6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in

CLEVER CROP | Gourd
Oh my gourd
Here’s a way to perhaps
combine craft or interior
decorating with your gardening
Words Jennifer Stackhouse
Gourds are squash-like vegetables
but they’re not grown to be eaten.
Although you can eat them when
they’re small, as they grow and
mature, they become bitter. Rather than
being grown as an edible vegetable, the
long, hard fruit is grown to be used. Gourds
are fashioned into utensils such as bowls,
decorated or carved as ornaments, and even
turned into musical instruments such as
drums, maracas and rattles.
Gourds are native to Asia and Africa and
have been used as objects for more than
10,000 years. The gourd also spread to
America where it has been grown and used
for millennia.
Propagation and
growing
Gourds are started from seed planted during
spring and grown through summer and
autumn. The vine grows quickly and uses its
green tendrils to climb onto a trellis or across
a pergola. For strong growth, plant gourds
in a sunny spot and water them regularly,
especially where summers are hot and dry.
As the summer progresses and the vine
grows, it produces large, white, trumpetshaped
flowers, which then form long, green
Did you know?
The American Gourd Society was
established in 1937. The society
produces The Gourd Magazine
quarterly and runs awards for gourd art.
fruits. As the fruit matures, it changes colour
from green to light green or yellow. The fruits
are picked when they are mature and left to
dry and harden over many months until they
are ready to be used.
To transform the hard-skinned fruit into
a utensil or ornament, the shell is carved,
inscribed, painted or polished. Those who grow
and work with gourds are called “gourders”.
Shapes and varieties
The gourd fruit is highly variable in its mature
shape. Gourds range from club-shaped to
large, swollen bottle shapes. Some gourds
have curved necks known as a “dipper”.
Another favourite shape is the so-called
“birdhouse”, which has a round, swollen form
that when dried with a circular hole cut in one
side can be hung as an ornamental birdhouse.
Availability
Gourd seeds are available from specialist seed
merchants as mixed seed or as varieties that
produce certain decorative shapes. Suppliers
include Australian Seeds (australianseeds.
com), Eden Seeds (edenseeds.com.au) and
The Gourdfather (thegourdfather.com.au).
Musical instruments made from gourds
Other gourds
The common name gourd is also
used for the bitter melon (Momordica
charantia) and luffa (Cucurbita pepo).
Gourd label
Common name: Gourd, calabash
Botanical name: Lagenaria siceraria
Family: Cucurbitaceae (pumpkin family)
Requires: Full sun
Dislikes: Frost, cold
Suitable for: All areas
Habit: Annual climber 3–9m tall
Needs: Climbing support
Propagation: Seed
Difficulty: Easy
CanStockPhoto
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