The Apple Seed that Wasn't

Well, guess that suspicious looking sprout wasn't a baby apple tree at all. Because more started popping up in the garlic/ginger pot. The soil I bought from the store is growing lots of little random plants, and nothing I've planted has grow, including all of the seeds I babyed along. Must have had bad or non reproducing seeds.

I doubt anything will grow now. The weather in Ulaanbaatar has been hovering around -30C/-20F. Yesterday morning we got all the way down to -40. For that temp, you don't need F or C because that is where the scales meet. Guess I'll have to concede my lose until winter has ended. I'm hoping to find some excellent seeds over the winter to start a real garden next year!

The Little Seed That Could

It's ironic to me that my interest in gardening started blooming just as winter came on. Wanting to get my hands dirty wasn't much of an option since our growing season is almost over. So I'm working on  indoor seeding projects and I have a tub trying to grow some garlic and ginger. Even though our home is a little cool, I figured at least the garlic will survive. The ginger is just a wild card. So about a week and a half ago I took a 3-ft-long pot and planted 4 bulbs of garlic, and a bit of ginger.

More on this bit later...

As I was planting them, I saw an apple seed that had been left on the table from my apple seed sprouting adventures. (I love fruit, so I'm trying to get at least one seed to germinate through a variety of methods. No luck so far). On a whim, I decided to pop the seed in with the ginger and garlic. 

Fast forward 1.5 weeks and very little is happening in my Garlic/ginger pot. Except for one tiny little sprout. You can easily miss it if you're not looking for it. 

Now since this is my first time gardening, what I'm assuming is an apple seedling may just be a weed. But I'm pretty excited about it. It's exciting to make things grow. And from what I can tell, it looks an awful lot like an apple seedling to me! Go little seed go!

The Mongolian Growing Season

davesgarden.com

Everything you read will tell you one key thing about Mongolia, the growing season is SHORT. While the website above guarantees UB a 5 month frost-free season, other websites will tell you that you'll get as little as 3 months.

Ulaanbaatar lies in the hardiness zone of 3b. All of Mongolia exists in hardiness zones from 2-4.

Because of this greenhouses are a pretty worthwhile investment. They'll give you a little extra time to plant, grow, and harvest that precious produce!



For other places in Mongolia, this is about the best information I've found:

climate.usurf.usu.edu