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MAY 2020

Climate-Smart Gardening

These simple techniques can help you reduce emissions, conserve water, and store more carbon in plants and soil.

Climate change is prompting farmers in New Jersey and around the world to rethink the way they practice agriculture by adapting to changing weather patterns, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and boosting the capacity of soil and plants to store – or sequester – carbon from the atmosphere.
Although home gardeners operate on a much smaller scale than commercial farmers, they can make important changes, too. Here are ten tips to creating your own climate-smart patch of the Garden State.

1. COMPOST
Healthy soils form the base of thriving ecosystems. Soils rich with organic matter sustain beneficial organisms, retain moisture, and help remove and hold atmospheric carbon.
To build healthy soils, start with something we all have plenty of – food and yard waste. Composting fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, sawdust, grass clippings, and dead leaves (but never meat, bones, diseased plants, or pet waste) will create a rich organic material that can be used as a mulch or soil conditioner.

Compost is a valuable soil amendment because it improves fertility, soil structure, and water-holding capacity and keeps waste out of landfills where it releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas. But don’t try growing plants in compost alone. Instead blend 2–3 inches of compost into 4–6 inches of topsoil for a new planting, or apply a thin layer on the surface of established beds (1 inch) or lawn areas (half inch) to be worked into the soil by insects and earthworms.

There are many ways of creating a compost pile – a simple fence of wood pallets, for example, or a store-bought compost tumbler. For tips on how to get started, consult with the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, your local Cooperative Extension, or the Rutgers Master Gardeners. And see the following Rutgers Cooperative Extension Fact Sheets for more information about soil organic matter: FS1135; FS1136; and FS1137.

Compost bins can be bought at garden centers or made at home; there is a wide range of sizes and designs.

2. GROW FOOD
According to the EPA, agriculture accounts for nine percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, part of which are generated by food processing and transportation. By growing some of your own fruits and veggies in a climate-smart garden, you can reduce the amount of fossil fuels consumed to bring food to market and you’ll have the added benefit of enjoying fresh, tasty homegrown produce.

3. BE WATER WISE
In addition to increased warming, New Jersey is expected to experience heavier rains and more frequent dry spells due to climate change. You can make the most of those downpours and protect your yard from heat and drought by collecting water from your roof in covered rain barrels. A drip irrigation system will help conserve water even more, as opposed to conventional sprinklers which tend to waste water through runoff and evaporation. Mulching around the base of plants and occasionally using shade cloth will help prevent moisture loss on the hottest days.

Be advised that there’s some debate about the safety of using rainwater from rooftops on edible plants. For more information and safety tips, see this Rutgers Cooperative Extension Fact Sheet (FS1218). Or simply play it safe and use water from rain barrels on your lawn, flowers, and other ornamental plants.

4. COVER UP
Planting cover crops during the off-season and allowing plant residue to decompose in place will help hold soil during heavy rains, protect soil during droughts, and build up additional organic matter. Cover crops capture nutrients in their plant tissue that are returned to the soil once they are turned in or mowed; this prevents nutrient loss and runoff during rain and can offset the need for fertilizer, which increases your garden’s carbon footprint.
Onions and carrots

5. DO NOT DISTURB
Go easy with that rototiller. Tearing up soil with a plow, a mechanized tiller, or even a shovel speeds the release of carbon into the atmosphere, disrupts soil structure and beneficial organisms, and makes soil vulnerable to erosion. While tillage initially increases porosity, soil is susceptible to settling and compaction afterward. Tillage may be a useful shortcut if there’s a strong need to incorporate soil amendments (compost, limestone, or fertilizer) or loosen compacted layers, but routine annual tillage can do more harm than good.

6. USE MANUAL TOOLS
Lawn and garden equipment like lawn mowers and leaf blowers account for a significant portion of U.S. nonroad gasoline emissions. For a climate-smart alternative, choose hand-powered tools instead. Tools like reel mowers, trowels, and pitchforks may require more elbow grease than their gas-powered alternatives, but they are better for the environment – and can be a great workout.

