At the start of this season I added planks to the base of the trellis, partly for protection from damage by wind or animals but also from a cold soil early in the season. In April I filled the spaces between the planks with a mix of garden compost and soil and added Potash. At the end of May I planted the gourds that were kept in the greenhouse up till then. In early May there is the danger of ground frost.

This year I planted seeds from last years gourds but also some seeds I collected from 2 gourd samba shakers I had bought in a thrift shop. This variety was new to me, the shakers were some what oval shaped without long necks.

I was not sure how old these shakers were, where they came from or whether these seeds would germinate and produce gourds.

The tops of the male vines were cut once they reached the top of the trellis. The female vines started spreading and the white flowers appeared in the evening. The first gourds started to appear at the end of July.

So far the weather has been warm and dry this season, with hot spells of nearly 40c in July and 35c in August. I carefully water the plants in the evening using a garden hose.

The growth of the plants seems to slow down in August and the amount of gourds is disappointing.

Many gourds remained small in size this season and therefore many didn’t fill the moulds.

Mildew appeared in the latter stage of the season. It is thought to be the result of much moisture in the air. Mildew is a form of fungus and appears as white spots on leaves and stems. I used sulfur powder added to water to spray the plants in order to combat the mildew.

The resulting gourds remained quite small this season, only a few successfully grew to full size. The mould can be taken off once the gourds have stopped growing.

Once the stems of the gourds have turned brown and dry the gourds are ready to be harvested. The stems are cut about 5cm above the gourd and are left on to aid the drying process. The harvested gourds are then cleaned and put in an aerated place to cure.