Mt. Nusatsum

Mt. Nusatsum

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Corn and Tomatoes - Climate Barometers

If you have wondered what kind of climate the Bella Coola Valley is, and if know a little bit about gardening or you live in a place that has a lot of areas that can be marginal for gardening because of valleys with frost pockets or cool damp summers, then you will be able to relate to the simple barometer of determining what kind of climate an area has by finding out if the area gardens grow corn and tomatoes.  I'm talking about reliably year in and year out being able to plant corn by seed without tricks to keep it from freezing and setting out tomato plants about this time of year and leaving them to grow unassisted by row covers, plastic, glass or other devices to lengthen the season or provide warmth.


The Bella Coola Valley at 52 degrees north is one such place.  While you might have occasion to visit when we are having one of our wet periods, because we do get a measure of rain that could be expected in a coastal temperate rain forest, we tend to get most of that rain in October through early December.  If you've visited the valley between May and September and been lucky to catch some of our fine summer weather and commented on the pleasant relatively warm days, then you've experienced 'corn and tomato' days.  These two plants simply won't produce ripe fruit or sweet cobs if they are grown in a marginal climate.  The real hard core gardeners in Bella Coola never miss a year without producing corn, sometimes it's a squeaker and a bit late, but it's there.

If you are looking at places with a good climate, just look at their gardens and ask the simple question, "Can you grow corn and tomatoes every year?"  While we grow corn and tomatoes out in open gardens, the next barometer of gardening would be peppers without assistance or out in open gardens.  Here it gets a little marginal.  A few people are lucky to have sheltered sunny spots or little micro climates, but widespread growing of sweet peppers out in the open isn't common in the Bella Coola Valley.  You need to use  'tricks' such as sunny southern walls, greenhouses, cold frames and other season extenders to accomplish peppers.  Grizzly

3 comments:

  1. Keep the posts up Grizzly.

    Very interesting

    ReplyDelete
  2. miss your posts Grizz! check every day but nothing new. hope all is well

    ReplyDelete
  3. Try using the url www.bellacoolablog.com, directly into your browser, you should see numerous new posts. Grizzly

    ReplyDelete