21 May 2020

compost surprise!

Today main task was emptying my worm bin, to mix the vermicompost with ashes for the lawn and move the worms into new fresh bedding. I've neglected them somewhat of late. The bin got too dry, I forgot to feed them for a while, then poured and mixed some water in but it was too much. Left the lid off for a while but the bottom was still very dense and too wet. Mistakes. Anyway, it's all freshened up now. Enough of the worms are still alive, though many feel tacky, are yellowish and act listless (like they always do when it's waaay time to refresh the bin).
But here's the surprise. A sprout, deep in the lower half of the bin. I pulled on it and it was far thicker and tougher than anything yet sprouted in there (lots of seeds often sprout). It's a mango!!
Several times before I tried to sprout a mango from the pit of one we ate, and it didn't work. Just molded. Well this one did so all by itself. And then I found another!
split the husk off them, because I thought it would just rot in a pot, and good thing too as I found a few worms inside each one. Returned them to the new bin.
Planted each sprouted mango seed. I was nearly out of potting soil though, so without regrets upended some other pots. A dead sweet potato vine and three small jade plants went into the compost. A small pot of recently-rooted zebrina and another of pothos got pulled and tucked into older pots of the same plant. Here's my planted mangoes!
Don't look like much yet but I'm excited and hope to get a cool houseplants out of them.