Remember the butternut squash seeds I posted a picture of last month, which we'd not got round to planting and which went mouldy (as in the first picture above)? Well, my wife decided to just "chuck them into some soil to see what will happen". The photos show exactly what did happen, in the space of three or four weeks - those seeds that had "gone off", started to sprout then discarded their old, brown-looking casings as new, yellowy-green seedlings emerged. These grew and grew until the pot was clearly not big enough for them any more.
It was around this time that my friend who'd previously told us to just plant things as "the seed wants to grow" visited and advised us to separate out the seedlings and get them into soil so they would have more space to grow.
And the result? We have a couple of dozen seedlings planted - and flourishing - in the temporary bed we set up outside; each one of these capable of producing a butternut squash. Who'd have thought it from looking at the first picture of the seeds that were going to be thrown out?
The seeds definitely wanted to grow!
What's the lesson from this for me? Firstly, to expect the unexpected - appearances can be deceiving and it's not always the things (or people) that are in the limelight and getting the most attention that grow the most and the fastest. Secondly, that my friend was absolutely right and the seed really does want to grow, and thirdly, how daft it is that we buy fruit and vegetables, throw the seeds in the bin - which end up going into landfill - and then go out and buy more fruit and vegetables...really?
I believe our ideas are like seeds. We can sometimes be so quick to discard them, especially if they look like they've died or if we've left it too late; can you relate in any way? Are there things that you've decided are destined for the bin, when it might just be worth giving them a bit more time and space to grow? What are they?
Thanks to those of you who share your thoughts on these posts; it's really encouraging and helpful to get other people's perspectives. Do feel free to share, question, agree or disagree as always...and until next time, let's keep learning...
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