A pumpkin vine is a fascinating thing. No, it doesn't audibly speak, but if you pay attention, it might offer a morsel of wisdom. This year I planted giant pumpkin seeds, in hopes of growing a GREAT pumpkin. Though that didn’t quite pan out, I did learn a few great things from this all-consuming life-force.
By far, the greatest lesson I learned was through the pumpkin vine’s ability to adapt through rooting. Though it has its main root system at its base, as the plant grows and vines out, it will re-root itself (with those curly little arms it has). In doing so, the pumpkin vine is able to receive more nutrients, and in turn becomes healthier. This fact came in handy when I found that my vine had some sort of pest / disease killing it from the main root system and slowly working its way up the vine. When I realized that I had to do something in order to save whatever semblance of pumpkins I had remaining on the vine, I made the decision to cut the vine at its healthiest point in hopes that the additional roots it had planted were sufficient to maintain life.
Not only were they sufficient, but the vine was healthier than it had been for months. The leaves were giant and dark green – no discoloration or wilting. New blossoms exploded like firecrackers, thus giving way to baby pumpkins. New fruit on a healthy, new(ish) vine.
Listen. Can you hear the faint whispers of wisdom?
· In life you will find rotting, diseased influences. They have the ability to burrow into your soul and destroy you from the inside out. If you can’t shake their effects, it is best to cut them off, move on. You’ll be healthier for it.
· As you grow and move forward, dig in your heels. Embrace your new environment, your new circumstance, your new life. In doing so, you grow and deepen your roots and maintain your health. You become fruitful. You become more beautiful.
· Adaptation is the essence of life. The alternative is an entire wilted vine of a life; bitter, destroyed, decayed. The essence of death.
Who says plants can’t ‘talk’?
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