Butternut Squash: The Force is Strong with This One
Nature wants to thrive and, if you're paying attention, you can be rewarded by lending a helping hand.
These poor sprouts were yellow from lack of sun. I dug around to find a few that hadn't yet split open yet so I could give them a fighting chance.While I was preparing supper, I chopped into a butternut squash and discovered that the seeds had begun to sprout! This particular squash wanted to survive so I figured, why not plant these seeds? Worst case scenario, I spend a little time and the seeds don't sprout. Best case scenario, I am rewarded with more delicious butternut squash.
These little seeds were so ambitious they actually took root inside the squash flesh!When we finally got around to repotting our tomatoes and nasturtiums, I grabbed a throw-away 6-pack, tossed in some soil and sunk two seeds into each cell. Truthfully, I didn't really expect anything to come of the plantings but figured it was worth a shot anyway.
One hot May afternoon, I headed outside to water the plants. I was running on auto-pilot, hustling through my chores when I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. The squash had sprouted and were donning thick green leaves already.
Not only that, I had planted two seeds per cell to increase my odds and all but one had two successful sprouts. This little squash was bound and determined to continue propagating!
Flashback: When I was in grade one we were given a foam cup filled with soil and a bean. We each got to write our names on the cup and push the bean into the soil with our tiny fingers and cover the hole up with soil. Each day we would eagerly run to the window sill to check on our magic beans.
One by one they began to emerge from the soil, except mine! That bean never did grow and my teacher looked at me and said, "I guess you just don't have a green thumb" and left it at that. I was heartbroken and thought I would never have an affinity for growing.
Another year, we were given a small pine tree for Earth Day. I brought it home and planted it in one of my moms empty pots. I kept forgetting to water the little sapling and eventually it dried up. I was disheartened at this failure but chalked it up to my not-so-green thumb and moved on.
Naturally, when I saw that these tiny squash plants had pushed up through the soil and were growing beautifully I was ecstatic. But where in the world was I going to plant them? We were already managing potted tomatoes and nasturtiums in my parents small backyard. Squash love to spread out and I just didn't have the room for this little success story.
Thankfully, Matt's mom was willing to adopt them. She had been clearing gravel from around a dead tree in her yard and was looking to repurpose the garden bed. Being garden savvy, she managed to scoop up some free wood chips for mulch and she planted them up!
When we had stopped in for a visit in early July we were able to see that the butternut squash were growing strong. They had found a happy home and lots of space to spread out and flourish. While they continue to grow, I will be dreaming up the delicious meals I will be preparing with the fruit of that labour!
Have you ever had happy surprise additions to your garden? If so, please share in the comments below.
All photos and illustrations in this post are original work by Mrs. Canadian Renegade.
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but that's how they would grow successfully in the wild, right? Probably with some help from an animal of some sort?
I imagine their seeds could spread a few different ways in the wild like being cracked open as food by an animal, or if the fruit rotted allowing the shell to become soft enough for the roots and stalk to penetrate the shell to find soil and sunlight. Winter squash has such a hard shell, I couldn't imagine the roots being able to push through in the state the squash was at the time. The seedlings that has emerged were also yellow so I imagine they'd used up the energy of the seed and were searching for sunlight and soil nutrients. Either way, I found the discovery of a plants survival mechanisms fascinating! Thanks for stopping by. -Aimee
Right on :) it looks like it was a fun post to make. That first photo is so awesome. Full of life and energy.
Thanks! It was a fun one. 😊-Aimee
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that is really nice one, within 4 months you will have more squash I think, @canadianrenegade, we had different kind of it here, I love to make cake and cook it for soup.
Yes, squash are very versatile. The ones that we planted (butternut) are very sweet and smooth textured.
I never had the sweet one, is that eaten fresh or need to cook?
We cook it.
the one we have here is like this
I may have seen those but definitely never tasted one.
wow, very interesting.
Thanks! Do you also garden? -Aimee
Planting success! It's nice your mil could adopt and nurture the plants. It will be awesome when you can share a meal of squash grown from these seeds! And, then save those seeds and maybe pass some along to gardening Steemit friends. (@yogajill bats eyelashes!) Haha Good for you Aimee, for having the perseverance to keep growing after unsuccessful attempts as a youngone🌱 i guess a lesson all growers learn at one time or another. #foodisfree
Yes, I am so glad she adopted them too! I like the idea of sharing the harvest too. Breaking fruit together, if you will. Ha ha! I don't know that I would have tried my hand at growing food, let alone from seed, if it hadn't been for Matthews encouragement. I am definitely thankful for him. Thanks for stopping by. -Aimee