Since the beginning of time, when Eve wore a fig leaf and Adam beat his fists on his hairy chest...(tires screeching). Never mind, never mind. That was George of the Jungle, not Adam, but at least since George's day, gourds have played an important part in ancient societies.
As I develop the homestead, gourds will play an ever increasing part in the transformation. Not only will I be growing gourds, I will be using them for food storage, water storage, decor, and more. Move over plastic disposables and teflon coatings, the gourd is here to stay!
My fascination with gourds began innocently enough, when a friend presented me with five (5) rather
unremarkable gourds that hadn't even started to cure. That, in itself, was an experience, as the gourds developed an ugly wax coating followed by layers of mold. It wasn't a pretty process and I nearly threw them out thinking they'd rotted under my negligent eye. Instead, I did what I do best, I researched. And I slid right down that slippery little rabbit hole.
I discovered that ancient peoples used dried gourds as cooking and eating vessels. The hard wooden texture is tough and long-lasting. Treated with beeswax, it becomes water repellant. I explored how to grow gourds, cure them, and later, turn them into works of art. Not only will I be growing gourds for re-sale, I'll grow them for my own use. I offer seeds for sale from only the very best gourds I grow. You can find them here.
It takes a good year from seedling to maturity, and that leaves me plenty of time to experiment with carving gourds for art, or transforming them into usable utensils. I'll be sharing my adventures as I learn and grow. If you have gourding experience, feel free to share! As always, drop a comment, I enjoy hearing from you.
As I develop the homestead, gourds will play an ever increasing part in the transformation. Not only will I be growing gourds, I will be using them for food storage, water storage, decor, and more. Move over plastic disposables and teflon coatings, the gourd is here to stay!
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| This little gourd started it ALL |
unremarkable gourds that hadn't even started to cure. That, in itself, was an experience, as the gourds developed an ugly wax coating followed by layers of mold. It wasn't a pretty process and I nearly threw them out thinking they'd rotted under my negligent eye. Instead, I did what I do best, I researched. And I slid right down that slippery little rabbit hole.
I discovered that ancient peoples used dried gourds as cooking and eating vessels. The hard wooden texture is tough and long-lasting. Treated with beeswax, it becomes water repellant. I explored how to grow gourds, cure them, and later, turn them into works of art. Not only will I be growing gourds for re-sale, I'll grow them for my own use. I offer seeds for sale from only the very best gourds I grow. You can find them here.
It takes a good year from seedling to maturity, and that leaves me plenty of time to experiment with carving gourds for art, or transforming them into usable utensils. I'll be sharing my adventures as I learn and grow. If you have gourding experience, feel free to share! As always, drop a comment, I enjoy hearing from you.
Love your gourd art! I've been thinking of growing them myself
ReplyDeleteI think you'd really have fun growing gourds. No two look the same (like snowflakes!) and they each seem to have a "personality". Thanks for following along :)
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