099 What We Inherit
Hey Turmeric, the turmeric we grow never makes seed. Every plant grows from a piece of root of the one before.
What have we inherited that we keep growing?
What have you inherited that you keep growing?
At planting time, a farmer cuts a turmeric root into pieces and places them in the soil.
Months later, each piece has become a new plant.
What really happens
Cultivated turmeric almost never makes viable seed.
Farmers grow each new plant from a piece of the root of an older one. So the turmeric in our kitchens has come down, piece by piece, from plants grown long ago.
How we know: Turmeric's propagation by rhizome is described by India's Indian Institute of Spices Research.
The turn
Some things cannot be started from scratch. They can only be passed on: language, recipes, values, skills.
Each generation plants a piece of what it received.
Three takeaways
- Some gifts can only be inherited.
- Keep growing what you were given.
- Pass on a piece to the next generation.
Plant a piece of what you were given.
What from your fathers' heritage is lent, / Earn it anew, to really possess it!