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has anyone ever grown gourds, i was thinking of growing some and making them as a ornimental things for my mum, as she has always liked them, so i was just wondering has anyone ever had sucsses in growing them??????????
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My MIL was given a seedling in May. She didn't really want it, because you can't eat the fruits, so she bunged it in the top of her compost heap and forgot about it...
We rediscovered it a couple of weeks ago, the plant is vast (just like a pumpkin or squash plant can get) and it is smothered in gourds!!
So treat it like a pumpkin, and give it tonnes of manure or compost during the growing season. -
oh right ok cool thanks for, that....now all i have to do is find some one in loughborough that sells them.....but i have plenty of time to find them xxxxComment
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I think the big names like Suttons sell them. You might have to buy online, but as you say, you've got lots of time to find what you want.
Best of luck
PBComment
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I'm growing some for school: they are like normal green marrows at the moment. Seeds came from GC and Wilko.
My flatmate grew some on our balcony in Brighton once: they grew well but she didn't dry them out properly and they rotted.All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.Comment
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I grew some years ago, a mixed packet of seeds from Lidl I think, masses of the things everywhere.
Why I grew them I still don't know, you can't eat the things, I ended up with loads of gourds still around on the ground at the start of the next season, compost bin job."Orinoco was a fat lazy Womble"
Please ignore everything I say, I make it up as I go along, not only do I generally not believe what I write, I never remember it either.Comment
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thats ok, because i dont want to eat them, my mum likes them as decoration so i thought it would be nice to grow some for her, intstead of buying them.......i will have a look around see if i can find somewhere. xxxxComment
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I grew some years ago up some trellice in the back garden. They were a mixed packet of seeds from the garden centre and looked very pretty. Had the dried fruits in a bowl for ages until I got bored with them and chucked them on the compost heap. Never grown them since as I prefer to grow winter squash which look just as pretty to me and can be eated
Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.
Which one are you and is it how you want to be?Comment
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if you get a packet of the ornamental ones from GC, grow them like courgettes,started in a pot,plant out in the garden to grow up trellis,when mature,dry them for a month on sunny windowsill,they will last at least 12 months,if given a coat of varnish?????? then at least twice that,when they start to go mouldy,break them open and sow seeds of the types you prefer, i have a big bowl full on kitchen table (unvarnished) for past 2 years so next year i will sow seed from them,there are usually 6-7 different types in the packet so it does give you a good choice,best of all,after planting out you can leave them aloine til cropping time..Originally posted by greencrystal View PostComment
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I tried to Germinate some seeds from a market bought Snake Gourd (edible and really long, you can use them like you would Stuffed Peppers!)
But none germinated. I fear they were too green and not ripe enough.
You have now reminded me to order some proper seed from the internets.
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Have grown them in the past. Found that if you didn't put several layers of varnish on them then they tended to rot after a while.
IanComment
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Best of all, make a mold, strap it around the swelling fruit, and you have shaped gourds for decoration.
If you were to make a 'head' mold, you can make lots of shrunken heads to hang up for halloween. Plus the vine looks like hair.
I saw this on Instructables and it was brilliant!
Cant find the original instructable, but here is one on using/making molds.
Portrait Gourds Grown in MoldsComment
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right so if i put varnish on them then they will go moldy quicker?????
and i can make them grow in to shapes? sorry if i have got this wrong. xxComment
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My understanding is that they have to be mature, then you have to dry them out naturally ('curing') and then varnish them if you like. If the curing process is correctly done, they shouldn't rot, whether varnished or not.Comment
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