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How To Read Mirliton Leaves for Vine Watering Needs

How To Read Mirliton Leaves for Vine Watering Needs

by | Jul 12, 2022 | ,

Guttation forming on leaf tips and edges

Your mirliton will tell you every morning how much water its roots are accessing. It is called “guttation.” If there is more than adequate soil moisture available at night, mirlitons will send the excess to the leaves where it will be visible in large droplets on the margins of the leaves. The water exudes from glands at the tip of the leaves. Guttation means the plant has more than enough water; if you don’t see guttation for several days, then it’s probably time to water.  Click here for a link to instructional photos of guttation and how to read it (click on each photo for explanations).

Watering Mirlitons

by | Jul 12, 2022 | ,

Watering Mirlitons

I could have titled this “How To Water Your Mirliton” but that would be like asking, “How To Care for a Child.” There’s no single answer because each child is different and has different needs at different times in their life. Plants are the same. So this is a set of guidelines instead of rules for watering mirlitons during their three distinct stages in their life cycle.

It used to be said that mirlitons “take care of themselves” and need little care; the increase in hurricanes, floods, and intensive rain days means that is no longer true. Now they need intensive care. No watering technique can remedy a flawed plant site. Mirlitons need quickly draining, well-aerated soil. That means you may have to install drainage (ditches, French drains) in your ground planting; in raised beds, you need lateral exit routes for excess rain, such as side holes or subsurface corrugated pipe. Rapid and wide fluctuations in soil moisture content in your raised bed can stunt growth and hinder flowering and fruiting. These guidelines will generally apply to both planting methods.

Steps to take Before You ever Turn on the Hose:

Get a rain gauge. Place it next to your vine and check it daily. The weather person has no idea how much it rained in your yard—you need to know it for your vine’s health.

Don’t guess about the vine’s water needs. The soil and the leaves will tell you exactly what you need to know if you scout them daily. Learn to read the bamboo stake or soil sampler and the mirliton leaves. They will tell if the vine needs water, and too much water can create a sick vine.

Use a Bamboo Stake or Steel Soil Sampler to gauge soil Moisture: Learn how to use a ½-inch bamboo tomato stake to test soil moisture in the root zone. It will tell you instantly if your vine has too much or too little available moisture. There’s a link at the end of this article to how to read the stake. Or buy a stainless steel soil sampler that allows you see and feel moisture levels beneath the surface (link below)

Check Guttation Daily: Mirlitons will tell you every day if they are quenched or thirsty. Guttation is the droplets of water that form on mirliton leaf edges early in the morning. The presence of guttation means the vine has more than enough available water in the root zone. Three days without guttation mean it probably needs watering. Check the vine first thing in the morning for guttation. Learn to read your mirliton leaves at the link below.

Wilting Does not Mean Water the Vine. A daily wilt in hot weather is normal and healthy mirliton. It’s called “leaf flagging” and it reduces exposure to direct sunlight and toughens the leaves against plant diseases. Watering mirlitons as a reaction to temporary wilt can actually harm the plant. When you see a daytime wilt, wait until the evening and probably see that it recovers.

Never give your vine a shower. That’s a surefire way to start an anthracnose epidemic. The anthracnose pathogens are primarily carried primarily by water through splash-up from the soil or splashed from leaf to leaf. Water gently at ground level with a hose on low, or use drip irrigation.

The Three Stages in the Mirlton Life Cycle:
1. Toddler:
Be careful with the baby. The first impulse when we see a young plant droop is to water our way out of the problem. Don’t do it At the toddler stage, mirlitons are most sensitive to soil moisture issues because their young roots are just emerging. Overwatering is the leading cause of premature death in mirlitons. Prepare for your toddler by installing gentle drip irrigation or an olla. Use the stake and read the leaves daily.

2. Sprawler:
Once the vine is established, it will begin to climb and sprawl. A larger canopy means they need more water. Daily summer showers should provide enough water, but don’t guess–use the stake and read the leaves.

3. Fruiter
The fall is fruiting season and water needs may increase, but use the stake and read the leaves.

Final Thoughts
Watering is not something you simply do to a mirliton vine; it’s something you do with it. It’s a partnership in which both parties have something to say. Listen to your vine.

