Everything's coming up gourd sprouts!

These tender green shoots are making me deeply happy. I bought several packs of gourd seeds on last October's trip to Yunnan province. By "pack," I mean several unmarked plastic bags. There was a very nice lady selling gourds and melons and plants, and she had a basket full of seeds and I figured what the heck - it was worth a try.

The seeds lived in the refrigerator all winter and I planted them about two weeks ago. So far, the germination rate looks to be low - I planted about 25 seeds, and five sprouts have come up. We'll see how this all shakes out. Anway, I'm very grateful for the five little shoots I have.

Happy Spring!