Topic: OH MY GOOD GOURD!

[Trixiebelle]

STOOOOOPID QUESTION COMING UP  ::)

Went to the local garden centre the other day and picked up a packet of Thompson & Morgan GOURD seeds - Jim Jams.

They're for my son Alfie to grow in our back garden - he liked the look of them!

It says on the packet: "These curious fruits come in a range of shapes and colours, some striped and mottled, and make perfect autumn decorations at a time when fresh flowers are more scarce. Makes an impressive display when climbing archways etc."

I relayed this information to Alfie and, despite the fact that he's only 3 yrs old, he seemed to understand but then asked the question: "CAN WE EAT THEM MUMMY?"

My mind went blank, my eyes glazed over and I had to utter the DREADFUL WORDS "I don't know son."  :-\

It doesn't tell you if they're edible anywhere on the packet and I'm NOT going back to the garden centre to ask! (I pretend to the staff there that I actually know what I'm doing when I buy seeds and so far I've managed NOT to blow my cover!)

So ... wise people of A4A  8) Can you eat them or not?

Will 'Gourd Goulash', 'Grilled Gourd' & 'Goujons De Gourd' be on my autumn menu or are they destined for the compost heap?

[john_miller]

Gourds are considered edible but only if picked young, when the flowers are still open, as they tend to quickly get tough and bitter. I have sold them to goumet food wholesalers as baby courgette substitutes.

[Svea]

they are edible, but some taste yucky, and there is no telling which is which.
they are, as stated, only really safe for decoration.

why dont you go and buy another pumpkin/autumn squash to grow for eating?

[jennym]

I have grown 'Jim-jams', and sorry, but there is no way I would describe them as edible, even when young - maybe there are different types, but the 'Jim-jam' mix was tough as old boots, with little flesh and even the seeds weren't much cop to eat. I'm with Svea - buy something else - maybe some yellow courgettes, or ordinary pumpkins and try them. Or even melons - I had no real success in getting them to ripen outside last year but tried to eat them anyway and they tasted like sweet  little round cucumbers, and all got eaten.

[Trixiebelle]

Thanks for your replies!

Not bothered either way about them being 'edible' ... just wanted to give Alfie an answer  ;D

Good job they're NOT edible actually ... I've got too much stuff in the allotments to eat without 20+ gourds in me back yard begging for another set of recipes :D

Thanks X  8)

[supersprout]

This sounds like a great intro to the wonderful world of the squash varieties for the young. I loved ornamentals as a kid, the wierder and wartier the better. They kept for years too.
If you have room and are short of crookneck, plump, warty, colourful and delicious squash to satisfy demand ::), PM me for a small selection - am majoring on squash this year! You could probably find someone to send you a Turk's Turban, which I don't have but which would be bound to be a big hit.  :D

[Trixiebelle]

Supersprout! Thanks for the offer! Just checking in quickly before I cook my reliably edible tea!

Turks turban looks like some sort of 'medical prolapse' to me. But it may be tasty in a stew  8)

[Rowan]

I grow Turks Turban and they really do look like turbans! You can get them in a mostly orange colour and also new red ones, which I'm trying this year. I grow quite a few gourds, pumpkins etc and use the gourds for decoration around the house in the winter. Sometimes they last two years.

You can also use them to make rattles or carve them as with pumpkins. Good fun for kids, I should think.

The only problem with pumpkins is that I never know how to cook them. There's a giant one on the floor in this room that's going to have to be dealt with soon!  :)

[Jitterbug]

Supersprout - need some advice -  I want to grow some gemsquash and hubbard squash this year but have a very tiny piece of land between the shed and greenhouse where the compost barrel sits - north facing to boot.  I thought that if I trained the plant up some kind of trellis it would not take up too much space - maybe even plant the seed in the compost barrel - what do you think - really want some squash this year - it is one of the only things I still crave from South Africa and I only managed to get some from Waitrose last year and these cost a bomb!  So I have my own seeds  :P

[supersprout]

Hi Jitterbug, I remember discovering gem and acorn squash in South Africa properly for the first time (erm, 30 years ago ...).
Lots of peeps on the forum are squashophiles like me, but here goes (since you asked  ;)) Your plan for some sort of trellis to take them up, rather than along, sounds fine. It would need to be fairly stout to take the strain of your hopefully humungous crop of squash  ::)
If you don't plan to disturb your compost heap, I would def. planting out on top of the heap, and training the squash round and round to save space (use pegs or sticks). You can of course let them grow downwards from the compost heap. Provided they have sunshine, they will love dangling.
Another trick to save space: once you have enough fruit set, cut off the growing tip. Side shoots will form, making it bushy; eat all the flowers so the main shoot fruit ripen up without competition. It's tough bringing up squash  :'(  :'(
Any more suggestions for Jitterbug peeps?

[Trixiebelle]

I've just realised that my idea about growing a whole packet of squashes in my back yard is a RUBBISH idea  ::)

I wanted something to train up the walls of my back yard but they'll be too heavy without supports won't they. DOH!

Think I'll just let Alfie grow 4-5 in pots and think of something else to grow up the walls.

Trixie XXXX

[supersprout]

:o nooooo, don't give up squash dreams yet trixiebelle and alfie, there has to be a way around this without taking up a big footprint in your back garden.
If you can fix hanging baskets onto your walls at a height (or perched on top of the walls), could you let your squash dangle downwards? If you supported the main stem e.g. tied to a nail in the wall, once the stem had fattened up, before the fruit set, the weight of the growing squash wouldn't pull the roots up out of the baskets.
Or put the basket/container at shoulder height and train the main stem in a circle around the container against the wall?
Or whack in a pole (a big manly one e.g. telegraph or fence lol), secure pots all the way up and hey presto, a squash fountain. You could use half milk containers instead of pots to be xtra-green  ;).
Comfrey tea in the afternoons might help to keep them plump ...  ::)
Hmm, tomatoes would do well wiv this treatment, might do the pole thing with dangly toms this year just for fun ...

[Trixiebelle]

SUPERSPROUT! OKAY, OKAY, OKAY!!!! I'LL PLANT THEM  ;)

[supersprout]

;D ;D ;D