Last week’s report ( for those who missed it on the podcast) follows. Normally I’d just apologize for failing to post it and move on, but this time it’s still relevant, because

the weather has done a 180. Last week it was catastrophic drought. This week – catastrophic rain. It’s good news for the trees, which will have a chance to rehydrate before winter’s desiccating winds, but it’s not so cheery for what it suggests about big ticket climate change. This was New York’s second-warmest summer on record, and in our neighborhood the water has hit the hundred year flood mark.

We have yet to have a frost, so whenever it comes it will be by far the latest on OUR record, and when the cold finally does show up, it may well be just as dramatic as everything else.

Meanwhile, the new climate zone map prepared by the USDA has yet to be officially released , a year – or by now I guess it’s two or three years - after they drew it up. Data collected in the 90’s made it clear that average winter lows in most of the US are higher than they used to be, but for some mysterious reason, “review” is taking a lot longer than usual.

When the map finally comes out – possibly in the next administration - much of the Hudson Valley will be in zone 6, and folks in coastal Connecticut might be tempted to start thinking “palm trees, how about some palm trees…”. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. Microclimates laugh at averages, and it will always be a full zone colder in our low-lying vegetable patch than in the south facing stone-walled herb bed right beside the house.

For those who don’t have a zone map handy, the 1990 version is widely available on the net, among other places at the national arboretum site: http://www.usna.usda.gov. The link is at the bottom of the page.

The Garden report for October 6: What’s to say? It’s dry. It’s HOT and dry. The lawn had started to green back up, but now it’s losing ground again … revealing everything we need to know about the soil beneath. Where there’s good dirt – deep – there is green grass. Where the soil is poor – and where we suspect ancient paving about 18 inches down – a less-than-tasteful tan reigns. Major quantities of compost will help, but a good soaking rain would help more.

Out in the larger landscape, same story, even year-round swamps are failing. Worst mushroom year we’ve ever seen. It is not October, big time, even though the apples are coming in and leaves are turning – brown. Not all of them, of course, pockets of encouraging color grow larger every day, but stressed trees tend to defoliate quickly, so this is unlikely to be a boffo year for leaf-peeping.

It’s an ill wind and all like that, however; this year’s been great for long-season hot weather lovers like lima beans, which by and large would rather be growing in Dixie. This is the first time we’ve ever had something that could be called a crop, instead of an experiment.