Live Self Sufficient » Farming and Gardening

Are eggshells really beneficial in your garden?

Kevin Quinlan — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:00:53 +0000

If you are enjoying the self sufficient lifestyle, there is a good chance you have one or two chickens running around your property. Even if you don’t, you still probably buy plenty of eggs at the grocery store.

Think about all of the eggs you have cracked over the last year. What do you do with the egg shells? A number of people likely throw their egg shells straight into the compost bin. This is a great place for them and your plants will eventually reap the benefits.

For those of us who are looking for a great way to boost the plants in our garden now, egg shells have another use. If you take your eggshells and crush them into little pieces, you can easily add them right into the soil of your garden beds.

Egg shells are actually a great source of calcium. The plants in your garden need calcium in order to grow and flourish. If you notice that your plants aren’t doing well, try adding the crushed shells to the soil around them and see if they don’t improve.

The trick to the egg shells is crunching them into pieces. You can always throw in large chunks of egg shell, but it will take much longer for them to break down and release their calcium!

Tip: If you are looking for some rocks to put at the bottom of a flower pot to improve drainage, you can also substitute them for egg shells!

How can I avoid cross pollination among my gourds and pumpkins?

Kevin Quinlan — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:00:13 +0000

I just talked about the potential for pumpkin and gourd vines to cross pollinate with each other. When this happens the cross-pollinated fruit will develop normally, but the seeds inside will be the hybrid. For self sufficient gardeners, being able to reuse this years seeds to produce next year’s crop is important.

This article is designed to help you overcome issues with cross pollination so you can reuse your seeds without worrying about pumpkourds growing in your back yard. If you haven’t already read my article about the differences between male and female flowers, you will want to do so now!

Okay so grab a roll of masking tape and head out to the garden. Every time you see a female flower that is going to open the following morning, carefully wrap the top of the bud together with the masking tape. Find a male flower that is also scheduled to open the next morning and tape its bud closed too.

When morning comes, carefully snap off the male flower and remove the tape and all of its petals. You should be holding the stamen which contains all of the pollen. Now carefully unwrap your female flower. Try to leave as much of the petals behind as you can. Carefully dust the pistil of the female flower with the stamen making sure to touch all areas of it thoroughly. Once it has been pollinated, use the petals to cover it back up and tape them back together.

Eventually the flower will die off and you will notice the fruit beginning to grow if pollination has successfully occurred.

Cross pollination between pumpkins and gourds

Kevin Quinlan — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:00:45 +0000

Many self sufficient gardeners enjoy planting a few pumpkins and gourds in their gardens. If you have a limited amount of growing space, you may be concerned about where you plant these vines. Can they cross pollinate with each other? What kind of fruit will they produce if they can?

The answers are a bit complicated. For starters, some pumpkins and gourds can cross pollinate with each other. In order for this to happen, both vegetables need to be a member of the same species. Pay attention to the specific variety of seeds you purchase because this will allow you to determine their species.

Okay so you picked pumpkins and gourds that belong to the same species. They are already in the ground and taking over your garden as you read. What now? Will they cross pollinate. That depends. Do you have a lot of bees and insects buzzing around your garden? Many people have to hand pollinate their pumpkin and gourd vines due to a lack of natural pollinators.

If you do have a lot of bees in the neighborhood, it is very possible they will cross pollinate. Don’t worry this isn’t completely a bad thing. Oddly enough, even if your pumpkins and gourds cross pollinate, you won’t know it during this growing season. Both types of fruits will develop normally.

The real secret is in the seeds. If you plan on drying out your seeds and using them next year, cross pollination could be an issue. This is when you will see any difference in the plant.

Turn your bottleneck gourds into birdhouses

Kevin Quinlan — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:00:16 +0000

I have discussed bottleneck gourds a number of times on this site for several reasons. They are fun to grow and they are great if you enjoy craft projects. With just a bit of effort, you can turn your bottleneck gourd into a decorative birdhouse for your yard.

You will spend your whole summer watching your gourds grow. When you see them change from their standard green color into a pale tan color, they are ripe and ready to be picked from the vine. Be careful when you do this. You want to leave at least 4 inches of stem on your bottleneck gourd which you will later use to hang it!

Now you have to wait. Take your gourd and place it in a safe location for it to dry out. The location should provide the fruit with good air circulation and should be a bit warm. After a couple months, give your gourd a shake. If you here seeds rattling around inside, your gourd is ready to be turned into a birdhouse.

