Hanging Gourd Garden 2.0
Gourd vines climbing up the trellis in the hanging garden
The warm weather kicked the gourd plant’s growth into overdrive. One plant already crossed the supports over the raised bed and made it the trellises. As a result, I had to hurry up and pull last year’s gourds down before they got buried under fresh vines.
Now that I’m done, I’ve got a wheelbarrow full of assorted dry gourds and another 15 green ones hanging on the fence to cure.
For this year’s hanging garden, in addition to the bottle, canteen and dipper gourds from last year, I added luffas to the mix. They’re a little behind the others in terms of growth, but I have no doubt they’ll catch up in a couple weeks.
Come mid-summer this should be a leafy, shady oasis in the desert heat.
August 2023
A Mid-Summer Stroll Through the Hanging Gourd Garden
Mid-summer's heat can be brutal on plants in the vegetable garden. To help protect the plants that don't do well in heat, we plant a hanging gourd garden
May 2023
Make a Speaker Holder From a Gourd
Forget birdhouses, planters, and little art pieces. I turned a bowl gourd into something really useful -- a holder for my bluetooth speaker in the greenhouse.
October 2022
Good Gourd, Will You Look at That?
Autumn is here and the gourds in the hanging garden are dying back to reveal a menagerie of bottle, birdhouse, luffa, and canteen gourds waiting to be picked.
November 2021
A Gaggle of Gourds
Yes, I've neglected the yard all autumn. Fortunately, the gourds in the hanging garden don't seem to care. Can you count the number of varieties in this photo?
November 2020
Video: A final walk through the hanging gourd garden
Winter is well on it's way and the wind and weather are taking their toll on the hanging gourd garden. Here's a final walk through the garden before it's gone for another year.
September 2020
The Hanging Gourd Garden Right Now
It's 2pm on a very hot September day and this is my gourd garden. The shade makes it 10 degrees cooler and the southerly breeze is perfect. Plus gourds! Building it is the best $10 investment I've made in a long time
August 2020
A Walk Among the Gourds
The hanging gourd garden is doing well in the heat. A couple of weeks ago I wasn't sure which gourds were growing, but now I can see it's birdhouse, bowl and bottle.
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