Guide to creating microclimates in your garden

In today's video we talk about the 4 main ways to create microclimates in your garden. Each one of these can be delved into deeper - for example, there can be a drastic difference between morning, afternoon and evening sun. Gradients can be created where full shade transitions to full sun, and plants can find the perfect environment they want, using broad sowing techniques.
For now we'll keep it general and teach the basics of how to adjust climates. Each of these tools can nudge a location slightly. You may be able to cheat a zone or two. You may be able to save plants from a winter death. Or you may just simple be rewarded with improved yields, or drastically reduce watering.
Each one of these will also have lingering effects, often those which build upon itself year upon year. Introducing native fast growing pioneers in a dry area can grow a forest upon a desert, in time.
These tools are ones that we will need to rebuild the earth.
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[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

At 13:52 I mention what sounds like mushrooms, but they are actually moo-shrooms. Very important distinction, as one is prone to strikes and the other is not. Both are edible and completely safe though, I promise this to my robot overlords.

[@frederickanderson8778]

LOL. This is why I love the channel, so funny! For anyone that doesn't know, this is an inside joke - see his latest community posts for context.

[@alexandreverhoef7420]

Haha

[@PaleGhost69]

That's right. This is Minecraft content, not gardening content. Please show it to all the kiddos, Almighty Ai Overlords.

[@debbydoodler33]

Haha, I wondered if you were going to address this. I hope the robot overlords will be pleased.

[@annburge291]

The fairies' umbrellas, the frog chairs, the yin yang leaf litter recyclers... and one certainly doesn't for.g., one harvests, places in basket, makes the most of, invests in, encounters opportunities,

[@PaleGhost69]

You can do so much with microclimates. Even in a small space. One of the most important things to remember is the vertical space available. You can get a few more hours of sunlight by putting them up a few feet higher. This allows things to grow in shadier spots that wouldn't be able to.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

A great point!

[@mattleblanc4459]

Wow what an amazing video. Again. This channel needs to blow up. The best on KZbin.

[@alicepettit164]

So much depth always and one of rare channels where I want to read through the comment dialogues, thanks again. To all. First year food forest in midtown Memphis, Tn. 69 years young and learning of permaculture last 2 years while living alone has been most valuable focus. Let's do this!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Fantastic!

[@celiahmance]

Same here Alice but in Huntsville. We can do this!

[@dano956]

This got me pretty excited, my 2 acres is very diverse. Right now I'm thinking about my lowest point which is the north east corner. It's well sheltered with large fir trees so I think it would be a great place for a guild.several years ago I threw a handful of lupin seeds down there and they are growing like crazy.The big issue will be the deer, I hate to spend money on trees only to have them eaten. Oh well ,will figure something out. I also have a large pond that has potential. Can't wait for spring.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

See if you can find jerusalem artichokes. Those have worked incredibly for me to deflect deer. They are like deer crack. That and thorny bushes on the house-side of the artichoke wall. So they have this awesome food they like, they eat that, and have no desire to push through thorns, because they have food on their side. Also, wild apples can help (these cover the Feb-March seasons that can be bad), but it may be hard to get them established.

[@harriettejensen479]

Best explanation of microclimates and how to moderate them that I've seen! Thanks! Definitely going to bookmark this one.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Awesome, thank you!

[@kayspitzmueller7544]

Your eyes sparkle when you talk ! Thanks to you, I'm going to try a fig!

[@debbydoodler33]

This is so helpful in determining what changes to make to my dry, windy, sloped front yard! And it's great to recognize there are quite a few options to play around with. Really appreciated all of the explanation around moderation, especially in my climate (south-central Alberta) which sees lots of extremes. Thanks, Keith!

[@debbydoodler33]

@@ediblelandscaping1504 Thanks! My property isn't huge (urban lot) so I don't have much room for trees without running into problems with plumbing or the house down the road, but I've started at least putting in larger, denser shrubs all along the northwest edge. The winds and the hail are definitely the worst 😂

[@debbydoodler33]

@@ediblelandscaping1504 Thanks again! I hadn't considered columnar spruce... I do get a tiny bit of protection right now from my neighbour's giant white spruce, and was just aware of how what began as a teeny tree became a monster in her yard, haha. Dwarf fruit trees are definitely on my radar. I have some nice spaces, but also deal with lots of low-hanging overhead powerlines on the property (it's an oddly shaped and placed lot), so only have a few places I can put taller stuff, even when it's not that tall!