Wash the skin of your gourd well with warm soapy water and dry it thoroughly. Use a drill with a 1.5” bit to create a hole in the side for the birds. Take a small spoon and insert it through the opening and clean out any gourd guts that are still in side. You can also drill several tiny holes in the bottom of your gourd for drainage purposes.

Now that your bottleneck gourd has been prepped, you can have a bit of fun with it. Take some paints and create a design on the exterior. That’s really all there is to it!

Can I start vegetable and fruit vines indoors?

Kevin Quinlan — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:00:37 +0000

There are many different types of plants that can easily be started indoors. For those of us who live in colder areas where the growing season is much shorter, the ability to start plants indoors is essential. Even if it is only by six weeks, our growing season can still be extended.

The problem that I have found is that many vegetable vines do not start well indoors. The purpose of this article is to discuss which plants can be started indoors and what types of consequences you can expect if you do.

The first plant I’d like to discuss is the pumpkin. Without a doubt, you can easily plant your pumpkin seeds indoors and they will grow like crazy once you get them outside into the ground. The only problem I’ve had getting pumpkins started is a good light source. Pumpkins become VERY leggy indoors if you do not put a plant light directly over them.

I’ve tried to start watermelons indoors but I have never had much luck. I don’t know if it is the particular variety I’m using or not. I have no problem getting the seeds to sprout. The problem I encounter is that they develop really tiny leaves and they grow very slowly. It is simply not worth it for me to start these plants indoors as a result.

Gourds. I know what the package says. Sow the seeds directly in the soil after the last frost – do not attempt to transplant. I’ve seen other seeds behave far more temperamentally than a gourd plant. Specifically, I grow bottleneck gourds. As long as you place them in a sunny location in a reasonably sized peat pot, your gourd seeds will sprout. Simply plant your peat pot into the desired location outside and your gourd will continue to grow vigorously!

The cantaloupe vine is a lot less sturdy than a pumpkin vine. For this reason, I will start my cantaloupe seeds inside. After approximately six weeks, I move the small plants to the porch and let them acclimate to the outdoors for roughly another week before planting them into the ground.

Leaving plants on the porch, or any shaded area, is a great way to introduce your indoor seeds to the great outdoors. First, they won’t be terribly shocked by the sudden change in their environment. Second, the breeze will still be able to shake their leaves about and will help to strengthen the overall plant.

Tips for growing bottle neck gourds

Kevin Quinlan — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:00:40 +0000

Bottleneck gourds are great to plant in your garden. For many people, this type of gourd provides an opportunity to be crafty with your harvest. You can do all sorts of fun things with bottleneck gourds, including making decorative birdhouses out of the fruit!

In order to ensure that your gourd vine will thrive, there are a few things that you can do to create an optimal environment for it. The first thing you want to do is locate a nice sunny spot outdoors to plant your gourd seeds. It is tempting to try to plant your gourd seeds in a container, but I highly recommend that you do not do this. From personal experience, I can tell you that the vines are not nearly as sturdy.

Every package of gourds seeds I have ever purchased states right on the back that you should not start these seeds inside because they do not transplant well. I both agree and disagree. If you are very careful, you can pull it off. If you don’t have to start them inside, I certainly wouldn’t. As long as you plant them into the ground (and not a container) they seem to grow as well as the plants that were grown outdoors from seed.

Bottleneck gourds are really pretty hardy. As long as you plant them in a nice sunny location, there is little maintenance you need to do. Try to keep the soil moist, but not too moist.

I like to grow my bottleneck gourds on a trellis. If you want great looking fruit for craft projects, this is an easy way to avoid blemishes and rough spots that can occur when grown on the ground.

Do you have any tips to share?

When can I pick my watermelons?

Kevin Quinlan — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:00:56 +0000

Watermelons are among the most difficult fruits to pick from a vine. You can stand there and stare at them all day long and you won’t know if they are ripe or not. Unlike a pumpkin that turns bright orange when it is ready to be harvested, watermelons look about the same during their growing phase – minus their change in size.

So how can you tell if your watermelon is ripe? Well, first you have to pick it up gently and examine it. Compare its size with the estimated size for the variety of watermelon seeds that you planted. If it is approximately the right size, use your fist to gently give the fruit a thump. A ripe watermelon will sound a bit hollow, while one that is not ripened will sort of ring when thumped.

