Making Jewellery Feature

I am featured in the Inspirations section (page 68) of the May 2010 issue of Making Jewellery magazine. The magazine is based out of England. So, I am officially an internationally recognized gourd artist. Super cool!

Gourd Jewelry Creation

Ring, Noni, made of gourd and paperclay. Measurements: 2 x 2 x 1 inches. Size: 3 3/4. 2006.

Ring design by Sala Faruq. Photo by Sala Faruq. Copyright © 2006 by Sala Faruq. All rights reserved.

Gourd Growing Diary

As mentioned in my March 26, 2010 blog post, I am attempting to grow some gourds in my garden. It is something I have never tried before. However, things seem to be going well so far. I have successfully germinated three seeds and now have three little gourd plants. To make sure they have a good start, I will be keeping them indoors for several more weeks. Here is what I did to date.

Seed Germination

I moistened a paper napkin and put it inside a Ziploc bag. Then, I placed six seeds about a half inch apart in a row on top of the damp napkin and sealed the bag. I placed the bag on top of my cable box because it was consistently warm. Three of the seeds sprouted in about a week. The other three did nothing, even after two weeks.

The Planting

I took the three sprouts and planted them in small individual clay pots. I used a standard potting soil and planted the sprouts about an inch deep in the soil. After watering them well, I put the three pots under a lamp to keep them warm for the first day. The next morning I placed the pots on a window sill. When I came in that evening, the plants were breaking through the soil of two of the pots. Nothing was happening with the third pot. After four days, the third sprout broke through the soil. I water the plants about every two or three days.