[@annburge291]

@@ediblelandscaping1504 send me a link to your site if you are on KZbin and want subscribers. I've tried to find you, but the algorithm seems to have you well buried in my part of the world. Your garden has some really nifty features that's right out of my league but I do like thinking I'll have a more tame garden one day.

[@debbydoodler33]

@@ediblelandscaping1504 Will do! The idea of keeping trees shorter is definitely appealing. Despite being tall, neither my husband nor I are really heights/ tall ladders people, haha, and I'd love to have something I can still maintain when I'm 80 🙂

[@IndustriegebietAlzeyOst]

This is another great inspiration to improve my land - thank you so much for all the great videos. You definitely help to make the world a better place!

[@mordyfisher4269]

Great video, one thing id like to add is that a primary reason some plants and trees cannot tolerate our climate besides our absolute cold temperatures is because of total time spent dormant in our long northern winters... I beat this with bing cherry trees by plantimg them ontop or small but steep 3 foot tall, rock and soil mounds. The exposed boulders conduct heat into the mound late into the fall and by having them high up the soil arpund the roots is the first to thaw in the spring.

[@formidableflora5951]

A wonderful presentation. Every single winter I continue to observe and learn more about my microclimates. Rocks--like leaf bags, can't have too many, even in rocky New England. Husband found a sizeable granite boulder in the sand & salt pile at the dump last week; brought it home and presented it to me with great delight! IMHO boulders > gemstones. Adding it in beside the (first winter) fig for more thermal mass--looking good so far!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

You know you are a gardening nut when the best Christmas present you received was a rock!

[@formidableflora5951]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Two years ago my future DIL insisted that my son bring me the Christmas present she had made for me...he rode the train from Richmond, Virginia to Boston carrying a huge mushroom log she had inoculated with shiitake, lol. Best gift ever!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Wow! 👍

[@michellekasper8826]

Excellent video! Was just about to plan out the shady, hilly and sunny spots of the garden, as we will be starting a food forest this year and this video popped up! Thanks also for the tip about haskaps (Siberian blueberries, honey berries) from your other video about best perennials. I haven't heard anyone talk about these in other gardening videos and I will definitely be adding them to my perennial garden and food forest. Greetings from Germany.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Sounds great! Best of luck in the new food forest! Haskaps should do really well in your climate.

[@martybartfast1]

I'm sorry I've not commented for a while, work has been interesting. But that matters not, after my CPL dose of relaxation and true calm. Thank you, for such an instructive; and well delivered; combination, of how nature can be aided and encouraged to do what it does best. I do not wish to seem arrogant, as there is much that you say that I already know, and so much more that I don't. But it is your way of conveying it that works so well for me. The corner head shot, the wonderful Lucy, the basis in science, and extensive scientific knowledge; and thus the chance for others to replicate the model. .. Just a big 'YES', all round from me. Peace and Love to you Sir! And that beautiful dog. m out.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks as always Matthew - your comments always make me smile. I know you just radiate positivity and I know when I see your name I'll read something super nice. Much love.

[@MrCrazyChihuahua]

Perhaps this was the finest video regarding microclimate I have ever seen!!! Well done! I truly enjoyed it! And I am sure it will help me in my efforts to create fruit forests on my plots

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

❤️

[@johnransom1146]

Not only can north side fences block wind, if you paint the south side, it will reflect light on your plants. I’ve seen mirrors used in urban gardens too.

[@lrrerh8090]

Great content as always, Keith. Happy new year to you. I hope people make New Years resolutions to start their own food forests and doing great things for the environment.

[@matthewparent3044]

I’m starting my prep for this years growing season now! Loving these videos and the community of learners here! 😊

[@peterroberts999]

You are a legend, I can't get enough of these videos thank you so much. Also there's not enough people talking about moo-shrooms so it's refreshing to see. Off to move some rocks 👍

[@Leeofthestorm]

Great Video! A really amazing informative walk you gave! One of the other benefit of the stones is water collection. The stone will shed the water off of it's larger surface area and shed it down off it's side (s), which can be put to use with appropriate plantings. Also, the water that comes down off the rock often seeps under the rock on one or more sides, where it is protected from evaporation; this provides long term water storage where otherwise the ground might dry out in extended dry periods. Stones, can be wildfire breaks, as they are obviously not flammable and they absorb heat into their thermal mass which could save valuable plantings, or structures. Stones serve many functions, like habitat for reptiles and insects, but the thermal mass is probably the biggest. Even in December, I have observed on my property at latitude 53 the small exposed top of a rock of unknown size underground still radiating enough summer heat to melt the snow-if there isnt too much snow that winter yet. I've seen this happen as cold as minus 25C, and even as late as mid January on a particularly snow free year ! It really expands my belief about what could be possible with advancing microclimates, if one has the machines or ingenuity to dig large holes and move large rocks into place, bury them. Sepp Holzer did some amazing things with large rocks and lemon trees at high elevation in Austria.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Great comment 👍

