In Tasmania, generations of gardeners have followed one golden rule: never plant your tomatoes before Show Day – the fourth Saturday in October. Plant too early, and the cold nights would ruin your crop.

But as University of Tasmania researcher Dr Edward Doddridge explains, that local wisdom is starting to shift. Minimum temperatures in October are now around 1°C warmer than they were in 1910, meaning Tasmanians can safely plant tomatoes around 18 days earlier than a century ago.

It might sound like a small change, but it’s part of a much bigger story. The seasons themselves are changing, and with them, the natural rhythms we’ve long relied on.

• 🌸 Spring is arriving earlier, with flowering and fruiting happening up to ten days sooner per decade.
• 🔥 Summers are longer and hotter, increasing bushfire risk and pushing species, from salmon to kelp, to their limits.
• 🍂 Autumn colours are arriving later, and winters are shrinking, with less snow and ice across alpine regions.
• 🐠 Species are on the move, as warmer waters allow tropical fish and corals to extend their range further south – citizen science platforms such as Redmap help us track these movements.

For Tasmania, these shifts are already visible — from changing planting times in backyard gardens to new marine species appearing along our coasts.

It’s a reminder that climate change isn’t a distant or abstract problem – it’s reshaping the world around us right now, from the soil beneath our feet to the seas that define our island home.

🔗 Read the full article by Dr Edward Doddridge on The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/what-planting-tomatoes-shows-us-about-climate-change-193830