Gourdening in May

Riverview Gourdens

Today at Riverview we planted gourds and squash. Both of these closely related plants are Cucurbitaceae- an important plant family consisting of of 825 species also including varieties of various melons,cucumbers, pumpkins, and luffas.

 Gourds and squash arrived in mesoamerica roughly 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, the culture they’re most connected with. But though they underwent significant change and domestication in the Americas, they probably came from somewhere in Asia according to DNA evidence. From there, some archeologists suggest they were carried by Paleoindian hunter-gatherers across land bridges that no longer exist to the Americas. Others believe they floated across the Atlantic and took root from there. Gourds have been known to float for up to seven months while still carrying viable seeds.

However they were introduced, they were a pretty big deal to the people there, a staple food item alongside maize and beans. Oftentimes, squash, corns, and beans were planted together—corn provided shade necessary for the squash, and a place for the beans to climb. Squash vines, in turn, cover the ground well and keep down weeds. Beans were the nitrogen fixers. What a great symbiotic relationship! It reminds me of how we try to plan our beds at Riverview so that each crop ends up helping others planted near it.

A note about summer and winter squash—there are different varieties that are specifically summer or winter squash. But the main difference is mostly in maturity. Summer squash is harvested early in the summer before the plants have matured. Thus the rind is tender and edible, and they require little or no cooking. I think I’ve only eaten winter squash because all the squash I’ve ever eaten definitely needed every second under boiling water that it got. Winter squash  is left alone all summer and harvested in fall. It’s much larger, harder, and lasts much longer. They can also be ‘cured’ to last even longer.

Gourds are also very cool. But generally not to eat. They’re not poisonous but they’re rather flavorless, tough, and lacking in edible flesh. Instead, they can be used to make awesome water bottles, musical instruments, utensils, and tasteful decorations. And they have been used thusly for the last 10,000 years.  I’m quite enthusiastic about a gourd instrument so I found some examples of them.

This is a maraca. A percussion instrument, it seems pretty difficult to make but it's easy to play. 

They also make very cool birdhouses. I hope we'll harvest some gourds towards that end.

I can't believe someone actually made fiddles out of gourds. I can't even imagine how difficult that must have been.

Smith, Bruce D., 1997, The Initial Domestication of Cucurbita pepo in the Americas 10,000 Years Ago, Science 276, pp. 932-934

Yup. And Wikipedia.