A netizen casually threw melon seeds into an old flowerpot on the balcony after eating melon in the summer. She didn’t think much of it, but a few months later, the pot was covered with vines and bore one melon after another. The netizen exclaimed, “If I had known, I would have planted more back then. Now I can't finish them all and have to give some to my neighbors!”
At first, the netizen didn't take it seriously. She said eating melon in the summer was refreshing, but spitting out the seeds was a hassle. Since there was an empty flowerpot on the balcony with some leftover soil from previous plants, she casually tossed the seeds in without even turning the soil, and just watered it when she remembered. Then, she forgot about it entirely.
About ten days later, she happened to notice several small green shoots sprouting from the pot, with round leaves that looked very lively. After thinking for a while, she realized that the melon seeds she had thrown in earlier had sprouted. At that point, she didn’t have high hopes and thought, “It’ll probably just grow some leaves, but will it really bear fruit?” She continued to care for it casually, watering it when she remembered, and relying on the weather when she didn’t.
To her surprise, the little plants grew wildly! Within a month, the vines started creeping out of the pot, with thin tendrils growing. Fearing it might get out of hand, the netizen inserted a bamboo stick into the pot. To her surprise, the vines began winding around the bamboo and soon covered half of the balcony. Even more exciting, after a while, small yellow flowers appeared on the vines, emitting a faint fragrance. It was then that the netizen started paying more attention, visiting the balcony every day, and even watering the flowers with diluted rice water, thinking, “Even if it doesn’t bear fruit, it’s nice to see the flowers.”
About another month later, after the flowers fell off, the netizen noticed tiny melons starting to form! At first, they were only the size of a fingernail, green in color. Worried that they might not survive, she went online to research. She learned that after melons start forming, the vines need support so the melons have somewhere to hang, or the branches might break. She quickly used some string to secure the vines and occasionally sprayed water on the leaves.
To her surprise, the melons grew quickly! Within days, they reached the size of a fist, and the color slowly changed from green to pale yellow, with a firm texture. When the skin turned completely yellow and gave off a sweet fragrance, she picked one and tasted it—it was even sweeter than the ones bought at the store! The flesh was soft, sticky, and juicy, much better than the varieties sold in supermarkets.
Now, there are over a dozen ripe melons hanging in her balcony flowerpot, with a few still growing. The netizen says, “Every day after work, I pick one to eat. It’s fresh and sweet, and for the ones I can’t finish, I pack them up and give them to my neighbors. They all think it’s amazing. Who would have thought that the seeds I casually tossed in would bear so much fruit!”
This has made me tempted too. Next time I eat melon, I won’t just toss the seeds around. Who knows, maybe my balcony can have its own "melon freedom" too!
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