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Garden Gate:  Why did I only get one gourd?  |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 16 2006 : 11:41:18 AM
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We had a volunteer gourd plant that sprouted along the fenceline, and I found it quite by accident--the first gourd appeared early September, and though there are plenty of flowers, there aren't any gourds from them...any insight would be helpful, for next year, when I really attempt to grow them!
Just think of all of the roads there are...all of the things I haven't seen....yet. |
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GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2006 : 11:52:09 AM
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I didnt get any sort of gourd or squash at all the past two years...I am just as perplexed by it....
~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
blog: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2006 : 12:11:18 PM
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Did your plants put out very lush foliage? It may have been a pH issue where they spent all their energy producing vines and leaves.
N-P-K fertilizers should have the middle (potassium ) higher for flower and fruit production. What (if anything) did you grow them with? Something may have eaten your blossoms also and you not noticed. We had pumpkins growing in the compost and all of a sudden -
squirrels!I think ground hogs are quite fond of the squash family!
with a happy heart |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2006 : 12:21:11 PM
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Bramble is right about fertilizer NPK numbers.
Another thought that comes to mind is that if this was a volunteer plant, it is possible that the mommy gourd that produced the volunteer's seed had actually cross-pollinated with some other member of the squash family which makes the new seed generally unreliable.
Oh...and deer LOVE squash <sigh>.
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OregonGal
True Blue Farmgirl
511 Posts
Chris
No. IL
USA
511 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2006 : 8:12:54 PM
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| That may be true what Diane said, but Jonni said there was one gourd - so that would tell me there was no pollination going on. In that case you would have to do the pollinating yourself with a soft paint brush, or a q-tip or even breaking off the stamen from the male flower.....taking pollen from the male flower and putting it on the female flower. I don't think the ph was a problem because she said there were alot of flowers. The plight of the honeybee is a bad one, not as many of them around as there used to be - many crops need their expert pollinating ways. But, you can pollinate the flowers yourself....so all is not lost. |
Edited by - OregonGal on Oct 16 2006 8:15:33 PM |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2006 : 8:48:10 PM
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| I would tend to agree that there is a lack of pollination. Maybe next year will better :) |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Oct 17 2006 : 06:03:20 AM
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Well, it just might be a combination of all of these things! We live right on the edge of a dense wood, and even though the majority of our yard is fenced in, and we have four large dogs, I still find deer poop inside the fenceline! A few years back, some hungry animal totally stripped all of my heirloom tomato plants--it was like I'd never had any fruits in the first place! The gourd plant did have lush growth--it reminds me of Jack and the Beanstalk! Since it was a volunteer, the growth conditions are probably less than stellar--it's on the fenceline where it's rather overgrown. I guess it's pretty cool it bothered to come up at all. Next year, when I plan on planting some gourds, what's the best way to go about it? Since we have so much clay in our soil, I lean towards the raised bed methods. Is this a plausible way to grow gourds, pumpkins, etc?
Just think of all of the roads there are...all of the things I haven't seen....yet. |
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Garden Gate: Why did I only get one gourd? |
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Why did I only get one gourd?
