Sponge Gourds (Hah!)

Do you remember that my sponge gourds were setting a second generation? We were always a bit puzzled about why some were a darker green and hairy, and others were pale green and smooth. Anyway, today I had a close look at the 2 biggest ones on the vine, a big sister and a little sister, and decided that they were ready for harvesting. The big sister had cracks in it! I told Mummy that meant it was too old. Mummy looked doubtful but before she could say anything, I chopped both off their vines. I was late for my oboe lesson so Mummy didn’t even have time to squeal loudly. She likes me to be punctual for all my lessons.

Here they are:

Have a look at the close-up of the big sister gourd below. See the cracks?

Now…..we were still a bit puzzled as to what type of sponge gourd this was. Mummy said it smelled awfully sweet and maybe it was a melon. I sure hoped it wasn’t, because I gave one to my teacher for teacher’s day, and told her to fry it with tanghoon and dried shrimp!

Anyway, before we cut it to see its true heart, I weighed both gourds:

 

 

 

 

Not-so-bad, huh? Then Mummy took a knife and sliced the big sister gourd through its middle. AND GUESS WHAT??? IT WAS A MELON. A HAMI MELON. Look:

It wasn’t very sweet, but it was very crisp and juicy.

Oh dear the little sister melon will be even less sweet. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so quick to chop it off its vine. Mummy is eating through the melon with determination.

Two Stages of a Sponge Gourd

Our sponge gourds started a second generation. They are growing up! Here are 2, a big and little sister.

We have the same problem again. This is meant to be long and cucumber-shaped. But we got the eggs again!

Sponge Gourds. Again.

After our initial harvest of egg-shaped gourds, our sponge gourds had a little rest. Then they started again:

Sponge Gourds. Plural, not Singular

I had the one hopeful sponge gourd, the first ever we have managed to grow. It grew and grew and grew:

In the meantime, it was challenged by 2 of its cousins:

Cousin 1 on the left

and

Cousin 2 on the right

 

 

 

Cousin 2 may not have a long life, it started off the same size but looks sad and shrivelled now. Also, do you notice some weird things? The big sponge gourd is dark green. The rest are light green. And they came from the same seed pack!

Also, the picture on the seed pack showed nice long cucumber-shaped gourds. Ours are definitely rounder and more egg-like.

 

First of a Kind

Finally. We have a baby sponge gourd. Their flowers are so small that it is hard to hand pollinate. I hope this little gourd grows up soon!