Re: [gourds] Gourd shell composition
hdqrs@worldnet.att.net (gourds@globalgarden.com)
Wed, 14 Jan 1998 20:55:18 -0600
At 12:13 AM 1/15/98 +0000, Owen Kibel wrote:
>
>Certain grasses and woods contain high concentrations of silica, which
>makes them hard on tools. However gourd wood is not known for this and I
>doubt that silica is a significant reason for resistance to decay. My
>experiment was to take a small piece of gourd shell and burn it fully to
>ashes. It was from a Bushel gourd, about a quarter inch in thickness,
>and fairly dense, strong and good quality as far as gourd shells go. The
>gourd had been green-skinned and left to dry so that moisture containing
>solutes had evaporated on its surface.
>
>If silica had been a major constituent of the gourd shell then there
>would have been a copious quantity of insoluble ash left behind. There
>was plenty of light gray ash after burning, however after dissolving the
>soluble components in water there was only a tiny quantity of gritty
>stuff left which would be probably be silica. This does not mean that
>one should not wear masks with gourd dust, as Old Jim suggests, only
>that silica is probably not the reason for gourd shell longevity. The
>ash tasted very strongly - probably of potassium carbonate - and Becky
>has suggested adding potassium sulfate towards the end of the gourd
>season for healthy plants and big fruit. The large quantity of salts in
>the gourd shell are likely the results of the moisture evaporating on
>the surface.
The very fine silica is white in color and does not have any taste.
Silica is fine as powder and sand is gritty.
The silica that is contained in gourds is in the very outer shell as with
corn, beans and other same type seeds and cannot be digested by any
digestive systems I know. This is the very reason that people with very
small pockets (pockets get bigger on the outside) in their intestines ( I
cannot think of the proper name) cannot eat such grains as the silica
containing outer shell gets lodged in the cavities and they end with cancer
of the intestines.
What you have done in effect is eat many very sharp and small quartz crystals.
old jim