I failed at two-out-of-three efforts to grow some stuff just for fun in the garden this year. Critters of the insect type took out the giant pumpkin vines. The ornamental, multi-colored corn was eaten up by mammalian pests at the tail end of the growth cycle. I had hot-wired the raccoons out before roasting ear stage. Then I wound up with the only staked and tied up corn patch I have ever seen after a big wind laid it flat. After the ears were nearly dried down I took down the electric fence. My mistake. Two weeks later something consumed the hard, dry kernels. I guess those ’coons showed me, or squirrels did it.

Just wait ’till next year. These are not human food crops, so anything legal is in play.

So far my gourd crop has been completely trouble free and loaded with four different kinds of gourds. All I did was plant seed along the deer fence around the garden. There has been no spraying, no pruning and no babying like tomato plants demand. Harvesting the gourds will be done one time in a matter of minutes and it really doesn’t matter when I pick them after time and frost shuts down the vines.

Of course it was also going to be easy to pick the two pumpkins and two dozen ears of colored corn I got outsmarted on.

Gourds are in the cucurbit family along with melons, pumpkins, squash and, of course, cucumbers. All of these are monoecious plants, meaning each plant has separate male and female blooms.

As mine bloomed, I took the time to see about how many gourds to expect by counting the female blooms. The females come with tiny green structures already in the shape of gourds-to-be with the petals attached. Successful pollination causes the structures, properly called embryos, to take off growing. There are significantly more male blooms than female and I noticed the bloom color was a dingy white instead of the yellow or orange of melons, squash and cucumber blooms.

Young immature gourds are edible. Gourds were cultivated for food way back when people lived much closer to the land. There are still a few gourd delicacies among some ethnic and cultural cuisines. Harkening back to the many uses of gourds, we still have luffa sponge gourds, dipper gourds and birdhouse gourds. Most gourds raised today are for ornamental or decorative use more so than practical uses.

In my gourd study, I got a kick out of some of the variety names. Among the self-explanatory named gourds are Bushel Basket, Small Spoon, Caveman Club and Big Apple. The claim is this last one is indeed shaped like a large apple.

And if you really want to impress your neighbors, try to get hold of some seed of the Bule Gourd. It is a rare, French heirloom variety said to be shaped just like Big Apple only covered with attractive warts.

We gardeners can’t go wrong with attractive warts.

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Terry Rector writes for the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District, 601-636-7679 ext. 3.