Trego's Mountain Ear

Tag: Plants

• Community

  

  Trego: Hardiness Zone 5a

  The USDA has updated plant hardiness zones, and despite last winter’s impressive cold, we’ve jumped up a zone (to 5a from 4b in 2012; the average low went up by 6 degrees)

  Hardiness zones are a (partial) climate description that’s been in existence for a bit over a century, though the government didn’t get involved in it until the ’60s (At which point they proceeded to do so badly for a few decades). They use the average minimum winter temperature to determine the zone.

  

  The current map can be found at usda.gov/ and is searchable by zip code. Here’s the current map for Montana:

  

  January 30, 2024
• Community

  County Fair

  This year’s fair was fun, with activities for young and old alike. Vendors were present, and the food (sold by many local organizations and churches) was excellent. Plenty of raffle tickets were sold (not all for firearms), and folks seemed to be in good spirits.

  The exhibits were neat, and some of the produce very impressive. The sunflowers were especially remarkable, with substantial height, thick stems, and enormous heads. Neat wood working and a creative chandelier of hummingbird feeders. The cakes and sundry baked goods in the youth section were quite impressive as well. We have some talented decorators!

  As remarkable as the exhibits was the number of names that weren’t present. Perhaps we’ve simply gotten out of the habit of putting things into the fair, but while the talent displayed was impressive, much of our region’s talent was missing. I’d like for next year’s fair to feature more from the many gifted gardeners, crafters, and creatives we have in the community.

  August 31, 2021