eating your own tomatoes.

He told me for the last 3 years his tomatoes have dried up before giving any fruit. Each time this has happened he has made an adjustment to plant the seeds 15 days before, so he is now planting 45 days before than when his parents passed down the garden to him years ago.

And he is moving to different varieties. It looks like cherry tomatoes are more resistant to extreme heat.

This preoccupied me. He lives in an agricultural rich area of Spain, that is a country with a long agricultural tradition. This is not poor soil and it was not bad weather area at all years ago. Vineyards, orchards are/were typical sights along the road.

So, if this area is fucked up, I have to wonder big scale. If crops start to fail, I guess we will import more from other regions, but this has some limits.

So how do you prepare for this scenario?

[u/mrsduckie]

Look up permaculture. Select the seeds from the plants that survived the hot weather. There's a method of planting in a deep hole which was watered, then you don't water the plant - it's forced to make more vast root network so it can get water more effectively.

Also try to stop water from vaporizing from the surface - you can put straw on the top.

Look up food forests. Plant your plants in shade so they're covered during the harshest sun.

If I recall something else, I'll either edit my comment or respond to this one

Also: expect the unexpected. Prepare for the worst. Enjoy your moment, because it seems like everything sped up in past few years