Growing plants in Minnesota that aren’t supposed to grow in Minnesota

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The papayas are very upset. As you can see, they aren’t looking as great as they did last summer, and I’m slowly losing them. I’m hoping that a couple will survive and come back this summer, but I saved a bunch of the seeds and I just put them in dirt on a heating pad – so maybe I can start again.

The biggest mistake was waiting until the end of summer to put the papayas in gallon pots. They’re herbaceous, so they would have filled up the pots quickly had I put them there in the first place. So maybe this year’s seedlings will grow faster, and have a better chance of surviving next winter on account of them being so large. Who knows? I’m not a tropical gardener, just pretend to be one.

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The medjool dates, however, are quite happy living inside this winter. I only started with two, and still have two – and they have even grown some.

Looking back at posts from last year, it seems we’re behind with our garden preparations this year. But I think we started the seeds way too early last year (as the giant April tomatoes will testify to), and we’ll have the seedlings upstairs this year where it’s warmer, so they should grow faster and fare better.

We talked about tilling up another area in the yard for an additional garden, but haven’t yet decided if we are going to or not. We also have talked about planning to sell this house (or rent it) by next spring and move out into the country. So maybe ripping up more of the yard right before trying to sell it wouldn’t be a great idea…

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