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