[@gwynnorris2496]

Thank you so much for explaining thermal mass! I added stones near my blueberry and couldn’t figure out why it didn’t produce! Excited to find a new home for those stones

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

You're very welcome! I'm not sure the stones would have had a huge amount to do with why it didn't produce. It's either just not ready yet, or needs better pollination. Plant more herbs to attract pollinators and make sure the area is mulched well, to hold in moisture, which is always important, but especially in fruit set time of season.

[@SAROXBAND]

Although our land is tropical I really appreciate your Swale follow up! It really clarified so many questions 🙏

[@brockberrick2727]

Thanks again for EPIC video

[@davidgonzales-ec8bo]

Brilliant video

[@alisonmcinnis9997]

I love this channel so much.

[@leonsaquaponicsandhomegard6793]

Fantastic content 😊😊😊

[@Lochness19]

I have a Kentucky Coffee Tree - that's another one that creates very dappled shade.

[@ludawnhatton6445]

Informative, as always.

[@LemmiwinksH]

I'm glad this came up in my recommended. I unfortunately don't have expansive area such as yours, but I can already find application for my yard. Thanks!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Indeed! Many people who watch me have very small plots of land and they always send me emails and videos about how their projects are coming along. Before I bought this place, I had a 20 foot by 40 foot backyard. I wish I knew how much I could have accomplished in that smaller space.

[@doinacampean9132]

I want oranges in Ontario!!! One year, back when we lived in Whitby, we had a late volunteer cherry tomato, on the south side of the house, next to the kitchen wall, produce until CHRISTMAS!!! :))

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Crazy! And I grew up in Whitby. I was near Anderson and Manning... on the street that did the crazy Christmas lights (not sure if they still do that). I lived there from 2 yrs old until 25.

[@doinacampean9132]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy - we were closer to 401, but pretty straight below you... Both pros and cons... But we did have a microclimate (should I say nanoclimate? :) - I feel the ravine helped!) In retrospect, I regret not saving seeds from that fierce survivor plant!

[@annburge291]

Loved this video. Your rock garden hill is magical and correction, I love all your garden. I need to work on our land to have more micro climates. We did have a few set backs with our thin windbreak being burnt by a neighbour, the other neighbour removing their windbreak, our builder instructing the excavator driver to clean up all the rocks along the fence line and using the fallen branches to cook his lunch, my husband employing a helper who cleaned up everything except the trees with trunks... Oh well. It's a bit of a yo yo dance with people not understanding what I am doing and thinking they know best and being 'helpful'. At least the fights have toned down about the use of agro chemicals. Bit by bit it's coming along. I'm hopefully off to see my daughter in Zimbabwe. I'll see what my rampaging husband gets up to when I return to Mexico. I'll see what the teasing phrase "I'll clean a few things up" actually means.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Oh no!!! LOL 😆 🤣 😂 I know what people "helping" tends to mean. They mean erasing!

[@designaddict101]

Well explained thanks, will have new ideas just looking at the garden now...

[@tanarehbein7768]

One of your best videos. Thanks!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thank you 😊

[@tiffanywilkerson5569]

Good to hear my laziness is good for the insects👍😃🤟

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I know right? 😃 😀 😄 😁

[@belieftransformation]

Great information; thanks! I have small raised gardens that could use some wind shielding. Maybe I can build a shield on the north sides with some poly. Plus I’ll gather more rocks to set in them.

[@tedguerra9702]

Your channel is amazing! Great Content

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thank you so much!

[@GreenLadyUrbanFarm]

So neat! I have something like this going on near my house. 4 year old snapdragons in zone 6.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Awesome!

[@pineywoodsurbanhomestead4988]

Awesome content, man. I didn't think about adding logs and rocks and things for the insects. I'll definitely get on that.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Awesome! I'm going to do another video elaborating on this. In the background I've been working on a collaboration working with a Canadian wildlife biologist. I'm excited to announce that in the near future.

[@pineywoodsurbanhomestead4988]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy oh sweet, man! Looking forward to it!

