Topic: gourds

[kingston boy]

Hi all,has any one grown Gourds or Looffas at sometime or an other.
Do i put them in now or leave it till the end of the month. I have successfully germinated them and they all have at least three true leaves. All advice really welcome.

[saddad]

Under glass? Even so I'd leave them until June here...  :-\

[lewic]

Maybe a silly question... but what is the difference between a gourd and a squash?

[thifasmom]

I'm growing luffa for the first time this year and at the moment i have it in my conservatory in a large pot, it will be moved to the greenhouse in the first week of June when i hope the night time temps won't be dropping under 10 degrees anymore. mine is quite big now as i started it in the first week of February.

[saddad]

I think "gourds" are grown for the shell rather than the flesh, but I may be wrong... I often am...  :-[

[ugly gourd]

I grow gourds ever year to cover an ugly fence at the end of the plot Im planning to plant my seeds in pots this weekend then out in the garden at the end of the month I only ever grow them for show and not to eat

[Twoflower]

I am growing them for the first time to. Found the seeds in lidl's, 29p so i thought id have a go. Mine have the first true leaves but have been in the cold frame for the last three weeks or so. I am going to try growing them outside,but I'll probably leave it until the end of the month :)

[Columbus]

Hi Kingston boy, Hi all  :)

I`ve grown the mixed gourd seeds from Lidls for the last two years.

You get loads of about three different types of gourd. I will put mine out when one or two of my squash collection have got too big to be handled or made flowers. (I have a half plot for pumpkins, courgettes, marrows, butternut squash and gourds)

At the early stages they are vulnerable to having their stems eaten through by slugs and will fare better when they are older and tougher and a bit scratchy.

I harvest mine when the plants die back and overwinter them in the cold frame.
They dry out slowly as mould and snails leave patterns on the surface. When fully dry they can be waxed or painted, some will make musical shakers as the seeds are left inside. I now have a collection of "dinosaur eggs", some are broken and very brittle, last year I had lots more of a flatter shape that were like thick wood and very tough.

There are lots of different types and shapes, you can get seeds for specific varieties. I think loofahs are more like a type of cucumber, that dry out differently.

Col

[Twoflower]

Sound good, I was planning on putting them in the glass house to dry.

[kingston boy]

Thank you all for some very usefull info. I am really just growing them to wander through the copse of trees behind my allotment shed. I bought my seeds online and got 12 assorted for 99p. As to Loffas, i have never seen one but want one for the tub.Just to see what it was really like in the old days before synthetic stuff made its appearance.
Thanks again

[Robert_Brenchley]

It's a very effective scrubber; we've been using them for years.

[hild]

All I can think of now is Life of Brian...  Follow The Gourd!  ;D

[saddad]

A sign, A sign!!  ::)

[hellohelenhere]

So, the Lidl 'ornamental gourds' - are they not edible?

[saddad]

They are probably edible in a technical sense... but you wouldn't want to.. (needs garlic!!)  :-X