tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43407507634727909692024-03-13T04:29:32.857-07:00alex farm - molena, gaA small family farm of gourd growers, specializing in Giant African Bushelsalex farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16937447836404560781noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4340750763472790969.post-92052256702449042892011-03-07T09:37:00.000-08:002011-03-07T09:37:25.366-08:00First shoots of Spring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-RLKnNoIOiyc/TXUXpzPxP5I/AAAAAAAAACQ/xfsdawbSRkQ/s1600/First+shoots.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-RLKnNoIOiyc/TXUXpzPxP5I/AAAAAAAAACQ/xfsdawbSRkQ/s320/First+shoots.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>alex farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16937447836404560781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4340750763472790969.post-11345086772589416712011-03-05T17:16:00.000-08:002011-03-05T17:16:35.771-08:00Tips on Germinating Gourd Seeds<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Constantia;">Gourd seeds can be difficult to germinate and I recommend the following tips to help you start your gourd plants:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Constantia;">Here in the South where it gets warm fairly early, we are able to plant directly in the ground with much success around the end of April. If, however, you live in a colder climate, I do not recommend planting gourd seeds directly in the ground. In many cases, the soil may not be warm enough or there may be too much or not enough moisture for the gourd seeds to germinate.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Constantia;">I recommend starting your gourd seeds indoors in a planting soil medium.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Constantia;">For the hard-to-start seeds, you can place the gourd seeds between moist, but not wringing wet, paper towels. Place the seeds and towels in a ziplock bag and place everything on a heating mat. You can purchase one on amazon.com for between $20 and $35. I have also used the top of an electronic device such as a satellite receiver or TV that stays warm constantly and this has worked. You just need to be careful not to cover all the ventilation holes that would overheat your electronic device. Also, you would be limited to the number of seeds you could germinate in this manner.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Constantia;">For the hard-to-start seeds, you can clip the edges of the larger gourd seeds to help the germination process.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Constantia;">After the seeds have germinated, place them in planting soil medium into </span><st1:metricconverter productid="4”"><span style="font-family: Constantia;">4”</span></st1:metricconverter><span style="font-family: Constantia;"> or </span><st1:metricconverter productid="5”"><span style="font-family: Constantia;">5”</span></st1:metricconverter><span style="font-family: Constantia;"> peat pots. We recommend using the peat or manure pots that can be planted directly into the ground. Gourds do not tolerate well their roots being disturbed.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>alex farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16937447836404560781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4340750763472790969.post-69761935269223619742011-02-24T19:04:00.000-08:002011-02-24T19:04:32.332-08:00Our online store selling our gourd seedsHere is the link to our online store through localharvest.org where you can purchase our Giant African Bushel gourd seeds.<br />
<a href="http://www.localharvest.org/alex-farm-M42668">http://www.localharvest.org/alex-farm-M42668</a>alex farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16937447836404560781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4340750763472790969.post-67429750417593404402011-02-24T17:56:00.000-08:002011-04-18T08:32:44.952-07:00Photos of my gourd designsHere are some of my gourds that I have grown and decorated.<br />
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</div>alex farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16937447836404560781noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4340750763472790969.post-83652169664039062562011-02-24T17:27:00.000-08:002011-02-24T17:27:05.452-08:00Preparing the fieldsToday Davide plowed up three fields where we will be planting this year's gourds. It was a beautiful day - temperatures in the 70's--not bad for a late February day!<br />
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So much of our land here is typical Georgia red clay, but this field is rich, brown soil from years of composted oak leaves and grasses. Beautiful!alex farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16937447836404560781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4340750763472790969.post-57670646928953582042011-02-23T14:05:00.000-08:002011-02-26T14:08:58.216-08:00SquirrelsThe squirrels have discovered that there is food inside my gourds! I can't leave them outside anymore, lest they all be gnawed. This all happened overnight!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Occasionally it snows here...maybe once a year!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our stray that we rescued from the streets of Costa Rica. We just call her "Puppy"...</td></tr>
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