Cool weather causes Rosewood harvest to lag, but gardeners optimistic

SEATTLE – An unusually cool and cloudy spring and summer have stunted fruit and vegetable production in Rosewood, halving the year-to-date harvest versus this time in 2021.

This year’s spring weather in the Puget Sound area has set records for rainfall and low temperature. Tellus Horticultural Cooperative workers who tend Rosewood’s gardens observed that insufficient sun led to sluggish plant growth and late fruiting compared to previous years.

Official harvest tallies have reflected this delay. By 9 July 2021, workers had hauled in nearly 8.3 kilograms of produce. By the same date this year, half that amount has been recorded – about 4.2 kilograms.

Despite weather-related setbacks, the Economy Ministry and the Duchess of Bellevue, who oversees horticulture in Rosewood, have expressed optimism that 2022’s harvest will catch up to those of past years. As measured since the date of each crop’s first harvest, pea and raspberry yield is comparable to past growing seasons, while strawberry production has increased.

Raspberries being weighed in Rosewood after picking on 6 July 2022

Other fruits and vegetables growing in Rosewood this season include zucchinis, cucumbers, blueberries, and several varieties of tomato. Various herbs are also planted. Rosewood, Überstadt’s current capital, is the country’s agricultural center and plays a leading role in the Tellus cooperative active in both Überstadt and Sandus.

Tomatoes and various herbs growing in raised beds in Rosewood’s Tellus gardens

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Citizens organize Protestant Church in Überstadt; Countess McAleer first leader

SEATTLE – On 5 June, a group of Überstadti citizens founded the Protestant Church in Überstadt, the first formal religious association in the country’s history. The church’s founders include the King and his fiancée Laurel, Countess McAleer. The church elected Lady McAleer as warden, its executive leader.

As Überstadt is officially secular, the Protestant Church is not a state religion. The church was founded as a voluntary association of workers under Common Economy law, which regards cultural activity as a form of labor. The church describes itself as a cooperative “dedicated to Protestant Christian ministry and fellowship.” The summary of faith in its constitution draws from doctrinal agreements in the Anglican Communion, but its founding members’ backgrounds also include Calvinism and other Reformed traditions.

Warden McAleer, a Sacred Worth Fellow at Boston University School of Theology, has told the Chronicle she is “enthusiastic about the creation of a formal venue for Protestant Überstadtis to practice their faith in common.” She expressed hope for “engagement with people from other traditions who might wish to foster a spirit of interreligious dialogue.”

The Treasury Department, which keeps citizenship records and runs the census, estimates that Protestants are the largest religious group in Überstadt. Nearly a third of citizens affiliates with some Protestant denomination, and 23% of the population belongs to the Protestant Church. The next largest religious demographics are Latter-day Saints and those affiliated with no religion, each group about the same size as the nascent church. Buddhism, Catholicism, and Judaism are also represented.