writes:
In article fc.003d0941022acc123b9aca005e71a502.22acc54@pmug. org,
(Glenna Rose) wrote:
[snipped all but about gourds]

Anyone have some good suggestions for actually growing birdhouse gourds
and luffa? Only two of each have grown and they are very, very slow
growing. I really would like to get something from them this years; in
years past, the largest either got was about one foot. That's the
plant,
not the fruit. Bummer.

Glenna

[snip]

In the end, you have to make your peace with your conscience, your God,
what ever. It pleases me that, even if it is for a short time, the soil
in my garden is better, physiologically my plants as healthier, and the
person I love most, eats better. Not a bad deal.

I so totally agree!


Growing my first stupice this year. I have ten different heirloom
tomatoes in the garden this year. Trying to get a handel on what is
available. I also have a volunteer. Could be a juliet x German strip.
Curious to find out.

I started growing heirlooms in 2000 (the year of my first *real* garden.
The Stupice was a requirement. My oldest son has a dear friend who
certifies farms to be organic (lots of travel in that job!) and gave him
some Stupice plants the first year he had his house. Lovely tomato!
Those were the also first heirloom I had so when I moved here; his friend
gave me some plants as a starter. Then I went to the Yard and Garden
show, sat in on the heirloom veggie demo given by Millennium Farms, and
started buying more heirloom tomato plants there (and forever after).

Pictures of some of my early heirlooms are on my site from the garden link
(www.glennarose.com). There were many more; these are just the fourteen
for which I made labels for MF a couple of years later. The pictures of
slices are from the tomatoes they are with, a little PhotoShop magic there.


My birdhouse gourd is starting to move in this heat. I haven't fish
emulsioned it and the rest of the garden like I should have but it is
mulched and regularly watered and I have it on the trellis with the
peas, which I expect to go toes up in about 30 days.

Perhaps when our weather warms up, they will take off. I would like to
finally call this a success!


My excuse is that I got a lated start after leaving my first two
germination trays out in the sun with their lids on. Just fried
everything.

From luffas I know nothing. Do you eat them or bath with them?

Hmmm. Only bath as far as I know. They are a cucumber, however, or so I
was told, which led me to believe they would grow much like cucumbers.
I've never seen a luffa that was not a bath sponge. g

I foolishly figured that since my cucumbers, when they get planted, do
very well, that the luffa plants would as well.


What's your zone and climate like?

Gee whiz. You think that matters?! Sorry, I left out that rather
important part for growing; Pacific Northwest, Portland, Oregon, area
(Clark County, Washington to be exact). Mild weather, at least compared
to eastern Washington where I grew up, is our blessing, though we can have
greatly overcast and cool summers sometimes though not so much the last
few years.

As near as I can tell by one map (Better Homes and Garden site), it's 5b
(avocado color) just south of 5a (the light avocado color; guess they
didn't want any "real green" on the Washington map).

With your fish emulsion info, I will add some to their growing space.
Maybe it will help. If they grow like the cucumbers do sometimes, there
will be enough for the whole town!

Glenna

In article fc.003d0941022ad7de3b9aca005e71a502.22ad84e@pmug. org,
(Glenna Rose) wrote:

From luffas I know nothing. Do you eat them or bath with them?

Hmmm. Only bath as far as I know. They are a cucumber, however, or so I
was told, which led me to believe they would grow much like cucumbers.
I've never seen a luffa that was not a bath sponge. g

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luffa

The Luffa or Loofah/Lufah are tropical and subtropical annual vines
comprising the genus Luffa. The fruit of at least two species, L.
acutangula and L. aegyptiaca, is grown to be harvested before maturity
and eaten as a vegetable, popular in Asia and Africa . . .

The fruit of L. aegyptiaca may also be allowed to mature and used as a
bath or kitchen sponge after being processed to remove everything but
the network of xylem.
--
Billy
Coloribus gustibus non disputatum (mostly)