Gradually as the weather gets warmer you can give the little plants more air by opening the windows, and later by putting them out of doors in some sheltered but sunny spot. When there is no longer any danger from frost, the boxes can be set out of doors day and night, only taking them in in case of a severe storm.
The seedlings may need to be separated and transplanted indoors before it is warm enough to set them in the out-of-door garden. Common grape baskets do very well for this purpose and hold about a dozen little plants—flats may also be used. Allow as much space between the seedlings as possible, for if they are too close the roots will twine about each other and make it very hard to transplant them later on. When they are large enough to be transplanted put them into a basin of lukewarm water and plant them in their new box one at a time. Do not put them in the sun for a few days, but keep them shaded until they have taken root.
Starting Gourd Vines in the Indoor Garden
Fig. 69
Of course you have seen gourds, perhaps not growing, but surely you know how they look when dried. Hard, smooth-shelled things of a beautiful golden brown colour, they grow in the strangest shapes. Some are round or oval with a queer twisted stem (see Fig. 69). They have many uses—to hold the stockings open and smooth (so that grandma can darn them easily), as bird houses, match holders, and even for drinking cups.
They are the fruit of a vine which would be charming to train on a trellis or arbour in your out-of-door garden, and then when harvest time came you would have the interesting gourds to dry and use as you chose.
If you would like to raise them, sow the seeds in shallow wooden boxes indoors in March. Plant them a quarter of an inch deep, and when the little plants crowd one another and are strong enough to transplant remove them to larger boxes and plant them six inches apart. When planting the vines out of doors in May or June put plenty of manure about them and give them ample space. If the vines bear many gourds, and all small ones, pinch off some and the others will develop better. Do not pick the gourds until they are quite ripe; that is, when they begin to look slightly yellow. They need plenty of hot sun in order to come to perfection. Leave them as long as possible on the vines, only being careful that they are not touched with frost. In the South they are sometimes left on the vines all winter.
After picking them, hang them in an airy place in the house or out of doors. Leave a little of the vine on each one and they can then be hung by strings tied to these handles. If you follow these few rules your gourds should dry smooth and hard.