Month: October 2022

Not all frosts are equal. You can find out more about expected frost and freeze dates at your local cooperative extension website or by searching 'frost dates' along with your town and state or zip code. You can match that information with the 10-day forecast on your phone's weather app. A light frost occurs when temperatures fall to between 29 and 32 degrees F. Some tender plants will die. A moderate freeze occurs when temperatures go from 25 to 28…

In the agriculture-based culture of the Oneida Nation, to which Toni House and her family belong, plants are sometimes referred to as younger sisters and older sisters. Humans and plants are often considered equals. “We learn to listen to the earth rather than try so hard to change it to fit our ways,” says her daughter Jasmine Jimerson. In this ecosystem, humans try to replicate what they observe in the natural world, and then make small adjustments.  It’s a system…

It’s hard to put down roots when you’re a military family that moves every couple of years. But that didn’t stop Tagen Towsley Baker from searching for a sense of community in each town or base she and her husband relocated to. Growing lavender has helped her find that community, and adopting her 14-year-old daughter Mila from an orphanage in China 3 years ago has added a sweetness to the endeavor she never thought possible. On Mother’s Day Mila and…