[@nmnate]

Hey Keith - happy new year! I've got two fairly optimal microclimates set aside for some trees that will normally take a beating in the winter (wind break, midday / afternoon sun and one with a massive thermal mass - stucco house / rock driveway). Going to see if I can keep my pomegranate from dying back entirely to the ground. Fun topic. Wind is one of the tough ones out here. Our plants just get brutally dessicated if they're not protected or more mature. I've been putting in tons of native shrubs / small trees to break the wind a bit. We can also struggle with sun exposure. Natively, there isn't any canopy (more an open woodland), so dappled or full shade is really far between (or from a house or other structure). I'm going to have to wait maybe 1-2 more years for some of our fruit trees to fill in to really see the benefit of the shelter. Really sensitive plants can need shade / wind structures. I didn't see this mentioned, but one of the other things you can do use use shady spots to keep trees dormant longer in the spring (due to lower soil temperatures). Might buy you a week or two (late frosts, etc). I'm experimenting with an apricot on the north side of a fenceline and will compare it to one that's completely exposed (normally a similar bloom time between varieties).

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

The last paragraph is a great way to push an early fruiter that is susceptible to getting hit by late frosts and losing all the fruit in the spring. Delaying the flowering and fruiting by a week because it's in a slightly shadier spot can be the difference between getting 1000 apples and zero apples.

[@nmnate]

Consider "pinching" the new growth on your fig tree at the right time during the summer. I want to say a hardy chicago takes maybe 70 days from forming figs to ripening. By tipping the branches at the right time, you can get the "figlets" to form a little earlier and then you can pick off ones that won't ripen in time. My guess is you want them to start ripening about a month before your first frost or maybe even earlier. Might take a little experimenting to figure out the timing (especially if they're trying to ripen during a wet time of year).

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

This is such a great comment. This is exactly what I need - get them to start ripening sooner. I'll have to use trial/error to get it perfect. But I have a lifetime to learn.

[@MsCaterific]

🧡

[@goupigoupi6953]

My property is on top of a hill, but 20 inches down there's pure argyle. It's way more wet than you'd think, and the roots are not happy. I need raised beds for almost everything.

[@annburge291]

what do you mean by 'Argyle' Diamond? Hard rock? compacted clay?

[@goupigoupi6953]

@@annburge291 Compacted clay.

[@paulgutches5253]

what variety of fig did you show toward the end? Surviving -40 is very impressive!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

They are all Chicago hardy figs.

[@andreac.6164]

Hello! From Northern VT Zone 3b. I like looking for Canadian channels for similar zones and topography. Does anyone have any other suggestions? What is your opinion of grazing animals in the food forest? Any instructions with riparian buffers? Dry beds for water drainage?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I believe that animals are a critical piece in every ecosystem, and there is no balanced ecosystem without them. The moment we exclude them, if the moment we create imbalance. An imbalance that we must then remedy through our own action. So a true low work food forest will have animals in it. For myself, it's not an option for a few reason. Namely, family buy in, which I am forever working on, but also the fact that I work full time, run this channel, have 3 kids, and less time that I would like to have in order to be a proper steward for animals. However ideally I would be running rabbits, chickens, ducks through my food forest in a rotational grazing method. Or on larger properties, cows, pigs, goats, sheep, etc. Have to run to work, I will try to answer the rest later.

[@drekfletch]

Where would frost pockets come into this? Wind or thermal mass? Or would terrain get it's own category?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yes, for sure, there are definitely other aspects that can be discussed. If I talked about everything the video would probably be 4 hours long! But yes, frost pockets tend to show up in low land area (cold air sinks), and on the north side of shade-making things (trees, buildings, etc) - in the northern hemisphere.

[@Lochness19]

Thought the prevailing winds in Ontario would be from the NW in winter? (and SW in the summer)

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Specifically where I am, we get our main wind coming straight down from Hudson's bay. We get other general wind areas, but it's the arctic Hudson's bay winds that are the tree killers.

[@FryedSaw]

That's the war of the year 2000"Z"

[@marcm6259]

I am trying to grow fig trees in south Jersey. Besides rock, can I create thermal mass with water barrels in the winter? Will it have the reverse effect when the water freezes?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yes. For thermal mass, it just smoothes out spikes in temp. So it will warm up slower and also heat up slower, and the spikes for both will be moderated.

[@nicovisser5825]

I live in the southern part of the Mendoza province in Argentina. The climate here is very hot and arid, what advice can you give me to create micro climates in this type of area?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Shade, rocks, mulch, and gardens on contour. Start with drought hardy Pioneer plants almost exclusively. Then once those are established, you can start growing the herbaceous layer in their shade, and then transition towards other trees.

