While writing helps you learn about yourself, reading can help you learn about everything else. That makes you better prepared to take part in all the world has to offer. When you have a new opportunity, for instance, if you already know some things about the topic, you can decide more easily if you want to try it.
Suppose one of your friends shows up with a bag of watermelon seeds he’s been collecting all month and suggests that you plant the seeds together. Then, your friend explains, you can sell the fruit and split the profits. It will take hard work, and maybe some of your allowance money, to keep the plants alive and healthy until harvest, but it might be worth it in the end.
Read this paragraph about seed saving, from a longer article you’ll see later in this course. What information in the paragraph might help you decide what to tell your friend?
Saving seeds to plant is a bit more complicated than buying seeds at a hardware store or garden center. First, the seeds must be allowed to dry completely. Since most fruits and vegetables are juicy when ripe, this step is important to keep the seeds from rotting. Next, any seed that is headed for the garden must go through a process called stratification: the seed is exposed to a cool, moist environment. Out in the wild, winter weather often provides the ideal conditions for this step. However, people can help the process along by placing seeds in a refrigerator for several months. Once seeds have been stratified, they are ready to be planted. When the ground warms up and there is no danger of frost, seeds saved from the previous year can start the amazing journey from garden to good eating once again.
Question
If you had a chance to read this paragraph before answering your friend, what information should make you hesitate before agreeing to his plan? Think about your answer, and then click the button below.
If you had read an article on seed saving before your friend showed up with his watermelon seeds, you could explain to him that growing crops from saved seeds is often more difficult than it seems. Reading is a perfect way to prepare for situations that require you to make educated choices. The older you get, the more of those situations you’ll encounter.