7. GO NATIVE
Native plants have adapted to New Jersey’s varied environment over thousands of years. Because they’re perfectly suited to the area, they require less watering and fertilizer than non-native alternatives, and they complement local ecosystems, attracting pollinators, birds, and beneficial insects. You can find native plants at your local greenhouse or with the help of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station or jerseyyards.org. Be aware that even native plants at the southern edge of their hardiness zone may be stressed under a warmer climate, and always consider site conditions such as drainage and wetness when selecting plants.

8. PREPARE FOR PESTS
From insects to invasive plants, pests are a fact of life for gardeners. With New Jersey experiencing longer summers and milder winters due to climate change, pests that in the past would have been killed off by cold weather may proliferate, and pesticide use may increase as a result. Pesticides, however, can kill beneficial organisms and disrupt local ecosystems.

You can take an integrated pest management (IPM) approach to addressing pests in your climate-smart garden to both reduce plant loss and minimize pesticide use. This approach emphasizes managing pests, not eradicating them, and prioritizes the least damaging treatments.

Get to know your garden and the creatures and plants that frequent it, and only act to address pests when they reach a damaging level. If you do use chemicals, opt for the least toxic alternatives, like insecticidal soaps and diatomaceous earth.

9. EMBRACE WEEDS
Not all weeds are a nuisance. Weeds can be a valuable form of ground cover, adding to the biodiversity of your garden, supporting pollinator insects, and breaking down into soil-enriching organic material in cooler seasons. Only remove weeds that are invasive or that will harm or hinder your plants and broader ecosystem. Otherwise, embrace the adage that one gardener’s weed is another’s wildflower.

10. PLANT A TREE
Trees serve as a “carbon sink.” They absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere and, if planted in the right spot, will provide your home with cool shade in summer and protection from bitter winds in winter. So, if space allows, plant a tree … or several. They will help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, reduce emissions from cooling and heating, and give you a shady spot to rest after working in the garden.

For additional gardening resources, visit the Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s Home, Lawn, and Garden web page and its catalog of landscape and gardening publications.

Meet the Climate Corps

Angel Alguera, Rutgers Climate CorpsAngel Alguera
I am a first-year Atmospheric Science master’s degree student in the Department of Environmental Sciences, and my work focuses on meteorology and applications of climate change resiliency. My professional interests include severe weather forecasting and community preparedness regarding weather-related disasters. I work with Dr. James Shope at the NJ Climate Change Resource Center to produce applied research and reports relevant to New Jersey stakeholders. I currently assist with climate change data analysis, large dataset management, and report writing.

Daniel GilkesonDaniel Gilkeson
I’m a second-year master’s student in the City and Regional Planning Program with a concentration in environmental planning. As a planner, I hope to build more resilient communities in the face of increased risk due to climate change. With the Climate Change Resource Center, I am working on a project to aid the state in an update of its floodplain buyout program, known as Blue Acres, to be more proactive and comprehensive. Prior to this position, I interned in the Community and Economic Development Office at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Association. I’m also an AmeriCorps alum, having completed a year of service working on affordable housing in Nashville, Tennessee.

Benjamin GoldbergBenjamin Goldberg
I am a second-year Master of City and Regional Planning student concentrating in climate adaptation and resiliency planning, with experience in sustainable food systems. I joined the Climate Corps last summer to help develop a GIS-based food waste recovery tool, and currently support community resilience through flood vulnerability analysis. I hold a B.A. from Middlebury College and a Certificate in Ecological Horticulture from UC Santa Cruz.

Surya Jacob, Rutgers Climate CorpsSurya Jacob
I am a graduate student in the Master of City and Regional Planning program at the Bloustein School concentrating in community development, focused on housing, land and finance, as well as pursuing the Real Estate Development/Redevelopment Certification. Prior to Bloustein, I worked as an architect and interior designer in India and Canada and am pivoting towards a career in urban planning to engage in extensive projects at the macro level. My interests include affordable and mixed income housing, urban redevelopment, and housing finance, and I am deeply passionate about climate resilience in community planning. Being part of Climate Corps is a foundational step towards helping to solve equity issues in vulnerable communities along the coastal region.

