Creating Microclimates With Windbreaks

Windbreaks — whether an evergreen tree, perennial grasses or other — are very useful in creating beneficial microclimates that allow for better crop yield.

By Ron Macher
Updated on May 20, 2022
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by Unsplash/Ivan Bandura

Creating a Microclimate

You cannot change the weather, but you can modify its effects by creating microclimates. A beneficial microclimate is an area that is protected from the worst effects of wind, weather, and temperature. It often tends to stay frost-free when surrounding areas are not, or it may offer protection from a hot sun in July.

Examine your farmland to see if you have any natural microclimates. These will be sheltered areas, possibly in a depression where the wind does not blow (although depressions often suffer from frost problems) or on a low hillside that is not as affected by wind or frost. If possible, walk over your property on a frosty morning in late fall or early spring and see if any areas are less affected — or not affected at all. These will be good places to utilize. You may wish to modify them further, to enhance the effect.

A little record keeping goes a long way. Buy a soil thermometer and test soil daily. Common plants such as lilac enter the first leaf and first flower stages of growth at specific temperatures and weather conditions. Checking temperatures and dates, and comparing these over the years, will make your farm more successful.

If there are no natural microclimates, create your own. In planning a microclimate, the best place to start is with a windbreak, which I will discuss in more detail in the following section. The windbreak controls a large microclimate, which sets the stage for a more subtle microclimate in your garden or planting area. Keep the ground protected, for example, with plastic or straw, to create a warmer environment for seedlings, hold extra water, and reduce weeds. (I tend to avoid plastic because it creates a mess when it breaks down; straw, on the  other  hand, breaks down into extra organic matter.)

Air flows just like water and settles in low spots. A raised bed might be just high enough to keep plants away from frost. Raised beds also provide warmer soil temperatures in the spring, sometimes by as much as 5 to 10 degrees.

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