Mom, Nature, Science, Dirt and Gardening

This is my mom. She was born in Western Kansas, and lived on a farm in the 30's. So, you could say, that being close to the land was in her blood. One of her favorite stories about her childhood, was how she would choose working in the garden with her dad, over cleaning in the house with her mom. She would follow her dad around, pulling weeds and asking questions. He would patiently explain about the wind, soil, planting practices, water, irrigation, and so much more. She soaked it all in, and cataloged it away in her memory. Years later she would use that knowledge to grow her own gardens, and then pass her knowledge on to her own children, grandchildren, friends and other family members. Her love for gardening would help her gain nick names like, "The Midnight Gardener" and "Mama Nature". 

So, she is where my story begins. If it weren't for her, then I probably wouldn't have ever been interested in Environmental Science. She not only showed me processes of the science in nature, but she also taught me to be curious and seek answers to all of my questions. One important thing that she also taught me, was that nature wastes nothing, and in everything there is a lesson. This is where we get into the thick of what this blog is about. 

The basic nature of plants, is that all species work towards survival. Meaning, all edible plants want to be edible so that their seeds are passed through, deposited and then grown again, thus carrying on the species. Even a plant's fruit that has rotted on the ground, can still deposit seeds that will grow and then bare more fruit.
This pumpkin for instance. It brought us much joy, and lasted until the first freeze. Then it withered and died. I placed it by the porch with hopes of growing more from it's seeds. With the help of a bit of science, the nature of the plant continues. I only used a few of the seeds, and look at the abundance.

This cantaloupe is the same. It is filled with seeds in the hopes that those seeds will be allowed to  produce more plants that grow more of the fruit.  Of course, I can never pass up an opportunity for a lesson and an experiment. I used cantaloupe as a science lesson for my students, a few years ago. They were happy that they got to eat the sweet fruity part of the plant, then we walked out to the school compost pile to deposit the rind, and finally we planted the seeds in the our classroom garden. 

If you are using this as a lesson for children, or even adults, make sure to explain that the seeds aren't the only part that gets planted. As you scoop out the seeds, you will notice that they are surrounded by a mucus type of membrane. All of this gets saved. The membrane will actually add nutrients to the soil, which in turn will help the seeds to grow.








                 

 Once I cleaned out the seeds, and cut off the fruit, I then deposited the sliced rind in my compost pit. I use a pit in the areas that I will be planting this season. After only a few weeks, the worms have worked their magic and the soil is rich in nutrients. I only allow discarded fruit and veggie parts, egg shells and fish guts in my pit/hole compost. My mom learned that from my granddaddy (her dad).
Want to know something gross and cool? Guess what makes up some of that rich, dark soil that everyone likes to plant with is? Worm poop. Yep, good old worm poop. Which means that dirt is being made all of the time.
Note: After compost pit is 3/4th of the way full, cover it back up with dirt and let the worms have a hay day with all the natural goodness you gave them.

As you can see, these seeds are my third planting so far this growing season. I do this because I want plants that are growing and producing in staggered succession. I learned after the first planting, that I have robins that watch me plant. They dug up and ate most of the first seeds I planted. I only have two plants that survived that first planting. So, the second time I planted, I cluster the seeds more. That way I knew that at least a few seeds would survive. With the third planting, I only planted a third of the seeds.

Once planted, the seeds need to be hand watered for at least a few weeks, if there is no rain. 

Once I have a good cluster of plants, and after they have grown their second set of leaves, I can transplant the seedlings. Since I was taught to follow the farmer's almanac, I always follow the cycles the go after the moon phases for planting and transplanting.

The rest of the seeds that I had left, I placed out for the squirrels and birds to eat. I have to tell you that my yard squirrel wasn't happy that I didn't give her, her walnut that day. She wound't touch the seeds even after I showed them to her. I held out and didn't give her the daily walnuts that day. But the next day, after she sat waiting patiently for the walnut, I placed her walnut near the seeds. She watched me with curiosity, then grabbed her walnut and run up the tree to eat it. About an hour later, I noticed her eating the seeds. I don't know if I have trained the squirrel, or if she has trained me.. LOL
Anyway, there you have it. No part of the cantaloupe ( or pumpkin) was wasted. I hope that I have inspired you to try this on your own, or with other family members.
This is something that you can do with other fruit and vegetable seeds as well. Isn't science fun? Well, I think it is, and it can end up being tasty too.
Enjoy your growing experiments!!