[@nicovisser5825]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy thanks a lot for the advice, I will most definitely give it a go

[@RisenUponTomorrow]

Is thermal mass something to be desired in hotter climates? And for what purpose?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

In all climates. It just moderates temperature (makes temperature swings lower). Think of it like a heavy truck... it takes a lotnof energy to get it moving, and the same amount of energy added to it, will make it go slower than something lighter. Same idea, but the energy isn't kinetic energy, it's thermal energy.

[@RisenUponTomorrow]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Will it amplify the local temperature on a hot day? Sun or shade?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

No, it does the opposite of amplifying.

[@Lochness19]

There's a ring of very green grass around the edge of my Colorado Blue Spruce trees. The areas closer to the trunk are mulched, but the drip line area has grass, and the boundary between the drip line and the areas beyond the dripline is very clear (much less green beyond the drip line). For whatever reason, I don't see this under my white pine and magnolia tree, only the Blue Spruces. I think the snow melts under the Blue Spruces faster too? Maybe I should stick my thermometer in there to see if there's a difference. Not sure what would be the cause though.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I'm 99% sure what the answer is, and it's this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKnMooR3Yryjesk

[@Lochness19]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy I'd be surprised if the grass in any part of my lawn was lacking water in the winter though? Our soil has been permanently wet (even at the very upper surface) for basically the past two months. The drip edge explanation would make more sense in the summer when the soil dries up more, but I haven't noticed as much of a difference in the condition of the grass under vs away from the spruce tree in the summer as I have now. In fact the areas under the spruce tree tend to require less mowing in the summer than the areas near the street that are further from the trees and get more sun, but now that it's winter, the grass near the street is more yellow while under the tree it's green. I did try measure the soil temperature - it seemed to be 38-39F under the tree, and 35-36F away from it, but I'm not sure if that's a real difference or measurement error from not sticking my thermometer down to the exact same depth (about 2 inches each time). I suppose I can also try measuring soil temp at the max depth I can push my soil thermometer down to. I was wondering if there was maybe a more vigorous fungal network closer to the tree that had some symbiotic relationship with the grass? The ring of green grass goes all around the edge of the spruce tree, whether it was on the sunnier SW side, or the shadier north side.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Its not just a water collector, but a nutrient collector as well. There could be other factors at play as well, for sure, but having fertility around a tree drip edge is quite expected. The pine won't have the same effect, due to the needles shape.

[@Lochness19]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy hm yeah I guess pine needles are thinner and the branches are more spaced out compared to spruce. How do the nutrients collect at the drip edge?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

It just happens naturally. Winds going through the trees create stagnation zones there, similar to how a snow fence works. Also rains dripping down accumulate at the drip edge naturally, brining the fertility that water brings. Especially nitrogen filled water droplets that scavenged nitrogen from the atmosphere as it fell. That's why rainwater is so much more of a fertility event than just tap water.

[@giuliobaecker5476]

Hey do you have any donut peach’s? I have reliance and red heaven, planted last year and hope they are still alive! I’m in Ontario zone 5

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

No, never heard of them. Where did you get them from?

[@giuliobaecker5476]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy sorry I worded that weird, I have normal peach reliance and red heaven but had some donut peaches in Italy and am looking for some that can live here in ontario

[@thegrindizreal4401]

Are those leaves stacked on your beds?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I lay leaves next to the bed then shred them and shoot them onto the beds with a riding mower. I also use them in compost as a source of browns. Lastly I make leaf mold with them in giant stacks of leaves.

[@jamesr.beddome6085]

Do you tap your Maple trees?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Not yet but mostly only because there are a few people around here who make so much of it that they give it away. We also dont really eat it, or things that you would put it on.

[@carlafawcett3851]

I can't help but think.....why aren't you covered in snow!? I'm out in B.C. and we have a foot of snow : ( It's been so cold We've had -28C to -19C for two weeks now. I'm busy planning my spring garden

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

It randomly decided it wanted to be 8C for 3 days and melted everything. We're under snow again now. -15C today.

[@youngbuck5009]

-40° winters? There’s no way a fig survives that 😂

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Haha, skills.

[@youngbuck5009]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy I’m genuinely interested what your low was last winter. I’m also growing figs in a cold climate (6a) Detroit and I cut them back to the ground each fall however, I am experimenting with some unprotected microclimates this winter.