Mystery Plants

     Several years ago we created a spot for a compost pile in a back corner of our yard. The area is wooded and hidden from view. We place fruit and vegetable scraps along with our raked leaves and grass clippings in this area. As it decomposes, it creates a rich mulch that we add to the garden every spring. Occasionally, we have had some "surprise" plants begin to grow, either in the garden or right from the compost pile itself. One year we put our jack-o-lantern into the compost pile at the end of the Halloween season and the following year a pumpkin vine grew in the area, yielding some fall decorations for us. Well, this year we had 2 mystery plants that started to grow early in the gardening season. One vine started to grow in our garden and another one from the compost pile. Dave moved the one from the compost pile to a sunnier area of the yard. We let the one in the garden grow in the spot it had chosen on its own. As the season progressed, the family took guesses as to what each plant might be. Here are photos of the two pants. Photo one is what grew in our garden and photo two is the plant we transplanted from the compost pile.

Any guesses as to what either one is? Ready for the big reveal?

Here is what plant number one produced in our garden....

The cutest little gourd. It will be perfect to use with our autumn decorating.

And now for the reveal of what plant number two produced...

     

  A small honeydew melon. Unfortunately the fruit never fully ripened before the plant died, but it was still fun to wait and see what the mystery plant produced. So while the main advantage of our compost pile is to produce some nutrient rich material for our vegetable garden, it also has the added benefit of yielding some surprise plants each year.