My Square Watermelon

Part of my square watermelon heritage is the nutty idea of growing a coconut palm tree indoors.

On a school break one summer I was at home in the Caribbean and a neighbor made me a friendly challenge to grow a coconut palm from seed.  He even gave me the dried coconut from his backyard tree.  Yes, it was hard as a rock and it was even humorous when he made the challenge – to turn this “rock” into a living, growing plant.

Back in Montreal I soaked it in water overnight, bought a large plant container, and positioned it in the container as it would on the ground in its natural environment.  I believe it took quite some time to show slits in the shell close to the “eyes.”  That’s when I knew then that it was still alive!  I was excited.

In the islands seeing young coconut plants is not earth-shattering news.  Dried, mature nuts fall from trees and fortunate ones land in damp, aerated spots that are suitable for growing.  To plant one indoors might raise a few eye brows of friends and neighbors, making them wonder if you still have it all together mentally, just because no one will even think of growing a coconut palm indoors.

But in Montreal, it’s strangely attractive, at least out of the ordinary.  A coconut palm tree in Canada, and… in an apartment!
 
Over a couple of years, the plant grew to the ceiling and started spreading out because it could not go any further.  Perhaps visiting friends thought I was a bit nuts (not pun intended). 

Oh, about my apartment… I was on the ninth floor facing south east.  It has a continuous glass window along the entire length of the pad.  That meant I got the morning sun and for long periods of time.  Just about anything grew there!

On first entering my apartment, a visitor would be stunned by the size of the coconut plant then they would complement me on how beautiful the bird of paradise plant and flower was. 

Spider plants grew like crazy, making it necessary for me to continuously ask friends (in fact, anyone) if they wanted “spider babies.” 

Those were the good days in the beautiful city of Montreal!  In the late eighties I moved to Vancouver, B.C.  It was a different environment, allowing for growing almost all year round outdoors, because of the milder temperatures.  That’s where I’ll pick up in my next post.  It’s about the fascination with bamboo… yes, bamboo in Canada.

’til then…

Maurice | Grow Your Own Square Watermelon

Here is a little clip about an island boy coming to a big Canadian city and getting facinated with indoor gardening. 

Last day I began talking about the root of my square watermelon story.  How to grow square watermelons was not invented until decades later, but many events happened that I believe is all part of my curiosity about how things can be done a little differently to make it more fun and entertaining.

When I came to Montreal to study, the planting and nurturing instincts were still very much part of me.  I learned indoor planting and was introduced to new types of plants and fruits. 

I am not quite sure about others, but planting out-doors is very different than growing things in-doors,  With indoor gardens or plants you must take into consideration lighting, position of the room to maximize sunlight, dryness in the atmosphere, etc.

What was certain is that I was fascinated by the wide varieties of plants and flowers (although I’m not very much into flower gardening).  I experimented with many – spider plants, philodendrons, jade plants, bird of paradise, sensitive plants (a weed in the tropics but a wonder in colder climes), etc.

My interests in planting went up a couple notches because I was fascinated by the growing of new wonder plants.  As a student, I had a lot of tough text books to read for school (my major was math and science) but having access to gardening and plant books lightened reading and made it enjoyable.

Of course, reading about indoor gardens, new techniques, different plants (even trees), is enough to stir the creative and imaginative juices.  Even the thought that I could grow a coconut palm tree in an apartment was possible.  That’s the topic of my next post. 

’til then…

Maurice | Grow Your Own Square Watermelon

This is perhaps the genesis of my square watermelon story.  I did not get out of bed one fine morning and decided to grow a square watermelon.  Subconsciously (and consciously), I think doing things a little differently, looking for new paths, and developing creative solutions are part of my being – for the better or not so good.

I believe looking at life a little differently, in our case gardening, can bring more fun and entertainment to the home garden – whether indoors or outdoors.  Springtime always beckons us to planting and sowing, and too often we tend to get into the routine of planting the same set of vegetables or flowers as we did the last season or two or three seasons ago.

Children especially are fascinated by growing things – how plants grow from the soil, get bigger by the day and ultimately flower, bear seeds and produce fruits and vegetables that we can eat.  I know I did as a kid growing up in the Caribbean tropics. 

Too often, though, they were the same-old, same-old veggies that my mom wanted to plant.  They were pumpkins, tomatoes, Chinese bok choi, papaya, local peas, and the occasional sorel (which makes a cool, refreshing drink to battle the hot sun).  The actual tasks of gardening became too predictable and tended to lose its appeal, becoming chores instead of fun and interest.

It was a pleasant change when I moved Montreal to study and found out that there was a whole new world of plants and planting I could pursue and “experiment” with.  I would share some of my experiences in my next post.

’til then…

Maurice | Grow Your Own Square Watermelon

Welcome to My Square Watermelon!  At last… a site for the planting enthusiast who likes to do things a little differently!  This is about how a simple garden idea led me to growing my own square watermelon, and created a lot of garden fun and entertainment.

It all started a couple planting seasons ago in Toronto, Canada.  I planted watermelon and tomatoes (among few others) and had this bright idea to make them square – like the Japanese growers who now brought the square watermelon out of myth and into the supermarkets (links).

Now, Canada is not the ideal place to grow the sun-loving watermelon.  But after some exciting and challenging experiments I watched my square watermelon developed on the vine!  It was a lot of fun.

However, this was not the first time I planted things that were off-the-wall.  I grew (from a dried coconut) a coconut palm tree in a small apartment in Montreal in my student days that reached the ceiling and couldn’t go further.   I also grew jet black bamboo and bamboo that reached some thirty feet in Vancouver, B.C.   Bamboo in Canada?  Yes, in Vancouver.

Just doing things differently or looking for other ways to make things work intrigues me.  Blame it on my curiosity (or creativity?)  However, I know there are folks out there who are just as curious and experimenting.  I hope this site will make it possible to connect us.

’til then…

Maurice | Grow Your Own Square Watermelon