Union County Plant A Seed Blog

Roselle

So very, very cold

I can’t believe anything can survive this cold, but it does, and will continue to do so, I suppose. Our little sapling is buried in snow and can’t be seen. While that may seem inconsiderate, I think the snow is the only protection it’s gonna get.

It’s fascinating how most of the natural world seems to slowly die in the winter, only to crawl back when it seems most dire. A friend of mine in L.A. was saying she had blueberries twice a year, and strawberries year-round. While that sounds delicious, I’m calibrated to the 4 seasons, and I’m thankful for the punctuation throughout the year. This too shall pass; soon we’ll see the first shoots of the spring, and all this will be a fond memory.

Roselle

Victory!

My last post detailed the saga of a good-hearted boy and a tiny apple tree. I’m happy to report that little seedling is in the ground where it belongs. A little late, I know, but I’m a believer.

To summarize, a student of mine grew an apple tree sapling, 3 inches tall. The plan was to put the plant somewhere safe for the winter and plant it in the spring, but research indicated that it is possible to just plant it with a little protection for the winter, and it will have a head start in the spring. I had hoped to get it in the ground by 12/1, but we didn’t end up getting it planted until 12/8.

All the same, I think the odds are with us. If it’s alive now, I’m betting that it will stay that way. I have welding skills, so I made a cage to protect our sapling and pounded 10” stakes in to secure it. Now that the ground is frozen, the cage is very strong. I call that a win. So, wish us luck, I will keep you informed. Just know that I’ll be starting another sapling from seed under a grow lamp in February, just in case we need to pull a switch in April! Happy Holidays to all!

Roselle

Hope Still Springs Eternal

I have a student in my ESL program who has made leaps and bounds in the 1.5 years I’ve known him. A Haitian boy who has probably seen and experienced unpleasantries that would shock the rest of us. We would see each other every day, and he knew that I am involved in the garden at school. One day after lunch he comes to me with 3 seeds from his apple, so I said “Cool, let’s go put these in the dirt”. I didn’t think much of it until 2 weeks later when he came to me jumping up and down and dragged me outside to see that there was a 3” sapling coming out of the ground where we put the seed.

He was beyond excited, but somewhere along the way some mischievous fingers may have uprooted the young tree, and the first attempt was for naught. He was crushed. So, we tried again. It was June and school was almost over, so I gave him a planting pot with soil, he saved the apple seeds, and we planted them again, this time knowing that he was going to take the pot home and nourish the seeds and any saplings until September when I would see him again.

Fast Forward to September, and I was afraid to ask, not knowing how much help he had at home, and not wanting to put pressure on the subject. All this time we didn’t talk about it, until the beginning of November, he showed up with the pot, and there was a sapling growing there! Imagine my surprise! I call that a win. So now, the mission is to keep it alive all winter and plant it in front of the school in the Spring. You never know where and how the difference will be made. You never know how things will turn out, and in that I see a compelling argument for optimism.