Bamboo stake instructions here.
Steel Soil Sampler here.
Read the Mirliton Leaves here.

Deep Roots

by | Jul 12, 2022 |

Debra Voelker (photo by Renee Lapeyrolerie)

By Renee Lapeyrolerie

Debra Voelker is Jazz Fest, Mardi Gras, costumes, and mirliton. She has roots on St. Ann Street and Ursulines Avenue. Her dad grew mirliton on Orleans Avenue and her maw maw stuffed them on Canal Street. About six years ago, Debra got mirliton seed from a friend who’d shared on a social media post that she’d put them ‘out for the taking’ from her front porch. The supplier said that she had gotten seed from an elder whose vine survived Hurricane Katrina’s winds, although we have not been able to verify the source nor the location.

However nice that would be to know, Debra’s vine has produced multiple years and she was even gifted a crop in the Summer of 2021. Surely, a Louisiana heirloom due to its reliable production and physical characteristics. Debra made a sweet mirliton pie and a soup with her bonus crop. It’s the Fall yield though that brings back memories of her mirliton-filled youth. Her maternal grandmother, or maw maw, who lived on Canal Street just two miles from where Debra now lives, stuffed her mirliton mixture back into the shells for baking, some with ground meat and others with shrimp. Debra makes a traditional stuffing and has added mozzarella, an idea she picked up from a friend. Her father’s sister used to cut mirliton up into big chunks and pickle them that way, after all, mirliton was plentiful in the family.

Debra’s dad grew a vine on the hurricane fence of the home she was raised in on Orleans Avenue near North Carrolton Avenue. She remembers the vine growing all along the fence and sometimes over the garage. She has vivid memories of accompanying him up the street to put bags of mirliton on the neighbors’ stoops. “There would be Schwegmann’s bags of them,” she said, “it was wild!” That is a common unit of measure among mirliton growers during the century-long era of a popular supermarket chain in the New Orleans region.

As we swapped stories about caring for our respective vines she lamented, “I don’t remember my dad doing a damn thing to his vine.” But she does remember a time that a mirliton tendril grabbed onto her hair. When Debra retrieved the mirliton from her friend, they were off-the-vine. She had to wait for them to sprout, she potted them, and got the vine going. For two years the vine produced fruit until a jealous dog interrupted progress in year three. She made another raised bed across the backyard and now both vines have produced and are thriving. Like most growers in the path of Hurricane Ida, her vine support was toppled, but she left it in place because she had fruit.

Anthracnose

by | Jul 8, 2022 |

Mirliton leaf infected with anthracnose. Unlike powdery mildew which yellows uniformly and wilts the leaves, anthracnose starts as yellow wedges between the leaf veins. It then turns the leaf tissue brown and leaves a distinctive “shot hole” in the middle of the brown patches. This is because the anthracnose fungus feeds on both living and dead tissue.

Seasons change and diseases change.  For mirlitons (chayote), the cooler, drier spring is time for the airborne mildews (powdery and downy), but the hot rainy months July through August—bring anthracnose season.  Being prepared for it can significantly reduce the damage the disease might do. 

First, know the enemy.  The above photo provides all the classic signs of anthracnose; a yellow wedge that turns into dead paper-like tissue, with a shot-hole in the middle. If you got these, you got anthracnose.

Anthracnose is a disease caused by the fungus Colletotrichum lagenarium in mirlitons. There are many fungi that cause anthracnose disease, but for our purposes, we’ll call Colletotrichum lagenarium the “anthracnose fungus.”  Unlike mildews which are carried by air, the anthracnose fungus is waterborne. That means it is carried by water droplets, splashing up from the soil and then from leaf to leaf. That’s important because it means that while you might be able to wash off some fungi with a good shower from your hose, the same shower will splash anthracnose fungus all over your vine and cause a massive anthracnose infection. 

Three Steps to Manage Anthracnose:

  1. Don’t give your vine showers.  Water from at the bottom of the vine with a hose set on low or drip irrigation.
  2. Don’t drown the vine. Too much soil moisture stresses mirliton and makes it difficult for it to fight fungi. Make sure your raised beds and ground plantings have adequate drainage, if they don’t have it, then add it now.
  3. Don’t worry; Be Happy. As horrible as anthracnose looks, infected vines normally recover in September and flower and fruit. Plus, they acquire increased resistance to the disease.

