ONLY Three Seeds Covered this Trellis with Giant Gourds
A few winters ago winter I sketched out the shape of a trellis I dreampt up. I wanted this massive thing to fit in on the farm. I wanted visitors to look at it and wonder if it used to be some sort of agricultural structure.
Then I went to the metal yard, built it and that spring, I planted 3 seeds. ONLY THREE seeds on the entire thing. Three gourd seeds covered the entire, 75′ foot long structure by August.
Here’s how it’s coming along.
Then I went to the metal yard, built it and in spring, I planted 3 seeds. ONLY THREE seeds.
We’ve grown four different gourds on it.
- Luffa, which everybody knows is what’s sold as ‘sponges’ in bath stores. We grow an extra long variety that is also delicious grilled, when young. (pic below)
- Bottle gourds that we use for bird houses.
- Bitter melon, which I try and try to like as a food but I just do not.
- Cassabanana, my favorite edible gourd — green it taste like cucumber, ripe like mango and banana.
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Explaining cassabanan at EPCOT
Bitter melon fruits come after lovely yellow flowers that smell like grape soda.
Do you think that Waltham Butternut Winter Squash and Howden Pumpkin would do well on a trellis if their roots were in REALLY good soil? (equal mix of compost, peat moss and vermiculite)
Most gourds have big root systems, so if you are talking about growing in a container, it would take lots of water and fertilizer.