The miracle that is seeds!

Written by Antonia Pickup

I studied biology at university many years (22!) ago, and as a young scientist, with the arrogance of youth, I was convinced that everything in the universe could be adequately explained by science, and that any magic or mystery in the world was just a scientific problem waiting to be solved.

I had a genetics professor, an older man nearing retirement, who told us at the end of a particularly fascinating lecture about some amazing genetic concept that I’ve long since forgotten, that the unbelievable complexity of genetics was what made him become a religious man. He explained that the more he’d learnt and understood during his career, the more he believed it all to be so miraculous that it had to be the work of some higher being.

As a 20-year-old who understood more about everything than I could possibly hope to understand now, I remember rolling my eyes at this idea, and thinking the “old man” had probably gone a bit senile. But his comment has stuck with me over the years, and despite my utter belief in the power of “science” to explain everything within the universe, there was a small part of me that felt comforted by this idea that someone who knew so much was convinced of the possibility of some greater power than us.

Over the years his words stuck with me, and in particular every spring I’m reminded of them when, a few days after I plant my first seeds, tiny plants start to emerge from the soil. The lifecycle of a plant from seed to right through to compost is a miraculous journey, and nothing is more staggering to me than the fact that a dried-up little seed somehow contains all the knowledge necessary to create a whole new plant.

Having read the utterly beautiful “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer this winter (highly recommended), this year I have really come to appreciate how this growing journey, which I undertake each year, is a three-way relationship between me, the plant and the pollinators; we all have a job to do, and we all get our rewards.

My job is to plant the seeds (lets talk squash seeds here) in good fertile compost and to give them the warmth and the water they need to germinate (squash are summer lovers and wont’ germinate unless they’re toasty warm). Once big enough, I pot on the plant, giving it lots of rich organic matter to make sure it’s never hungry, and then each day I check on it, giving it water to drink, checking it’s happy, checking for pests and diseases. The reward I get for my work is the delicious fruit, which nourish me physically and mentally (mentally because honestly, in the growing and the eating they give me so much joy!).

The plant’s job is to grow, to do it’s thing, to develop flowers, and then make good, big, healthy fruit. The reward it gets for doing its job is the care I give it; the food, the water, the protection, the love, and all this gives it the best possible chance to pass on it’s genes for another generation.

The insect’s job is to pollinate the flowers, to go from one to another, passing pollen from the male to the female flowers. And the reward for this work is the nectar it gets to feed on.

Thinking about this reciprocal relationship gives me great comfort. It reminds me how I fit into the world. I’m needed, I can have a positive impact, I can be of benefit.

So seeds are miracles, and so is the interwoven web of life in this incredible universe, which has this type of reciprocity at its core. We are all needed, we can all step into our roles as guardians and carers, in ways big and small, all with real impact.

For me, being part of Community Roots is a wonderful way to play a positive role in our community and our wider world. I get to help care for the land, I get to plant things which will benefit insects and birds, I get to farm in a way that cares for the soil, and all the life that calls it home, I get to help feed my local community with good, healthy vegetables grown with love, and I get to help create a space where we can all come together to learn about and actively and positively participate in this incredible web of life that mother nature provides. And in return, I get to eat beautiful food, make amazing friends, and feel like one of the luckiest people in the world!

Having spouted all that, I’m off to eat veggie stew made with one of the squash that germinated this time last year!