Garden Source

The Gourd Hard-shelled Birdhouse, ‘Cucurbita lagenaria’, is commonly used to make birdhouses, pots, planters, bowls, toys, and hanging baskets. Once cured, hard-shelled gourds such as Birdhouse will last indefinitely and can be painted, carved, cut, or drilled as you would do with wood for literally hundreds of craft projects. Birdhouse gourds makes a great birdhouse. You can leave the natural color or paint it any color you want. Plant in the spring, 2 to 4 weeks after the last average frost date and when soil temperatures have risen above 60 degrees. Place the gourds in full sun. The soil must be well drained and have lots of organic material. Gourds should be kept evenly moist and at the end of the season keep them on the dry side. Hard-shelled gourds should be kept in the garden as long as there is any life left in the vines.

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The Bean Bush Snap Contender, ‘Phaseolus vulgaris’, is the earliest bean we could find. The Contender is tasty, stringless, and it takes only 40 days from sowing to harvest. You just won’t find an earlier bean. Contender will tolerate hot temperatures and mildew and is very productive. Like other snap beans, Contender is stringless and excellent cooked or eaten right out of the garden. The beans are 6 inches long, thick, and slightly curved. The plants are 12 to 20 inches tall. Plant after the last average frost date. Snap beans prefer rich, organic, and well drained soil. Snap beans are ready to pick when the pod “snaps” or breaks in half cleanly. This is when the seeds have just begun to form.

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The Swiss Chard Ruby Red/Rhubarb, ‘Beta vulgaris (Cicla group)’, has sweet and tender rhubarb-like stalks that are decorative and tasty. You will love the color of Ruby Red. The deep crimson stalks and veins are contrasted by dark-green heavily crumpled large leaves. The leaves are tastier, some believe, than spinach and the stalks crunch like celery but have a slight hint of asparagus. The Ruby Red Swiss Chard can tolerate shade and will not bet bitter in hot weather. Mature plants will withstand considerable cold. Swiss Chard is actually a beet without the beet. instead of growing beets, the plant grows wide, dark green, heavily crumpled leaves that are very tasty. Plant in the spring, after the last average frost date or as late as 2 months before first fall frost. In warm climates, plant in late summer for fall/winter crop. Chard grows best in in well drained soil with lots of organic matter.

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