Seed St. Louis

The heat has arrived. 🫠🔥 Every summer, we get this oppressive heat and humidity. It’s not enjoyable for us, and it’s also very stressful for plants. So we figured now would be a good time to discuss the best options to help your plants get through the heat of summer while still growing and producing a bountiful harvest for you and your community. Learn our three tips at the link in the comments!

We love serviceberries! They are one of the orchard plants we recommend, and we plant lots of them in community and school orchards in the region. The varieties we plant are Success and Regent. 💚

Serviceberries grow wild across much of the Midwest, but many people have never tasted them.

Also known as juneberries, the native plant grows throughout North America and goes by a lot of different names, including shadberry and saskatoon. They’re adapted to the Midwest’s extreme weather and local wildlife love them — but the berries aren’t just for the birds.

People all over the region forage and eat them. And in some ways, the berries are having a moment.

Last year, botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer released her latest book, The Serviceberry, which sparked new interest in the native fruit.

And there’s also a growing push to get these berries onto farms.

Farmers, foragers and food makers are now working to introduce more consumers to the native fruit and build a market for it in the U.S.

From Harvest Public Media: https://www.stlpr.org/2026-06-22/missouri-juneberries-native-fruit

🍐 🌳 Many gardeners prune plants when they go dormant, but summer is just as important for pruning and training apple and pear trees, grapes, kiwis, blackberries, and raspberries. We'll be going over all of the important information at our class this Thursday, June 25th, at 4:00 pm at the Bridgeton Trails library branch.

Learn more, and sign up, at the link in the comments!