Gourmet Gardener: Ghoulish gourds
Ghoulish gourds
The evenings are beginning to close in and the damp air adds to the autumnal feel of October. The seasonal harvest in the polytunnel echoes the amber and rusty colours of the foliage outdoors, in particular some varieties of gourds that steal the show this time of year.
There are many types of both edible and inedible fruits belonging to the gourd family. The most commonly known crops include cucumbers, marrow, winter and summer squash, pumpkins, and luffas.
Most gardeners have had a go at growing courgettes or pumpkins at one point or another. But for some reason, I’ve found that far fewer people have tried their hand at growing ornamental gourds. These unique fruits are beautiful in their own ghoulish lumpy-bumpy way, and nothing says autumn like a beautiful bumper crop in a basket.
I grow a mix of gourds, not just to eat, as I also like to use the ornamental varieties for seasonal displays on the table and around my home. These seeds are sown each year in April and grown in individual pots until they are mature enough to be planted either outside or in the polytunnel for protection.
For a number of years, I have trained the sprawling ornamental gourds around an archway in the polytunnel. This allows light and air to circulate around the plants, helps the crop mature and is a great method of growing when you have limited space. The small ornamental fruits dangle from the leafy green structure creating an impressive fall scene.
The ornamental gourds can be used in a few creative ways. When cured, the hard skin provides a versatile material to use, for example, as a bird feeder or even as a bird house.
Another idea is to make decorative gourd lights. Use a sharp nail or screwdriver to poke patterns of holes on the sides. Then cut off the top and position a tea light inside. Small ornamental gourds can be a fun alternative to pumpkins when decorating for Halloween.
Grouping and arranging the otherworldly shaped decorative fruits along the centre of a table as a centrepiece will provide a definite wow factor for Halloween festivities, and may inspire others to grow their own gourds next year.
Ornamental gourds have to ripen fully on the vine, so never be in a rush to harvest them. They can be picked as soon as their stems turn brown and tendrils next to them are dry – simply leave the vines until they begin to fail due to old age and powdery mildew, and harvest the gourds all at once.
To make ornamental gourds last, always harvest them with a stub of stem attached. Use a knife to cut them off the vine. Ornamental gourds that lose their stem stubs are much more likely to rot, starting at the stem end, compared to stemmed gourds. Fully ripe ornamental gourds should be cured, or dried, for a couple of weeks. I put mine on a shelf, shaded from direct sun, because sunshine can bleach out colour.
These unusual ghoulish gourds make the perfect growing project for kids as the fruits are a much better size for handling than larger pumpkins. The array of spooky shapes and sizes offer a novelty factor and are definitely worth a try next spring.
Happy ghoulish growing!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tara Kate Linnane is passionate about sustainability and growing all things edible. Together with her husband Barry, she has embarked on a journey of designing edible spaces and getting others started on their gardening adventures.
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