THE CONDITIONS THAT ADD UP TO CLIMATE

The degree to which the successful growing of each vegetable type is dependent on hot and cold weather conditions indicates that temperature is the most
important aspect of climate to consider when you're planning your vegetable garden. At this point it's helpful to take a good look at how temperature and
other basic climatic conditions affect your garden.
Rainfall and sunlight also play a most important part in how your garden grows, so let's take a look at these three elements and how they work with your plants.
How temperature affects plant growth Average day-to-day temperatures play an important part in how your vegetables grow. Temperatures, both high and low, affect growth, flowering, pollination, and the development of fruits. If the
temperature is too high or too low, leafy crops may be forced to flower prematurely without producing the desired edible foliage. This early flowering is
called "going to seed," and affects crops like cabbages and lettuce. If the night temperatures get too cool it may cause fruiting crops to drop their
flowers — reducing yields considerably; peppers may react this way to cold weather. Generally, the ideal temperatures for vegetable plant growth are
between 40° and 85°F. At warmer temperatures the plant's growth will increase, but this growth may not be sound structural growth. At lower temperatures the plant's growth will slow down or stop altogether.
Vegetables have different temperature preferences and tolerances and are usually classified as either cool-season crops or warm-season crops.
Cool-season crops are those like cabbages, lettuce, and peas, which must have time to mature before the weather gets too warm; otherwise they will wilt,
die, or go to seed prematurely. These vegetables can be started in warm weather only if there will be a long enough stretch of cool weather in the fall to
allow the crop to mature before the first freeze. Warm-season crops are those vegetables that can't tolerate frost, like peppers, cucumbers, and melons.
If the weather gets too cool they may not grow at all; if they do grow, yields will be reduced. Warm-season crops often have larger plants than cool-season
crops and have larger, deeper root systems that enable them to go for relatively longer periods without being watered. Even though it is convenient
to think of vegetables simply as either cool-season or warm-season crops, considerable differences can exist within each of these two groups.
The following lists offer a guide to cool- and warm-season crops. For specific planting dates for each type of vegetable, refer to the chart at the end
of "Planting Your Garden." Cool-season vegetables include: globe
artichokes, asparagus, beets, broad beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chard, chicory, Chinese cabbage,
collards, cress, dandelion, endive, cardoon, horseradish, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lentils, lettuce, onions, parsnips, sweet peas,
white potatoes, radishes, rhubarb, rutabagas, salsify, shallots, sorrel, spinach, and turnips. Cool-season herbs include: anise, borage, chive, dill, oregano,
parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory, spearmint, tarragon, and thyme.
Included among the warm-season vegetables are: dry beans, lima beans, mung beans, snap or green beans, chayote, chick peas, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, muskmelons, mustard, okra, black-eyed peas, peanuts, peppers, sweet
potatoes, pumpkins, soybeans. New Zealand spinach, summer squash, winter squash, tomatoes, and watermelons. Warm-season herbs include: basil,
caraway, chervil, coriander, marjoram, and sesame.