Vineesh Das Kodakkandathil, RutgersVineesh Das Kodakkandathil
I am an urban planner with five years of professional experience in community-led ecotourism development and land use and environment management planning in ecologically sensitive areas. I have worked on and conducted extensive environmental sensitivity analyses, flood and landslide vulnerability assessments, and human impact assessments with the help of GIS tools. I’m currently pursuing my master’s in City and Regional Planning at Bloustein School with a concentration in Transport Planning and GIS.

Douglas LeungDouglas Leung
I am working with the Climate Change Resource Center to identify vulnerable communities and places affected by climate-induced flooding in coastal New Jersey municipalities. I am a Master of City and Regional Planning candidate at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. As a planner, I want to develop strategies and solve problems affecting our cities and communities that enable more equitable outcomes in housing and transportation. I am also a recent Army veteran, having served as a company commander of recruiting in the northern suburbs of Chicago and as a reconnaissance platoon leader in the 10th Mountain Division. For fun, I enjoy weightlifting, running, reading fiction, and board games.

Nihar MhatreNihar Mhatre
I am a master’s candidate in city and regional planning at Rutgers University’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, focusing on urban design and land use planning. Before being accepted at Rutgers, I worked as an architect at JD Studio and had my own architectural practice, Vastu Insights. My research interests revolve around designing and developing climate change adaptation and resilience strategies to promote equity in urban landscapes. Having the opportunity to work on real-world projects through Climate Corps will be an essential step in the development of my understanding of addressing climate change issues in vulnerable regions.

Justin MorrisJustin Morris
Justin is a master’s student at Rutgers University studying discovery informatics and data sciences. He is working under Professor Mark Rodgers to develop an optimization model that will act as a decision support tool for university financial investments with the end goal of eliminating Rutgers’ scope 2 emissions. He is excited to apply his background in data analytics and mathematical programming to help the university fight climate change.

Josephine O'GradyJosephine O’Grady
I am a first-year student in the Master of Public Policy program. Through the Coastal Climate Risk and Resilience (C2R2) certification, I am focusing a significant portion of my graduate coursework on topics including coastal geomorphology, environmental justice, and hazard mitigation planning. Before beginning my studies at the Bloustein School, I received my bachelor’s degree in public health from Kean University, where I first became interested in how coastal dynamics shape lived experiences. I previously served as an intern at the New Jersey State Policy Lab and currently work for the Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub (MACH) team.

Jessica Parineet Jessica Parineet
I am a first-year Master of Public Policy student at the Bloustein School with a strong interest in climate change policy and related topics. In my previous work, I gained experience in a number of dimensions of climate change issues through carbon capture storage research, urban heat island research, and community level engagement as I am currently on the Student Advisory Board for the Rutgers Office of Climate Action. I am excited to expand on my interests in environmental justice and local level resilience planning through my involvement in the Climate Corps.

Dillon Patel Dillan Patel
I am a second-year Master of City and Regional Planning student concentrating in Environmental Planning and International Development. I have previously worked as an economist performing cost-benefit analysis and conducting monitoring and evaluation for renewable energy in developing countries. I have also spent a summer in western Massachusetts mapping stormwater infrastructure and working with planners to identify suitable places for green stormwater infrastructure.

Moira Sweeder, Rutgers Climate CorpsMoira Sweeder
I am a graduate student enrolled in the Master of City and Regional Planning program at the Bloustein School. My concentration is environmental planning with a focus on coastal resilience. Before pursuing my master’s degree at Rutgers, I studied sustainability at Stockton University. During this time, I interned for the PSEG Institute of Sustainability Studies, the Jacques Cousteau National Estuary Research Reserve, and NJ Audubon. I am thrilled to now be a part of the Climate Corps, researching coastal resilience as a part of the Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub (MACH) team.

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