A Letter from Chris Suarez
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER?
Today we are going back to 5th grade science class.
Because it’s that time of year again. Soil is being tilled. Seeds are going into the ground. Buds are breaking. Garden centers are buzzing with the urban farmers. Raised beds are being filled and pots are being planted. (I said pots, not pot).
I live in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a region rich and well known for its fruit, vegetables, and plant life. If you ask me to grow most any berry, apples, pears, cherries, plums, hazelnuts - no problem. If you hand me seeds to grow carrots, or lettuce, or beets, or artichoke, or potatoes? No problem. I can plant them directly into the ground.
But hand me an avocado seed or a pineapple seed and ask me to grow it on our farm and my immediate response would be “That’s Impossible!” Why?
Well our soil isn’t right. Our temperature isn’t right. Our precipitation isn’t right. The conditions for that fruit aren’t found in Oregon. All of those details contribute to the fact that we would be placing that seed into the wrong environment.
Soil is a major source of nutrients needed by plants. Plants actually require seventeen essential elements in order to grow. Every plant is a bit different and does better with different levels and combinations of these elements:
carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulfur (S), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), boron (B), chlorine (Cl), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn).
This seems like it just took a turn for the complex. But farmers and horticulturists alike are masters at cultivating healthy soil in order to reap or harvest what they set out to grow.
Temperature influences many of the processes plants go through during their growth and development. In fact, the temperature is related to photosynthesis, transpiration, respiration, germination, and ultimately flowering into fruit. Some crops need specific temperature differentials between night and day in order to grow and produce. Clearly the amount of sunlight we receive, our location, and even our elevations will affect the natural growth cycles.
Precipitation in the appropriate amount is critical. Rainfall not only brings needed water to the plants, it actually frees the nutrients in the soil and forms a film around soil particles, allowing the roots to absorb those nutrients in a process called diffusion. Water makes up 80–95% of some plant tissue, while others such as peas and kale need very little water, and in fact will die if exposed to too much.
Certainly I didn’t sit down to write a lesson on farming. And certainly you didn’t start reading to get advice on your garden beds. So where’s the lesson?
Well growing anything takes cultivation. Whether it’s growing plants or growing our skill set, our careers, our wealth, our emotional intelligence, or even our minds.
The word cultivate actually comes from the Medieval Latin word, cultivatus, meaning to till, to toil over, to care for, and to worship. Today it means:
1. to prepare and work on
2. to promote or improve the growth of by labor and attention
3. to develop or improve by education or training; train; refine
4. to promote the growth or development of; foster
You see, too often I sit down with someone that assures me they want to grow. They assure me they are ready to take it to the next level. They assure me they are willing to do what it takes. They assure me that it’s important to them. They assure me they are committed.
But cultivating anything for the purpose of growth is hard work. And too often, a week in, a month in, a year in, we’ve stopped watering…we’ve stopped weeding…we’ve let it get too cold. We’ve stopped showing up and working on the environment that we originally planted the seed in.
Here is the good news: ANYONE can cultivate ANYTHING.
Think back to that avocado. Sure, that may be impossible to grow by just sticking in the ground out back behind my house. But I can cultivate the right soil. I can adjust the temperature and humidity in a controlled environment like a greenhouse. I can easily control the precipitation by tracking the water the plant receives.
I need only be clear about what seed I planted, and what that seed needs in order to grow.
The same is true for us. If we are clear as to where we need to grow or would like to grow, then we just need to be willing to plant that seed and cultivate the right soil, temperature, and precipitation.
How about if we wanted to cultivate greater patience, greater self control, greater joy? Greater time management. Simply begin to cultivate the right environment to be able to grow that specific quality.
We need to start by understanding the seed we wish to plant and the fruit we wish to harvest. Then just show up, brush up on your 5th grade science textbooks, and work the farm.
Test and cultivate your soil.
Monitor and adjust your temperature.
Track and control your precipitation.
Chris
