Watermelon Fantasies

At age 49, last week I shared the first watermelon that was grown by the property I tend. At ages 7 and 10, my kids, happily chomping away on our 5kg Sugar Baby, think this is funny.

It's true, I've had a Watermelon Fantasy fulfilled.

How could it have taken me so long?

It's not for trying. I have seasons of melons, peppers, eggplants, and even tomato and basil disasters. Part of it has been that I developed a passion for growing in Queenstown, land of frost in any month, thank you. Part of it is that, even though I'm in Northland now, I'm not the complete best at watering, feeding, and weeding plants once we hit oh, about Christmas.

The difference this year? We planted them in our front yard, literally 2 metres away from our doorstep. They got watered, weeded, sprayed, fed, and twice a week splatterings of whey from the cheese-making. They got kid attention, with hands cupped around each pea-sized bit of fruit, with a loving, 'Grow little watermelon, grow.'

I've had several people contact me to say, 'I tried, but it didn't work out with the seeds you sent.' To which I reply, 'I understand.' And honestly, I do.

I'm living testimony to how robust nature is to put up with me and still produce food. So, I'm going to give a nature-learned lesson. The reason a lettuce plant produces a zillion seeds is because it knows that many of them are just not going to make it.

Can you imagine how many watermelons would grow from the seeds produced by a single watermelon? Outrageous. Nature knows. Make heaps of opportunity, and something good will come of it.

So, if you have even the tiniest twinge of guilt about how that garden of yours turned out or didn't turn out at all. You can let that go now. Shake it off, take a deep breath, and plant more seeds. Keep planting, and learning, and making the effort.

Nature is designed for you to be successful. You just have to show up.

With love, Watermelon, Bex

Ps. I'm at the Natural Products NZ Summit in Rotorua beginning this evening and over the following two days. It's a chance to get together with successful business and thought leaders in a growing industry. The reason it's growing? It's because of your growing awareness of quality. Your willingness to ask a few questions about products. To seek the best options for your family. For that, on behalf of NPNZ, I say thank you. You make it possible to be thigh high pesto producing Basil plants. You grow us.