Patient Expert Produces Predictably Unique Gourds

Patient Expert Produces Predictably Unique Gourds FARM HOME Miscellaneous 31-2-44 The only way to produce a consistent and predictable type of gourd is to hand-pollinate - or grow just one kind of gourd. That's because gourds are notorious for cross-pollinating with each other, regardless of the variety. Anna Miller and her partner Dick Bostdorff of Quarry Farm Gourds in Wood County, Ohio, specialize in pure varieties, offering a wide selection of seed types. "One gourd variety can be contaminated with another if there's a second variety anywhere up to a mile away," she says. Miller knows that a buyer wanting "snake" gourd seeds isn't going to be happy if a "goose" gourd shows up instead. Miller grows more than 50 types of gourds with widely ranging shapes, sizes and colors. To prevent cross pollination she monitors plants daily between June and early August. That's because female blossoms only open for one night. When Miller can see a female that's about to bloom, she covers the flower with a mesh bag. She also tapes the male flower to keep unwanted pollen from mixing with its own. "The flowers open in the evening, so it's often dark while I'm hand pollinating each female with the pollen of at least two different male plants of the same variety," she says. "I do this to avoid too much inbreeding." When the seeds are ready to harvest, Miller drills a hole in the gourd, removes the seeds, washes them, and spreads them out to dry. After doing a germination test to ensure the seeds have at least 80 percent germination, they're bagged, labeled and refrigerated until being sold the following February for $3 per dozen. She sells between 12,000 and 15,000 seed bags per year. Since the plants and the gourds themselves are obvious byproducts of the business, Miller also sells them. She decorates the gourds and sells them as birdhouses or other crafts. Most of her seed sales are to individual gardeners, but Miller also supplies some large wholesale gourd growers in Pennsylvania, Texas and Missouri. Her mail order service is available to 48 states and international customers. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Quarry Farm Gourds, 12091 Eagleville Rd., North Baltimore, Ohio 45872 (ph 419 257-2597; anna@quarryfarmgourds.com; www. quarryfarmgourds.com).

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