Oh My Gourd!

Last summer, Zac and I thought that it would be nice to build a little compost area in our backyard. Now that we were no longer living in an apartment and had plenty of space outside, we could make it happen.

Zac removed the railroad ties that lined the length of the back fence and used them to construct a good sized compost bin. He filled it up with dirt that had been dug out of another part of our backyard (more details on that later), and we began to use our new compost pile regularly.

The majority of things that found their way to the compost pile included peelings from cucumbers, potatoes, bananas, zucchini, squash, oranges, etc. We also threw in grass trimmings, strawberry stems, watermelon rinds and our carved pumpkins after Halloween was over.  All in all our compost pile was working out just as we'd hoped. The railroad ties fit together nicely so we didn't have to worry about leakage of dirt through the walls of the bin. Plus Zac had constructed it along the fence furthest from the patio door which prevented us from being pestered by flies who found the compost pile to be their new hot spot.

A few months ago Zac and I started to notice a little plant growing in the middle of our compost pile. We had no idea what it was but we were curious to find out. Although we still used the compost pile for its original purpose, Zac also began to start watering the little plant that had sprouted up. As if it had grown overnight, our little plant had taken over the compost space and now it looks like this:

We were amazed at how big the plant had gotten in such a short amount of time. The leaves that are growing suggest that the plant is in the squash family. Zac and I started to think back on all of the things that we had thrown away in the compost pile that could have resulted in such a big plant. The very first thing that came to mind were the pumpkins that were tossed in at the beginning of November. Not only had we thrown in whole pumpkins but when we were carving them we disposed of their inner plant parts and threw those in the compost pile as well. Other thoughts on the potential result of this plant included squash, zucchini, and watermelon.

After the leaves filled in the entire bin the flowers started to bloom. Big, beautiful, yellow flowers started sprouting up all over the compost pile.

We also noticed a little fruit or veggie starting to grow. The first time we saw it, it was as small and green as a ripe lime.

Now it has grown to the size of a football. It seems to be the only one of its kind. Out of all the blooms on this plant this has been the only thing that has started to grow. From the coloring and shape our best bet is that we have a watermelon plant on our hands. No complaints from us there! We LOVE watermelon.

Perhaps soon we'll know for sure what this is.....we'll keep you updated.