Random Sightings From the Garden Today

In the late afternoon we drift into the garden.  We do a little harvesting, a little weeding, and a lot of just observing what is going on.  I am making lists of things that need to get done this week.  One of the first things is to go ahead and cut all the tomatoes down and remove their trellises to make room for the fall crop that I'll be planting later on.

I harvested a few peppers from a new variety that I planted this year.  They are called Lipstick Peppers.  This organic variety is a sweet pepper that is great for roasting. We'll have to check them out.  They sure pass the eye test.  That is a pretty pepper right there!

The trellis that supports the vines of our Birdhouse gourds and Luffa gourds is overflowing with healthy vines.  They are unaffected by the heat.  These things are like kudzu.  I halfway worry that I'll wake up tomorrow morning to find that these vines have enveloped our house and vehicles.

If you peek under the canopy, you can see the birdhouse gourds growing.  I'm hoping to harvest a bunch of these this year and make into birdhouses.  I still have two hanging from the limbs of a pecan tree that I made several years ago.

We have a habit of always tossing something over the garden fence for the animals to eat.  They enjoy the bounty of the garden, too.  So they are conditioned to gather around when we are in the garden.  Below you can see one of our roosters. 

This is a 'rescue rooster.'  The sister of a friend of ours got this fellow from Tractor Supply when it was just a chick.  He was supposed to be a hen.  He had other plans.  As the rooster grew older, it became clear that this guy was going to lay no eggs and would also make a lot of noise.  Roosters aren't allowed in the city.  So, we ended up with him.  I think he is a nice looking rooster.  Sometimes when new birds are introduced, the other birds gang up and attack and will sometimes kill the newcomer.  This guy held his own.  He is a welcome addition to our flock.

Of course the goats, being nosy, social critters that they are, they gather around the garden fence, too!  Annie, Matilda, and Agnes are attempting to look nonchalant and not actively begging me to toss them some greens.

When I don't immediately toss them something, I get a stare-down from Annie, a well-done attempt at making me feel guilty. 

I fall victim to her shaming and quickly find something to toss her to eat.  We'll see ya'll tomorrow.

Rub A Dub Dub

This spring we planted luffa gourds again.  Luffas are prolific producers and make a gazillion seeds.  We grow them every few years and use them as well as giving them to people as gifts.  As a kid I was taught to use a wash rag in the bath tub and get plenty of soap suds on the rag and scrub real good to get dirt and grime off.  I'll tell ya something that works better than a wash rag - a luffa gourd.

I planted three seeds next to a trellis I made in the garden using two t-posts and a length of hog wire.  The luffas germinated and grew like a bad weed, vining and filling with pretty yellow blooms. The following two photos were taken in the spring.  (The rest were taken last week):

In no time luffa gourds filled the trellis, weighing down the vines.  I read that when the gourds are very young, you can eat them like cucumbers, but I've never tried.  I'm growing them for the sponge - not to eat.  We grow cucumbers to eat.

Check out the lizard hanging out on the luffa!

In time the luffas turn dark green or brown and that's when it is time to harvest them.

The skin of the luffa takes a little work to remove.  I start peeling it away, pulling on the outer skin to expose the inner sponge-like portion.

This is what it looks like when the outer skin is completely removed.  If you look closely, you can see something black inside.  Those are seeds.  Hundreds and hundreds of seeds in each one.  The seeds will all come out of the bottom if you bang the gourd on your hand or a brick or the sidewalk.

I always save a few for next year, but always have many, many extras.  If you'd like some luffa seeds, let me know.  I'll be glad to give you some.

Freshly peeled gourds can be a little damp.  I always lay the gourds in the sunshine and let them dry out for a few days, turning them from side to side so they dry out evenly.

Once dry, I make up a solution of bleach-water in a 5 gallon bucket and soak the luffa gourds in the bucket of bleach.

After a day, I pull the bleached luffas out of the bucket and let them dry out on the patio.

Once they are dry, I will cut each one of them in half.  I'll put one in the shower.  If you take soap and rub it on the luffa, it is similar to a washrag.  The luffa softens somewhat when it gets wet, but maintains a rough texture that scrubs and exfoliates skin.  When done simply wash the soap off, stand the luffa up on one end so it dries between uses.  If you want, you can freshen it from time to time with bleach.  It will last for quite a while - months and months of CLEAN.  Rub a dub dub!

2015 Luffa Gourds

I wanted to show you something in the garden.  The Luffa Gourd currently growing in the garden.  Ig came up volunteer this year from seeds from last year's crop, and I just didn't have the heart to pull it out.  If you look at the bottom right portion of the photo, there is also a Birdhouse gourd growing - also a volunteer from last year. 