Rainfall: How plants use water
The amount and timing of the rainfall in your area also affects how your vegetables grow. Too much rain at one time can wash away seeds or young seedlings and damage or even kill mature plants. A constant rain when certain plants are flowering can reduce the pollination of the flowers and reduce yields. This can happen to tomatoes, peppers, beans, eggplant, melons, pumpkins, and both summer and winter squash. A constant rain can also tempt the honeybees
to stay in their hives instead of pollinating the plants; again, yields will be affected.
Too little rain over a period of time can slow down plant growth and kill young seedlings or even mature plants. Limited moisture in the air can also inhibit
pollination and reduce the yields of some vegetables. Too little rain can be more easily remedied than too much. If it rains too little, you can water the garden. If
it rains too much, all you can do is pray.
Rainfall is probably the easiest climatic condition to improve. Farmers have worried and complained about the rainfall since the beginning of agriculture. If you've got thousands of acres of land and no control over the available water it can be very frustrating — if not a disaster. Since the home garden is usually small and fairly manageable in size, you can do something to regulate how much
water it gets. If you don't get enough rain when you need it, you can simply water, and there are many different methods you can use. These are described
in detail in "Caring for Your Garden." Too much rain can be more difficult to deal with, and here you need to take preventive measures. The better
drained your soil is, the better it will be able to deal with too much water. When you select the site for your garden, avoid any area that is low-lying or poorly
drained. If that's the only site that you have for the garden — and you're really serious about gardening — you can improve it by installing drainage tiles. This can be a costly and complicated process, so consider it only as a last resort.
Light: Your plants can't live without it The third major climatic factor is light, and it's an important factor to consider when you plan your
garden. Sunlight — or some type of light — provides energy that turns water and carbon dioxide into the sugar that plants use for food. Green plants use sugar to form new cells, to thicken existing cell walls, and to develop flowers and fruit.
The more intense the light, the more effective it is. Light intensity, undiminished by obstructions, is greater in the summer than in the winter, and
greater in areas where the days are sunny and bright than in areas where it's cloudy, hazy, or foggy. As a rule, the greater the light intensity the greater the
plants' production of sugar — provided, of course, that it's not too hot or too cold and the plants get the right amount of water.
If a plant is going to produce flowers and fruit, it must have a store of energy beyond what it needs just to grow stems and leaves. If the light is limited, even
a plant that looks green and healthy may never produce flowers or fruit. This can be a problem with vegetables like tomatoes, where you want to eat the
fruit. With lettuce, where you're only interested in the leaves, it's not an issue. All the same, all vegetables need a certain amount of light in order to grow
properly, and without it all the watering, weeding, and wishing in the world will not make them flourish.
How day length affects your crops. Many plants, including tomatoes and many weeds, are not affected by day length — how long it stays light during the
day. But for many others the length of the day plays a big part in regulating when they mature and flower. Some plants are long-day plants, which means they
need 12 or more hours of sunlight daily in order to initiate flowering. Radishes and spinach are long-day plants, and this is the main reason they go to seed so
fast in the middle of the summer when the day length is more than 12 hours. If you want to grow radishes or spinach in midsummer, you have to cover them
with a light-proof box at about 4 p.m. every afternoon to fool them into thinking the day's over. Other plants are short-day plants and need less
than 12 hours of light to initiate flowering; soybeans and corn are examples. Many varieties of short-day plants have been bred to resist the effects of long days,
but-most will still flower more quickly when the days are shorter.

How much sunlight is necessary? Vegetables grown for their fruits need a minimum of six to eight hours of direct light each day. Less light frequently
means less than a full crop. It's very frustrating to try to grow tomatoes, peppers, or eggplants in the shade; they'll often produce a good, green plant without
giving you anything at all in the way of a vegetable. Crops that are grown for their roots and leaves, however, will give you satisfactory results in light
shade.
Root crops, such as beets, carrots, radishes, and turnips, store up energy before they flower and do rather well in partial shade, especially if you
don't compare them with the same crop grown in full sun. Plants like lettuce and spinach that are grown for their leaves are most tolerant of shade; in fact,
where the sun is very hot and bright they may need some shade for protection. Only mushrooms and sprouts can be produced without any light at all.
Making the most of your garden light. If you have a choice of where to grow your vegetable garden, don't put it in the shade of buildings, trees, or shrubs. The
accompanying illustration shows how to give plants enough light. Remember that as well as shading an area, trees and shrubs also have roots that may extend
underground well beyond the overhead reach of their branches. These roots will compete with the vegetable plants for nutrients. Stay clear especially
of walnut trees; they produce iodine, a growth retardant that will stunt or kill the vegetable plants in your garden. Go out and stand in your garden to see
just how the light falls. Walk around and find where the light fails to penetrate. This knowledge will be very useful when you come to planting time.
Providing shade from too much sun. Most vegetables need full sun for best growth, but young or newly transplanted plants may need some protection from bright, direct sunlight. It's easier for you, as a gardener, to provide shade where there's
too much sun than to brighten up a shady area. You can, for instance, plant large, sturdy plants like sunflowers or Jerusalem artichokes to provide a screen, and you can design your garden so that large plants and small ones each get the light they
need. You can also shade young plants with boxes or screens when necessary. However, too little sun is far more serious a problem in a garden than too much.

