My Garden Book - Tarrant County Master Gardeners

My Garden Book
of Gourds
Coloring & Activity
Book
My Garden Book
of Gourds
Coloring & Activity
Book
This book belongs to
_________
Did you know?
Most gourds grow on vines. The vine has tendrils
and leaves that usually have five lobes and grow
alternately. The male and female flower bloom on
the same vine.
There are hard-shelled, ornamental, and loofah
gourds. Gourds can be green, white, yellow or
even striped.
Gourds are used for many purposes. Gourds can
be used for spoons, bowls, bottles, jars, and
baskets. Some gourds are used as food and
medicines. Gourds can be made into birdhouses
and birdfeeders.
Gourds can be used to creat art and musical
instruments. Some gourds are used as sponges,
soap and even purses and shoes.
The Drinkin’ Gourd is another name for the Big
Dipper constellation. Did you know there is even
a song called Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd.?
Hard-shelled gourds
Basket Type
The Basket gourd. There are Cannon Ball,
Bushel Basket, and Basket Ball gourds.
This gourd is used to make bowls and
baskets.
The Canteen gourd. It is also called the
sugar bowl gourd. This gourd has been
made into canteens and used to carry
water.
The Kettle gourd. This gourd has a very
thick shell and can grow very large.
The Sugar bowl or Tobacco box gourd.
Hard-shelled gourds
BottleType
The Sennari and Mexican Bottle gourd.
This gourd has a smaler bulb at the top
and a larger bulb at the bottom. It is
used to make bottles.
The Chinese Bottle or Dumb-bell gourd.
It is sometimes called a dumb bell
because of its shape. It is used to make
bottles and birdhouses.
The Birdhouse or Purple Martin gourd.
This gourd is shaped like a pear. It is
one of the most common gourds.
The Penguin or powderhorn gourd. When
painted this gourd looks just like a
penguin.
The Indonesian bottle gourd. This gourd
has a small bulb on the top and a larger
bulb on the bottom, separated by a
long slender waist.
The Lump-in-neck gourd. This gourd
has a large bulb on the bottom with a
smaller bulb on the top. It has a narrow
neck with a lump in it. It can be used to
make Maracas.
The Hardshell Wartie gourd. This gourd
is pear-shaped and it is covered in sturdy
bumps or warts.
The Snake gourd. This gourd can grow
more than 36 inches long. Many people
use this gourd for food.
The Dipper gourd. This gourd has a long
neck. It is used to make a dipper, for
drinking and cooking.
Ornamental gourds
The Apple gourd. It is
white, round and the size
of an apple.
The Crown of Thorns gourd.
It is creamy or green striped,
oblong shape with a ring of
thorns or fingers around the
stem end.
The Egg or Nest egg gourd.
It is a shape, color and size
of a hen’s egg. It is sometimes
used to place in nests to trick hens.
The Orange gourd. It looks
like an orange in shape, color
and size.
The Pear gourd. It is shaped
like a pear, but is green-striped
or white in color.
The Warty gourd. It is
pear-shaped covered in warts.
It is most often orange in
color.
Loofah gourds
The Ridged loofa. This gourd
has ten ridges in its papery
outer shell. It is about 12 inches
long.
The Loofah or dish rag gourd
does not have ridges on it’s shell.
It can grow over 30 inches long.
The Mini loofah or Hedgehog gourd.
It is about the size of a golf ball
and it is covered in spikes.
Name three things a plant needs to
grow.
1.
________________
2. ________________
3. ________________
Can you find 7 gourds on this vine?
Name three hard-shelled gourds.
1. B a s _ _ t
2. K e _ _ l e
3. B o _ _ l e
Name three ornamental gourds.
1.
A__le
2. P _ _ r
3. W a _ t _ e
Name two loofah gourds.
1.
Ri__ed
2. D _ _ h r a g
Name three ways to use a gourd.
1. B a _ _ e t
2. B _ _ d h _ _ s e
3. S p _ _ g e
My Garden Book
of Gourds
Answer Page
Name three things a plant needs to grow.
1. Soil
2. Sun
3. Water
Name three hard-shelled gourds.
1. Basket
2. Kettle
3. Bottle
Name three ornamental gourds.
1. Apple
2. Pear
3. Wartie
Name two loofah gourds
1. Ridged
2. Dishrag
Name three ways to use gourds.
1. Basket
2. Birdhouse
3. Sponge
Copyright 2009, Tarrant County Master Gardener, All Rights Reserved
Additional Sources for Information
about Gardening with Gourds
 Texas A & M – Aggie Horticulture
 AgriLife Extension – Home Gardening-Vegetables,
Fruits, Nuts and Variety Selection
 AgriLife Extension – Pest Management and Control
 AgriLife Extension – Tarrant County Master Gardeners
 AgriLife Extension – Steve Chaney, Tarrant County
Extension Agent
References
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu
The Gourd Book by Charles Bixler Heiser
Gourds in Your Garden: a Guidebook for the Home
Gardener by Ginger Summit
Garden of Gourds by L.H. Gailey
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.twincreek.com
Tarrant County
Master Gardeners
of the
Union Gospel Mission
UGM Garden Coordinator, Gay Larson, TCMG
Written by Nancy Curl, TCMG, BS, MEd
Illustrated by Pat Higgins, TCMG
This publication is dedicated to Sue Short, TCMG
The My Garden Book coloring and activity series:
My Garden Book of Flowers
My Garden Book of Vegetables
Tarrant County Master Gardeners
(817) 884-1944
http://www.tcmga.org/
AgriLIFE Extension, Tarrant County
(817) 884-1946
http://tarrant.tamu.edu
Steve A. Chaney, Tarrant County Extension Agent - Horticulture
(817) 884-1944
s-chaney@tamu.edu