Putting these apple seedlings in the dirt last year felt like a massive gamble, especially knowing they\u2019d have to survive months of freezing soil before we ever saw a return on our labour. This year is a bit later than last year for a lot of the plants, but the apple trees are doing terrific. Seeing that dark, glossy maroon foliage aggressively bursting out is the ultimate proof that the root systems took hold, anchored deep, and weathered the frost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Out of the entire batch, nineteen individual trees successfully cleared the winter hurdle and are actively thriving right now. Having that high of a survival rate gives the summer program immediate momentum just as our outdoor schedule ramps up. Documenting this daily transformation isn’t just about data collection, it\u2019s the reward for a full year of patience and hard work coming to fruition right before our eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can’t wait to see how they do this year, and will be capturing photos of them every few days. So stay tuned and follow along with us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Planted last season, these resilient plants are now showing steady, measurable progress as year two begins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1766267188717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,20],"tags":[173,199,236,239],"class_list":["post-1766267188720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-garden","category-photos","tag-melgund-township","tag-northwestern-ontario","tag-sdg15","tag-sdg2"],"yoast_head":"\n