Breadth Thrusts & Bread Crusts: Letting Profits (Cantaloupes) Run

JC Parets
August 11, 2022

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

I don’t want to count my melons before they are ripe, but letting profits run in the garden looks like it’s going to pay off this year. 

Sorry for the mixed metaphors. This is what I’m talking about… 

I spotted a volunteer melon plant coming up next to the garage earlier this summer. In gardenspeak, a “volunteer” is something that comes up on its own, not because of a seed that was intentionally planted. It’s not in the best spot and I could have pulled it out right away. 

But I didn’t. I let it grow for a little while. Then a little while longer. Now I have an awkwardly-situated cantaloupe plant that covers 30 square feet. 

So why did I leave it?  

Curiosity, first and foremost. The plant came up on its own and I wanted to see what it would do. A couple small fruits started to form. As I’ve given those time to ripen, I spotted more fruit developing. The latest count is about a dozen melons that are now between the size of a softball and a volleyball. I like what I saw!

I’m letting it run – but I’m not ignoring it. I’m trying to keep the vines out of the things that I planted. I’m pruning up some of the extra vines to keep the energy going toward fruit production. 

For me, it’s similar to the market. It’s not always the opportunities you were expecting that do best. Sometimes, the surprises that are given a chance to flourish provide the biggest yields in our portfolios. Keeping an open mind about opportunities as they present themselves and not being captive to narratives about what should or should not be happening puts us on the path to success – in the market and in the garden.

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