This is an oddity for us, since we normally plant things that are good to eat.  This is something that isn't for eating, although I've heard (but haven't tried) that the young luffas can be eaten like a cucumber.  We use luffas as bath sponges, and I've got to tell you, we've been impressed.  The one from last year is still holding up well in the shower after a year of use!  Imagine that, a product from the garden keeping us clean.

Luffa Gourd (along with a birdhouse gourd

In addition to providing the coolest bath sponge you'll ever come across, in the early morning hours, the vines burst forth with a stunning display of yellow flowers that brighten up the entire garden.

Luffa flowers

If you stop and look at the healthy luffa vines closely, you'll see a number of tendrils that grab on and attach themselves to anything.  They look, and act, exactly like springs, allowing the vine to sway and give with the wind that blows or rain that falls.  I think I mentioned it before, but I'll bet that the inventor of the coiled spring got his inspiration by looking at what the Creator made in the Garden, don't you think? 

Nature's Spring

In the seven o'clock position in the photo below, you can see a baby luffa gourd just beginning to grow.  We'll harvest and dry as many as we can this year, giving them to family, friends and neighbors.

Beautiful luffa flower and a baby luffa gourd in the background

We still have several left from last year.  I have them arranged on the kitchen floor below with my foot in the picture for perspective.  Most are about a foot and a half long.  We cut them in half to make two bath sponges out of a single luffa.  In the shower, you merely squirt some liquid soap or rub a bar of soap on the wet luffa until it lathers and then use it as a washcloth.  It cleans and exfoliates your skin.  You probably don't want to use it every day, since you don't want to remove all of the oil that your skin produces.

13 Luffas left over from last year

In reading about the versatile luffa, I learned that during World War II it was used as filter material in the Navy's steam and diesel engines and lining in Army helmets.  Its a pretty incredible plant.

These things make tons of seeds, so if anyone would like any, just let me know and I'll save some for you.

Checking on the Gourds in the Garden

It is still a slow time in the garden.  I'm waiting on it to dry up a little since it has been raining every day.  I'm going to work in some additional topsoil on the southernmost part of the garden as soon as it dries in order to raise up the level since the ground stays very wet on that side.  Once I have the ground ready, I'll transplant the Fall crop seedlings into the garden that I've been babying on the back patio.

I often say that I only like to plant things that I can eat.  I have a couple of exceptions to that rule that I'm trying this year.  I posted on it earlier, but I have an update on the two types of gourds I have planted on the last row closest to the barn.

The first type is Birdhouse Gourds.  Birdhouse Gourds grow fast and furious and you end up with a lot of them if your goats don't eat the ones that grow on the fence. Doggone Goats!  Here's a little one that is just starting to grow.  You can see the remnants of the flower on the end of it.

A Baby Birdhouse Gourd

Here are a couple more that are hanging off of the fence.  They are certainly some curious looking things, aren't they?:

As I was looking at the one below, I guess if you cut half of the bottom off, you could made a dipper with it. You know, like in the movies where you'd see people dipping it into a bucket of water to get a drink?  I've never grown these before, so we'll see how it goes.

The Big Dipper?

I have no problem growing them, but due to our tropical, oppressively hot and humid climate, getting anything to dry without molding, mildewing and rotting is next to impossible, but I'm going to give it a try and we'll see if we meet with success.  The gourds in the photo below are getting close to the end of the growth stage.  What will happen next is that the stem will turn brown.  At that point I'll get it off the ground and allow it to hang, getting plenty of airflow around it.  Drying and curing is not for the impatient as it takes several months of drying before you put a hole in it for the entry to the birdhouse. 

Maturing gourds

So homeless birds in the area, if you need a house, you'd better look elsewhere as it will be several months before I'll cut a hole in these.  Move in date is quite a ways off and I'm a novice at doing this, so your birdhouse might be a 'fixer-upper'.

Birdhouse Gourd

Another type of gourd I have growing in the same vicinity is the Luffa Gourd.  While the birdhouse gourds will be used by the birds, hopefully the luffa gourds will be used by us.  Once they are dried, you peel back the skin, shake out the seeds and they make wonderful bath sponges and are great for exfoliation. I'll show you that process when they fully dry. 

Luffa Gourds growing away

After reading more on luffa gourds, I learned that these CAN be eaten!  When they are 7 inches long are less, they can be used as a substitute for cucumbers.  I've got my eye on this one and I'll let you know how it tastes.

Bath & Body Works?

If it doesn't taste great, I do have some Fall seedlings of cucumbers that I'll be putting in the ground, so hopefully we'll have more cukes on the way.