Look at the underside of the watermelon that has been sitting in the soil. Does the skin have a slightly yellowish or creamy color to it? If it does your watermelon is probably ripe. If instead you see any shade of green or pale white, leave the fruit on the vine and check it again in a few days.

Examine the top of the watermelon. Immature watermelons will have a stark contrast between light and dark stripes. A ripe watermelon will no longer have such an obvious contrast. The skin will also loose its dull appearance.

Take a look at the watermelon’s stem and the vine its growing on. Do they look like they are turning brown or beginning to shrivel up? Do you see any cracks in the stem? These can all be signs that your watermelon is ripe and ready to be picked!

It is a good idea to check your watermelons regularly so that they do not end up over ripe!

Claim your pumpkins and gourds while still on the vine

Kevin Quinlan — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:00:14 +0000

I don’t enjoy watching any other plant grow as much as I do pumpkins and gourds. There is just something fun about seeing the fruit begin to grow and then watching them turn into these big objects that can be carved and decorated.

One fun way to enjoy the process of growing pumpkins and gourds even more involves giving the fruit a tattoo. This is a particularly fun project if you have kids that enjoy gardening. With the help of a metal nail file (or any object that has a point on it), you can actually carve your name or a design into the pumpkin or gourd without harming the actual fruit!

Young pumpkins are generally covered with a coat of fuzz for their first few weeks. Once this fuzz has completely disappeared, you will notice that its skin is starting to toughen up. At this point you can tattoo your pumpkin without any repercussions. For gourds, simply wait until the fruit is about a month old.

For the best results, don’t draw full lines on your pumpkin or gourd. Instead, try using a series of dots to create your desired image. As the fruit grows over the next several weeks, you will see a complete image form.

Don’t worry if the fruit leaks some juice when you first make your drawing. You can expect it to continue juicing for a few hours after you are done. Simply take a paper towel and dab away the juice and eventually it will seal up on its own!

Prune your pumpkin vine

Kevin Quinlan — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0000

If this is the first year you are planting pumpkin seeds in your garden, be prepared to watch this hardy vine grow like crazy. Of all the vines I’ve ever grown, the pumpkin is by far the most interesting. I feel like you can stand there and actually watch as the vine grows.

Unless you have a large field where you are planting your pumpkin seeds, you will quickly discover that your vine is taking over your entire garden. These guys have no manners and will grow wherever they feel like it if you don’t carefully prune or train them. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, I recently read that you should have at least 150 square feet of land available if you want to grow a giant pumpkin.

For those of us who have a limited amount of space for our pumpkin vines, it is important to understand how to prune them. It is actually pretty easy to do. Grab yourself a pair of sharp pruners and a good pair of gloves (leather if you’ve got them – pumpkin vines have sharp thorns all over them!).

You will notice that your pumpkin vine has a long central vine and many secondary vines have likely grown off of it. Try to let your main vine grow as long as you possibly can. Feel free to cut off secondary vines if necessary.

All you need to do is cut the vine in the desired location. In order to help prevent moisture loss from the vine, bury the pruned end of the vine in the soil and keep it moist. Roots will grow from this portion of your pumpkin vine and improve its overall support system.

Why isn’t my vine producing fruit?

Kevin Quinlan — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:00:35 +0000

If you are growing pumpkins, gourds, watermelons, or any type of vine that has both male and female flowers, you could be facing an annoying problem. It is so much fun to watch these vines grow (and grow and grow), but it is really disheartening when you have 10 feet of vines and no fruit. Why exactly does this happen.

Sadly enough, even though we take the best care possible of our beloved vines, there is no guarantee that they will magically produce fruit on their own. These types of vines are different from tomatoes that self pollinate. Pumpkins, gourds, and watermelon vines all produce both male and female flowers.

In order to get fruit from any of these types of vines, the female flower must first be successfully pollinated by the male flower. If this happens, you will see your fruit begin to grow just a few days after the pollination has occurred. In fact, the growth is generally pretty rapid.

While hand pollinating the flowers will help to ensure that your vines produce fruit, there are still a few things that can go wrong. If you are growing multiple vines together, say a pumpkin, gourd, and a watermelon, you may encounter another problem. If your female pumpkin flower is pollinated by a different type of vine, this may cause your pumpkin not to develop.