 

Here’s a more complete fact sheet on anthracnose and how to protect your plant by prepping your planting site or raised bed::Here

A Master Class in Mirlitons

by | Jun 29, 2022 | ,

Ervin Crawford And his Mirliton Vine

In 2008, I was searching for a Louisiana heirloom mirliton to replace the variety I had grown since 1983.  The hurricane Katrina flood had killed almost every mirliton in New Orleans.  The usual suspects had given me all the normal bad advice: “Buy one at the grocery store.  A mirliton is a mirliton.  They’ll grow fine.”  Nope. I planted, they died; I planted, they died. Over and over.  

After a little research, I discovered there were scores of varieties—perhaps hundreds—each adapted to the particular climate and altitude.  I had to find the one traditionally grown in Louisiana.  I discovered that the Louisiana Department of Agriculture’s monthly Market Bulletin was digitally archived years back. I went through it looking under “fruits and vegetables for sale” and saw one name repeatedly; Ervin Crawford, Pumpkin Center.  It was a long shot because the advertisements were decades old, but I called the number.  Ervin Crawford answered.

I immediately drove to Pumpkin Center and met him. On that first visit, Ervin gave me about 20 mirlitons and with those 20 plants, I started Mirliton.Org.  Ervin played a crucial role in saving the Louisiana heirloom mirliton.

Visiting Ervin’s farm is a pilgrimage everyone should make.  He’s a retired airline mechanic and knows more about mirlitons than anyone I know. He has been growing them for five decades, first in Peal River where he was raised, and later in Pumpkin Center where he bought his 20-acre retirement farm.  He grows everything; pecans, figs, beans, berries, bees, chickens.  

He has a quality found in most successful gardeners–a healthy curiosity. He wanted to know why he had success as well as failures. And failure and mirlitons often go together in the poor sandy pinewoods soil of the area called the Florida Parishes.  I have heard people in the region say, “They won’t grow up here.”  At first, I thought that they were using the wrong variety, or planting them incorrectly.  Ervin taught that the problem was not the soil, it was what was beneath the soil. 

Soil sample tests tell you a great deal, but they won’t tell you what you need to successfully grow mirlitons. Mirlitons are shallow-root plants and they sink or swim depending on subsurface drainage. If the soil doesn’t drain quickly enough, the roots can’t absorb oxygen, and the plant founders or dies. Building a raised bed on top of poorly-drained soil may result in a mud boat. The bed has to have an outlet to either absorb or remove excess water.  So to succeed, you need to know the geology and history of the land you are gardening on–and Ervin asked the right questions when he first got to Pumpkin Center.

Ervin learned that Pumpkin Center’s soil was considerably different from Pearl River, where he had learned gardening. Pearl River was a loamy basin soil, rich and porous. In contrast, Pumpkin Center was in the middle of the great Piney Flats that stretches from Florida to Texas. It was notoriously bad poor soil—sandy and acidic. When he once had some excavation work done, he saw that solid white clay lay a few feet down–a real barrier to drainage.

I realized that I had never asked those questions about where I was gardening.  To grow mirlitons, you have to be part geologist, hydrologist, and historian. You don’t have to become an expert; just enough knowledge to benefit your mirliton.

As I learned more about the history of where I was gardening, I realized that my mirlitons had often thrived in spite of me. I never once had asked what was under that topsoil or what was there 100 years ago.  

I do now, thanks to Ervin.   

 

 

How to Plant Spring Mirliton (chayote) Sprouts in Hot Weather

by | May 27, 2022 | ,

Spring mirlitons are normally sold unsprouted because they are picked fresh from the vine in early May. The first step before planting is to sprout the mirliton. You can speed the process by incubating it—keeping it as warm as possible. If it is above 80° outside, place the mirliton in a shaded area.  Or you can incubate it inside your home by placing it in a small plastic trash can or 5-gallon container with a lamp or small heating pad on low. The ideal temperature is 80°-85°. This will promote rapid sprouting within 10-14 days. (here is how I did it)

As soon as the seed begins to emerge (sticks out its tongue), it needs to be planted—but differently from the fall ones. In May, temperatures can run in the 90s along the Gulf Coast, and I have found that sometimes they won’t send up a shoot in extreme heat.  Instead, the shoot spirals under the seed. (Figure 1). 

