How Oregon foods are adapting to a changing climate

By Alejandro Figueroa (OPB) and Emily Hamilton (OPB)

June 26, 2025

Excerpt: "So while maybe in Eastern Oregon, where it’s likely going to get hotter and you’ll have more prolonged days of hot weather, you’ll be seeing wheat farmers, for instance, working to keep as much water in their soils as they possibly can by using cover crops.

"Those are crops that you don’t necessarily harvest. They just help the soil stay covered, and they also naturally add nutrients back into that soil.

"Or maybe you’ll see the use of more practical things like the use of #ShadeCloth or better #irrigation systems."

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/06/26/how-oregon-foods-adapting-climate-change/

#SolarPunkSunday #ClimateChangeAgriculture #ClimateChange #CoverCrops #ClimateChangeAdaptation #OregonPublicRadio #Oregon #FoodSecurity

#JerusalemArtichoke update.

The tub that was against the brick wall of the house is now with the #Roselle plants & is as big or bigger than them.

The #shadecloth domes have been removed from the chokes growing in potting mix bags - they outgrew the domes!

#gardening

The #JerusalemArtichoke love the #shadecloth #tunnel.

#gardening we removed it to have a look at how the plants are going.

The artichokes that went into the potting mix bags as tubers have almost caught up with those repotted into bags as growing plants.

#AusPost now have my #growbags & #shadecloth showing as coming tomorrow.

More time for me to get on my feet I guess, but still, I was hoping they’d be here today.

Today the plan was for me to go postal on the thistle out back. My knee might let me.

With the #alpacas & #sheep I don’t ever want to use #poisons on weeds - that’s where my Nata comes in. #gardening

An observation - the local #bees love the thistle. They are all over it. Thistle #honey is supposed to be very special.

Health. My left calf is no longer giving me pain, we had thought that maybe I’d done some tendon damage in my fall last week. ✅

My left knee though has gotten worse since yesterday, I’m waiting for anti inflammatory meds & pain meds to let me get up & be mobile today.

#Gardening. Yesterday we scored 2x50 litre pots from the nursery for free! I’m waiting on delivery of more potting mix to fill them.

My potato #growbags should arrive tomorrow, along with #shadecloth.

After several #helpful #suggestions from across the #federation on my replanted #JerusalemArtichoke #problems with the #heat & being replanted so #shallow in potting mix bags; I’ve now got #shadecloth & potato #growbags on order.

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. #gardening

I hath deployed the #shadecloth. It was 94°F feels like 114°F yesterday. The #tomatoes needed shade. #GardeningMastodon #CatsOfMastodon #GrowYourOwn #Food

Interesting heat/sun protection device... aluminet shade cloth. I snagged some as an experiment, but haven't yet had an opportunity to try it out. I guess the idea is to use this as shade, and it not only provides shading but also does not allow the heat to penetrate info the shade like a standard shade cloth would. Obviously, this only works in lower humidity environments. #shadecloth #heatwaves #aluminum #shade #survival

The #heatdome has begun! Since it's going to be excessively hot until Friday, I've taken steps to shade the #beehives. 🤨

#ExcessiveHeat #ExtremeWeather #KsWx #beekeeping #shadecloth

It's jurassic under here. Insane. Got 0.64 inches rain last night. #GardeningMastodon #shadecloth #GrowYourOwn #food

What my #garden looks like now (except, substitute #tomato plants for all the soldiers under netting in this photo 🤪 ). #ShadeCloth #heatwave

It doesn't look pretty, but #shadecloth is a must! Otherwise the #garden bakes like the Sahara, even with weed barrier fabric & mulch. Shadecloth is a game changer for me because the garden requires less water, I water less frequently, plants grow faster, etc. #GardeningMastodon