Our Little Plants

Our newspaper plant starters

It feels like weeks ago since we started Spring Term, but it was just Monday.  Professors Ryle and Johnson had us plant seeds in this first class.  It seems only fitting that we started the course about food by growing a plant. We made the plant starters out of newspaper.  Newspaper is biodegradable so you can stick the whole combo of pot and plant into the ground when they’re ready to be planted.  Professor Johnson brought this little device to make the starters; it looked like a shallow mortar and a chunky pestle.  You wrap the newspaper around the pestle and push down the mortar to form a perfect newspaper cup.  From the beginning of the planting process, our personalities and preferences were apparent.  We went around the circle, individually making one.  Each person was carefully or carelessly tearing the newspaper and wrapping it around then pushing to create the planter.  You could see the confidence gained after the student made the first starter.  We’re all upperclassmen but it’s funny how insecure we still can be in class.  What would the professors do?  Fail us because we sucked at plant starters?  We had ten students there so I quickly grew restless and began to fashion my own.  I fiddled around with it and made something that would at least hold until my little plants outgrew this home.   I finished mine while everyone else was still waiting for the mortar and pestle.  So, I made some for Raelyn.  I knew my other best friend in the class, Morgan, wouldn’t use my imperfect starters because they wouldn’t match her flawless first one.  We’re just like our mothers. 

Plant starters

For planting, the professors brought a variety of seeds, mostly herbs and a few vegetables.  I chose the sweet basil, cilantro, parsley and tomatoes.  Some people in class already mentioned how they didn’t like tomatoes so I’m sure they skipped out on them.  My friends and I wrote the plant names on the sides so we knew what they all were.  We’re obsessive like that.  Soon enough, we set our little plant pods into an aluminum bread pan and were ready to roll.  It’s been five days since they were planted.  The newspaper is looking crusty.  Morgan and Raelyn have cucumbers sprouting since yesterday.  The basil just popped its tiny head up this morning.  We’ll just have to wait and see how they do.