Evening star., 1944-09-03
By ". II. Youngman,
Garden Editor.

The harvesting and curing of
gourds has much to do with their
value for decoration. There are
two groups Of ornamental gourds,
and their handling is quite different.
The ornamental" comes in a num-
Der Of colors as we'll as a variety of
shapes. They should be allowed to
remain on the vine until the colors
are well developed and still retain
their gloss. When allowed to be-
come overripe, the colors become
dull. This gourd is quite tender
and 50 must reach maturity before
frost. The "hardshell" gourd Is very
hardy and unaffected by frost.
The first step in maturing gourds
is to remove the ends of the vines
and to withhold water so that they
start to mature in natures way.
This cutting back Of the vine checks
the growth and tends to hasten
maturity. The hardshells may be
safely left on the vines until after
frost, when they will have lost much
of their moisture and the shells be-
come quite hard.
The second step in harvesting the
"ornamentals" Is to clean them
carefully before putting them away
to become thoroughly dry. In the
cleansing, every effort should be
made to avoid bruising. The hard
shell" can be scraped after soaking
to remove the softer outer skin.
The third step In preparing gourds
is the protection against decay. The
older method was to thoroughly dry
them in a warm. airy place. This
may take from two to six months,
depending upon the thickness Of the
shell. The more common practice,
however, is to coat them with wax
or shellac. They should be thor
oughly dried before applying either
since excess moisture In
side of the shell will cause rotting.
Some, in preparing their gourds,
drill tiny holes to aid the drying,
but this Is not necessary and may
induce infection and rot.
If the gourds are to be painted
or otherwise decorated, this should
be done after drying but before
waxing or shellacking. Throughout,
care should be taken to avoid bruis-
ing. as this disfigures, discolors and
encourages mold.
Last call for planting crimson
clover for erosion control and soil
improvement. While the soil has
been too dry for seeding. it is hoped
that fall rains will enable gardeners
to get this crop started now. Sep
tember Is is about as late as it is
safe to plant crimson clover and
have it make a good start.
Spinach, winter radishes and let
tuce may still be planted in the
garden for use this fall. 1t is too
late for most other crops to mature,
although some, like kale, peas and
endive, may still be tried. and If the
weather is unusually mild, they may
come through and produce useful
crops.
Now is the time to give the straw
berry bed a good fertilizing so that
the plants will store up food for
next springs growth. Strong vigor-
GUS plants are more likely to come
through the winter in good shape
than weak, stunted plants. They
need this extra care after the hot,
dry summer.
1t is quite important that corn
stalks be chopped up and buried be-
fore the garden Is abandoned for
the summer. This fall care is the
most effective method Of controlling
the European corn borer. If the
stalks cannot be spaded under, they
should be pulled and burned.
Mid-September is the time for
planting and pruning evergreens.
They start into growth with the
fall rains and 50 transplanting or
the setting out of new shrubs should
be timed to come just ahead of this
growing season. It is also the best
time to prune them. Pruning of
evergreens is important In keeping
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