Progress on Aronia planting

Back in 2014, my aronia seeds were just germinating into tiny seedlings in trays. Since then, they have been transplanted into larger cells, and then planted into the ground.

Here is one seedling planted outside in May of 2015. I mulched the plants with woodchips and scattered some cow manure around to fertilize them. This one seems to be happy so far! 

Cucurbita Foetidissima Seedlings

 Cucurbita foetidissima, also known as buffalo gourd, is a plant that I have been dieing to grow. It is closely related to cultivated squash and pumpkins that we regularly eat, but contains bitter cucurbitacins that are somewhat toxic and taste awful. The plants also produce a large perennial taproot that is supposedly quite winter hardy. It is a really cool plant that deserves way more attention from plant breeders.

Seed germinates and pokes through soil after 1-2 weeks

Starting Seeds for a Future Orchard

Over winter, many gardeners find themselves bored with little gardening to do. It is that mentality that makes the winter seem dreadfully long here. In order to pass the time, I often found myself looking through plant catalogs and gardening books envying the selection of fruit trees and berry shrubs that are available. Browsing these I thought, "I need an orchard!"

Winter can be unkind to gardeners