Titanic Gardening

This week that bastion of Women's-Institute-Britishness, Gardeners' Question Time on R4 addresses how and what we will be able to grow in the face of climate change. In traditionally anodine fashion, Peter Gibson and Bob Flowerdew chip in a few tips for hard times ahead. Despite having the overwhelming sensation that we are merely rearranging the deck chairs as the (melting) iceberg looms, I am all for it. What is great is - as usual - the solutions proposed are techniques commonly used in organic production. If you haven't time to listen to it, here are the headlines:

1. Protection will be key: we might get a longer growing season as temperatures hot up, but early sowing and planting could be thwarted by rogue frosts or sudden downturns. Generally we should expect the unexpected. Starting out more vegetables under cover, planting out later than usual, and use of protection through the year. (Manufacturers of polytunnels, cloches, fleeces, cold frames could be the millionaires of the future.)
2. Variety will be essential: increased randomness of what will succeed and what will fail means that the more variety we grow, the safer we will be in order to have at least some crops that survive. Mainstream mono-crop agriculture will become much riskier.
3. Hot, drier summers will be interrupted by sudden torrential floods, so moving onto raised beds will become essential to aid drainage. However, raised beds dry out more quickly, particularly in the newfound heat. Incorporating more organic matter will be vital to counterbalance this, as will saving/harvesting rainwater ('crucial' says Bob). Mulches will also help.

So, for those people/organisations/publications (I won't name names) STILL unconvinced about the viability of organic practices, let's see how you feel in 2030. You might have to concede that this particular deckchair arrangement is looking very sensible indeed, (and those GM lifeboats are riddled with even more holes).