How to make the most of your climate
Whatever the climate is like where you live, you are not entirely at the mercy of the elements. There are certain improvements you can make to enable you
to grow some vegetables that would not normally do well in your area. Don't expect miracles — you can improve conditions, but you can't change the climate.
No amount of watering can change a desert into a vegetable garden; however, if the average rainfall in your area is reasonable, a few hours of watering can
improve it more than you'd think possible. Experiment with the microclimates in your neighborhood and your yard; it may be possible to increase your growing season and grow vegetables that need a longer growing season than your climate
technically provides. Microclimates may also enable you to grow tender perennials that would not normally survive the winter in your area. The secret
is to make the most of the conditions that exist in your garden. Experiment — plant a tender vegetable close to the south wall of your house; it may not get all
the sun it needs, but protection from wind and cold may help it grow where it wouldn't grow at all in the open garden.
Another way to frustrate the natural temperature limitations of your local climate is by using transplants Instead of seeds in spring. Transplants are young
plants started from seed indoors or in a warm place and set out in the garden later; this gives you a head start on your growing season, but you can't do it with
all vegetables. Growing transplants is discussed in detail in the chapter, "Planting Your Garden," along with ways of protecting plants against extremes of
temperature.
Other weather conditions can also affect the yields of your vegetable crops. Dry, windy days and cool night temperatures (a 10°F drop from day temperatures) can cause fruiting crops — peppers, for instance — to drop their flowers before they're
pollinated; this means you lose a lot of your crop. You can avoid it to some extent by putting up some type of windbreak to protect the crops from drying winds. It's comforting to remember that although you can't make major changes in your climate, you can certainly do a lot to help your plants make the most
of their environment.

Cold frames and hot frames:
Extending your gardening season
If you have the space for it, a cold frame — a glass enclosed growing area outside — can add an extra dimension to your garden. It's an ideal place to start
hardy annuals and perennials or to put plants in the spring to harden them for the rigors of outdoor life. When you have started vegetables inside, especially
the cold-tolerant ones, you can move them to a cold frame and give them the benefit of much more light in a protected place. And since a cold frame uses solar
heat, it qualifies as an energy-saving device. The hardy herbs, radishes, lettuces, and other greens can be grown in a cold frame during a good part of the year,
even in the North.
A cold frame, often called a "poor man's greenhouse," can be made from scrap lumber and old storm windows. It should not be too deep from
front to back or you'll have trouble getting plants in and out. Cold frames capture solar heat, and if they slant to the south they can take advantage of the
greatest amount of sun.
On the days when the sun is bright you may have to provide some shade to keep the plants from sunburning, or lift the cold frame windows to keep plants from steaming. If the sun is bright enough the temperature inside a cold frame can reach 85° to 95°F when the temperature outside is only 15°F. But on
cold nights when the temperature drops below freezing, a cold frame will need some extra protection. An old quilt or blanket under a tarp is a
good cover. If you have nothing else newspapers will do, although they are a bit harder to handle. If a cold frame sounds like something you'd like
to try, look around for some turn-of-the-century garden books. These provide excellent step-bystep instructions for building and using cold frames
and offer suggestions on how to do all kinds of serious cold-frame growing.
Hot frames are a bit more challenging than cold frames, and the opportunities for frustration are multiplied. In hot frames, heat is provided either by
rotting manure (the classic system) or by electricity (the modern way). Decomposing cow, horse, and mule manure do not work the same way, and the heat of decomposition depends on the age, the kinds, and amount of litter present. When you're using manure there are no thermostats or controls, except the gardener's know-how. Electricity is much easier but a lot more expensive than manure, and there is still work for the gardener to do.
If you have a basement window facing south with some space outside, you can incorporate it into your hot or cold frame. It will also provide a basic"
course in the management of a greenhouse — the next step in gardening addiction.