40 °C heat extremes are no longer implausible in the Nordic countries

ciefa

Makes me sad because I want to move to Norway in hopes of fleeing the German summer :(

anatolian_apiar

Mulching is an old tradition. Where they have it, people spread sheep's wool over the soil to shield it from the sun. Or they cut plants with a scythe and lay them on the ground as green manure. It covers the soil and also feeds what you grow on it later, so you are actually producing soil.