Browse the library for information on sustainable gardening, caring for our local ecosystems, and homesteading topics with a science base.

Have you ever wondered how climate change will impact our ability to grow food? (Part 2)

Have you ever wondered how climate change will impact our ability to grow food? (Part 2)

There are some effects of climate change that resonate more personally for me. I don’t just mean suffering through the more frequently occurring high heat days with no air conditioning, although that does stink. I’m referring to my fondness for nurturing plants and gardening. Growing our own fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs is a tradition in our family, and I’m concerned about the influence climate change will have on our food supply and our own ability to grow food regionally.

In part 1 of the blog post, we talked about what climate change is. In this post, we will focus of how climate change could potentially disrupt our food supply. Crop production, whether it be agriculture or your home vegetable garden, is weather sensitive. Growing food crops is influenced by the region’s climate and aspects of the climate such as temperature, precipitation, and frosts. Read on to learn more.

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Have you ever wondered how climate change will impact our ability to grow food? (Part 1)

Have you ever wondered how climate change will impact our ability to grow food? (Part 1)

We’ve all heard of global climate change and global warming. In my previous career as a botanist at a natural history museum, we discussed our role as members of the scientific community in monitoring global climate change and ways in which the museum collections could be utilized for that purpose. I also learned that our local ecosystems are shifting due to the changes in regional climate and weather. This hit home for me. Having worked extensively in our northeastern Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania ecosystems, I’ve grown to love our native habitats. It wasn’t until I was taking an introductory class in Sustainable Agriculture that I even thought about how changes in local climate and weather patterns will impact our ability to grow food though. As someone who enjoys growing my own food and having food readily available to myself and my family, I’m apprehensive about the influence climate change may have overall on food production and regional availability.

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Are you curious about homesteading? If you value self-reliance and crave a simpler, more natural lifestyle, then homesteading may be for you.
Homesteading Patricia Fox Homesteading Patricia Fox

Are you curious about homesteading? If you value self-reliance and crave a simpler, more natural lifestyle, then homesteading may be for you.

I never thought about the term homesteading before diving into the sustainable agriculture program. However, the word “homesteading” has come up frequently throughout my education in sustainable agriculture. Curious, I had decided to look it up to find out exactly what homesteading meant. As I outline what I’ve uncovered about homesteading through my research, you can decide which, if any, of the values and components of homesteading apply to you and your journey.

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What is sustainable Agriculture, and how does it relate to your urban vegetable garden, guerilla grafting, or homesteading?
Sustainable Agriculture, Homesteading Patricia Fox Sustainable Agriculture, Homesteading Patricia Fox

What is sustainable Agriculture, and how does it relate to your urban vegetable garden, guerilla grafting, or homesteading?

I took an Exploring the Small Farm Dream course in 2015. The course was offered through a local conservation organization whose mission was to lend support to the farms of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and that’s how I was introduced to sustainable agriculture. One of the farmers in the program explained how he used a combination of cover crops to suppress weeds and improve the soil. He talked about “green manure,” how he integrated livestock into his farming, and how the healthy soils retained moisture, which lessened his need to water the crops. When the pandemic changed my career path, I enrolled in my community college’s Sustainable Agriculture program that fall 2020. The following spring, I was selected for a farm internship program that taught sustainable crop production methods. Those two programs showed me that Sustainable Agriculture is about much more than simply farming. Read on as I highlight what I’ve learned, and you can judge how these concepts might apply to your own food growing and gardening needs.

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The gift of awareness: What is plant blindness, and how do we combat it?
Botany Patricia Fox Botany Patricia Fox

The gift of awareness: What is plant blindness, and how do we combat it?

I first heard of plant blindness (also called plant awareness disparity) years ago while working in the Botany Department of the Museum where I was employed. As an advocate of plants, it’s an invisible, yet tangible foe that I’ve wrestled with on numerous occasions. The specter that embodies plant blindness would manifest itself each time I sought to capture the imagination of Herbarium visitors with the “cool” native northeastern Ohio plants, such as our native carnivorous plants, parasitic plants, or native orchids.

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Botany, why is it important to you?
Botany Patricia Fox Botany Patricia Fox

Botany, why is it important to you?

Botany, why is it important to you? I love all things Biology! Throughout my college years, I enjoyed all the degree specific courses I took while exploring the different branches of the discipline of Biology. True, I’d been draw to plants since childhood – from reveling in the bounty of my grandparent’s vegetable gardens to dividing my numerous aloe plants and propagating strawberry begonias. That is, until I took my first introduction to basic plant biology course as an undergrad. That course piqued my interest in plants and how interesting, different, and challenging they are! It was after that when a summer internship in the Botany Department of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History led to a career as a Botanist. Learn more about the subject of Botany …

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