It’s time for the big reveal! About two months ago, I started collecting seeds from the vegetables I prepared. Keeping the healthier seeds, I laid them out to dry under the sun. Once they were dried, I could begin my little project – to grow my own vegetables.
One of my favorite seeds to collect – Capsicum seeds.
It fascinates me how one capsicum can have so many seeds where each seed has the potential to grow several capsicums. Nature never ceases to amaze me.
For those who don’t recognize these seeds, they’re extracted from butternut squash.
It’d be easy to mistake these as insects, but they’re watermelon seeds.
Our family occasionally buys our eggs in plastic cartons (which I’m not proud of), but we’ve definitely cut back on our purchases. And I’ve kept the cartons to reuse later. Now is the perfect time for that.
With three different kinds of seeds, I had a carton for each – Capsicum, Butternut Squash, and Watermelon.
Once I filled the egg cartons with dirt, I dug a small hole and dropped the various seeds inside. I tossed a pinch of capsicum seeds because I thought it’d be amusing to watch a bunch sprout.
Plants Timeline
2 weeks later after I planted the seeds…
- The butternut squash seeds grew unexpectedly fast (and strong).
- The watermelon seeds started pushing its way up to the surface.
- The capsicum seeds are still nowhere to be seen.
But one week later, everything started crawling out.
- The squash leaves were growing at such an alarming rate. Every single seed was growing.
- The watermelon plant was starting to grow new leaves.
- Not to forget, the capsicum seeds are starting to break through the surface.
Another two weeks later…
It was too big to fit in the carton anymore. I had to relocate the squash seedlings to a new pot.
I didn’t have enough pots so I decided to reuse the plastic cups from all the bubble tea I drank. But first, I had to drill some holes at the bottom to allow the excess water to flow out.
Plant Results
Here are the results so far!
I definitely threw in too many capsicum seeds, but it was fun to watch it grow.
Unfortunately, the watermelon seedlings failed to survive (though one is miraculously still alive even though it’s slanted).
I either overwatered them during the most humid days or left them in the sun for too long, and they dried out.
The squash seedlings are still growing strong. Hopefully, I’ll get some butternut squash in a year or less, if it can survive that long. For those interested in learning how to care for a butternut squash, here’s a plant guide to help!