Gourds can become a bowl or brightly colored objects polished to perfection; a fall centerpiece; a child’s pride in his or her first gardening effort; or a garden conversation piece that lasts for months and months.
Gourds, such as the Bottle, Dipper and Birdhouse, need 140 to 150 days to reach maturity. They need to be started indoors if your season is short. I gain a few extra days by soaking gourd seeds overnight to speed germination.
Healthy gourds can spread quite a distance. If space is a problem, train them up a trellis or fence where they will receive full sun. Plant at 1-foot intervals. Keep the gourds off the ground to prevent misshapen ones and to increase your yield. If a gourd vine is threatening to take over your backyard, halt its progress by pinching off the fuzzy growth tips.
Harvest only when your gourds are fully mature, or they won’t last long. Wait until the stem shrivels. If frost is expected before your gourds are ready, protect them with a sheet or newspapers.
Leave a few inches of stem when harvesting them, and handle them carefully to avoid nicks and bruises. Let them cure for 1 or 2 weeks. Then dip them in alcohol or diluted bleach to ensure good keeping.
Home-grown sponges, hard or soft: how to grow Luffa
Luffa plants grow quickly and produce club-shaped gourds from 10 to 20 inches long. The spongy interiors can be cleaned out, dried, and used as bath sponges, scrubbers for light scouring or carwash wipers. I’ve found them very handy.
Luffas grow much the same as cucumbers, although they are more sensitive to cold and need more room.
They also need a long season, so you might have to plant them before the last frost and use hot caps for protection.
If you need a soft sponge, pick the luffa while it is green. Want a tougher quality? In time, the outer skin will yellow and dry out some. That’s the time to pick it for a coarse sponge useful for scrubbing.
After picking, “unzip” the luffa by peeling off the skin—it’s like peeling an orange—then rinse it under running water to wash away the oily covering surrounding the spongy skeleton. Dry them in the sun and shake away the seeds. Whiten the sponge if you like in a weak bleach or peroxide solution, or soften it further by boiling briefly in water. Your home-grown sponge is ready to use or sell.
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How do I know when to pick the birdhouse gaurds? After they aer picked, how do I dry them?