Best Mate Gourd

Start the seeds indoors early afterto increase germination time. Apparently, the rule of thumb is, if you canFirst of all, snake gourds need a trellis or something that they can grow up — arbor, chain link fence, etc.

Seeds may not be easy to find except through the Internet. Teasel gourd propagation can be found in Hawaii and Baja California, if that gives you an idea of climate requirements! A warm and moist climate is optimal with acidic soil in sun to partial sun.Seed...

Crafting with gourds is different, and that's what makes it special. Military folks have heard the phrase "Hurry up and wait." Gardeners know it's like watching gourds dry. Most books provide pictures of various gourds that you can grow for crafting and...

Growing gourd plants is a great way to add variety to the garden; there are many types to grow and just as many things you can do with them. As a general rule of thumb, remember that you can never leave a gourd on a vine too long, but you can take it...

By creating gourd containers, mankind went from a day to day existence to a society that was capable of planning for the future. Immature gourds were also used for food and medicine.

There are some real whoppers to be had ("Bushel 120 + lbs") and a few little cuties ("Tiny Bottle.")Gourds need a long warm summer to develop mature fruit. Gourds love a rich, organic soil.says that each gourd plant should be treated to a hearty scoop...

Caffeine: you can chew caffeinated gum, use caffeinated soap or even caffeinated lip balm. It isThe makers of energy drinks like Red Bulltm get around the FDA's limits for food additives by maintaining that their products are not foods! Caffeinated drinks...

Orange, round and the quintessential representation of autumn, the pumpkin never fails to capture our hearts. Why a pumpkin of course! What a grand carriage it turned out to be as well.

There are the charming green and yellow smooth, striped ones, and the amusing small warted gourds. Insert a wooden pick into the gourd to give it a stem.Fill a tabletop basket to overflowing with theselittle harvest treasures.After the gourds have dried,...

Boil for 2 minutes in water then fill jars with cubes and cooking liquid. To can cushaw, peel raw squash and cut into I” cubes. It should be firm under tooth, al dente, since it will still cook for a few minutes.

Fill a vintage cart or wheelbarrow with straw for a rural accent.Several pots of mums in glorious colors grouped with a pumpkin or two. However, the age-old ritual of decorating the churches with baskets of harvest bounty is probably the origin of the...

Horticulturist Jessica Walliser dreams of growing Eastern Prince, a fruit-bearing magnolia vine, in her zone-6 garden. Around the home, gourds also serve as lamps, sculptures, masks, and other decorative and ritual items, the skins of which are often...

Make a knot in the string, thread a bead and tie a knot. When it is shaken or slapped, the beads hit the outside of the gourd, creating a rhythmic sound. If you are looking for a project for your children, something educational, yet fun and inexpensive,...

Allow the gourds to dry for three or four months, until you can hear seeds rattling inside when you shake them. Once your gourds are light and rattling nicely, have your kids scrub them with a scrub brush in soapy water to remove all the mold.One part...

The best time to harvest gourd fruits is before the first frost in fall, but mature fruits with a hardened outer shell can tolerate a light frost.Starting gourd seeds in pots indoors before the growing season reduces the risk of frost damage and lengthens...

Many feel that this heirloom is too “squashy” and unsuitable for consumption, but it also has many advocates who suggest that the sweet flavor it imparts when baked or steamed is perfect for use in pies.

When the gourd feels light and sounds hollow when tapped, it will be dry. The plant will be dead, but the gourds will still be green. This task may take some time. One very utilitarian craft you can make with gourds is water canteens.So you're ready to...

This article originally appeared in the July/August 2012 issue of Hobby Farm Home . Gourds continue to be useful today and are beautiful objects of art. Wear gloves, safety glasses and a dust mask while cleaning the exterior and cutting and cleaning the...

Also may be started from seedlings started indoors or purchased at stores. Our Garden Planner can produce a personalized calendar of when to sow, plant and harvest for your area. Harvesting Harvest gourds as late as possible, because gourds will not cure...

The bitter gourd will shrivel and become darker in color. Let the dried bitter gourd cool and store it in an airtight container. You will use both the flesh and the edible skin.Cut the bitter gourd in half lengthwise to expose the seeds.Slice the two...

Brrr! Your chickens are currently in a mode of survival. Here are four reasons not to worry. Mating wouldn't be on her mind again until her babies are self-sufficient and able to assimilate with the flock, which would be good timing to mate again, sit...

For people who live in areas without these conditions, yerba mate is grown as an indoor plant.Yerba mate is tough to propagate for most people. Cuttings need to be semi-woody, taken late in summer and treated with a rooting hormone like Rootone.

Due to its size, winter melon is not trellised but usually allowed to spread over the ground. Here, rich broth is cooked inside the melon along with meat and veggies. With so many names, what really is a winter melon?Growing winter melons can be found...

Treading that is too aggressive or frequent can cause feather damage, bald spots and skin injuries to the hen. He relies on several small folds of lymph-filled tissue to guide semen out of his cloaca towards the hen's.

Now I bet you're wondering about growing gac melons.A perennial vine, gac may fruit in the first year or in its second. The exterior is covered in spines and the interior pulp is dark red looking rather like afreestar.queue.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-300x250-ATF-1");...

The first time is for her maiden mating flight, and the only other time is if the colony swarms . The future success of the entire colony (and, ultimately, its survival), rests on the queen's ability to lay eggs reliably and increase the colony's population.

Surviving the illness strengthens the potential for disease-fighting ability of the flock and of the survivors' offspring. This method is how breeders dilute a variety of possible characteristics to produce the very best-looking and -performing breeds...