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Welcome to Gardeners Off World! The big news for Seed Guardians of the Galaxy this week is that the apple pips Tim Peake took to space during his Principia mission to the International Space Station (ISS) have been nurtured into saplings that have just been assigned their forever homes.

Four years ago, when Tim Peake blasted off on his space mission, he took with him seeds from Isaac Newton’s famous apple tree, the ‘Flower of Kent’ tree growing at Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire.

After spending six months in space with Tim, the seeds returned to Earth. At Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, they spent 90 days at 5°C to simulate the winter cold needed to break dormancy. In May 2017, gardeners warmed the seeds to 15°C, and they germinated.

“These trees are truly unique. They come from the iconic apple tree that inspired Sir Isaac Newton to ponder the forces of gravitation and continues to inspire to this day. Now, thanks to the careful nurturing at Kew, the apple pips that flew with me into space have grown into fine young trees which I hope will continue to inspire potential Isaac Newtons.”

A competition to find homes for these unique saplings selected eight locations:

I’m looking forward to being able to say hello to a space tree in a future visit to the Eden Project.

Speaking of apples, Atlas Obscura has an article about photographer William Mullan, who is documenting unusual apples from around the world. It describes an apple variety that has “been to the Moon”:

“Another tiny green specimen Mullan shows me is christened “Bean,” after the astronaut Alan Bean, who took its seeds around the moon. Mullan has a soft spot for Bean, especially since the USDA website describes it as small, [acidic], and “worthless.””

But has it, really?