The solution is simple. Plant the sprout as you normally would, but put a temporary shade cover over it —a milk crate with a piece of shade cloth over it or a piece of cardboard on top will work fine. Cover the crate with chicken wire to ward off varmints. Once the shoot emerges, remove the crate and stake up the vine.

Figure 1.

Mirliton.org Certified Pedigrees

by | Apr 7, 2022 |

Mirliton.org Certified Pedigrees

We have noticed an uptick in interest from folks on social media looking to acquire seed mirliton or mirliton plants. As we have always preached, to be successful at growing mirlitons in Louisiana and the neighboring states, one must start with heirloom varieties suited for the Gulf Coast. As a result of our efforts in saving the Ishreal Thibodeaux white mirliton variety, there appears to be a lot of people posting they have received some of that variety to grow; however, it has also been noted another white variety has recently turned up as well as some imports from Latin America.

In an effort to help ensure future growers are actually growing the varieties they think they are’ we will start issuing Pedigree Certification Acknowledgment certificates to those varieties that have been already identified (e.g., Ishreal Thibodeaux, Papa Sylvest, Remondet-Perque, etc.) or will be identified by Mirliton.org. These will be free PDFs emailed to recipients so they can be kept on record with unique certification numbers so we can establish future pedigree claims. They can provide a printed copy to individuals who buy from them as proof of variety claim.

Image 1: Sample Certificate Header

The first round will focus on the Ishreal Thibodeaux growers. This may be a time-consuming process depending on the records available and may not always yield a certificate if we cannot establish the original source or verify based off of physical description and pictures. If you have a viable established mirliton vine of 3+ years and would like to be considered for a certificate, please contact David Hubbell at rpcajun2r@gmail.com .

 

The Mirliton Pronunciation Project!

by | Mar 26, 2022 |

As many of you know, we have added the Mirliton Pronunciation button to the top of the page that gives you a link to how many well-known native Louisianians pronounce the word Mirliton. The link will take you to the first pronunciation of Lolis Eric Elie, then should proceed down the playlist. If it doesn’t simply click here for the whole playlist: How Do You Say MILRITON?

So far, we have:

Season 1:

Lolis Eric Elie

Glen Pitre

Don Dubuc

Julie and Vance Vaucresson

Chef Frank Brigtsen

Liz Williams

Renee Lapeyrolerie

Chef Jeremy Langlois

Spuddy Faucheaux

Marcelle Bienvenu

Jay Schexnaydre

Jerry Folse

“Uncle” Larry Roussel

Ken Wells

Bryanne Bellman

Mark Bologna

Captain Luka Cutura

Miss Louisiana 2021 – Julie Claire Williams

Nancy Tregre Wilson

Chef Amy Sins

Marissa Rabalais Turner

Jimmy Babin

Lester Folse

Poppy Tooker

The Children of Ishreal Thibodeaux

Chef Tommy Centola

Season 2:

Kernis Louviere

Maureen Brennan and Spud McConnell

Jyl Benson

Peggy Scott Laborde

We have reached out to many more folks and hope to add to our list for Season 2. If you know of a Louisiana native that you would like to hear, say the word MIRLITON, simply send me an email at rpcajun2r@gmail.com and I will see what I can do.

Thank you also to Poppy Tooker for showcasing the project on her recent episode of Louisiana Eats!

Thank you for watching!

 

Update on the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project – End of Year 2021

Update on the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project – End of Year 2021

by | Jan 28, 2022 |

Background:

Since June 20th, 2020, Mirliton.org has been working with growers throughout the country on the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project in an attempt to bring back, from the brink of extinction, this rare ivory white variety of the mirliton grown and cared for over four decades by Opelousas, Louisiana’s Ishreal Thibodeaux. If you haven’t already checked out the last Update on the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project – 2nd Quarter 2021 then please do so to see the progress up to that point. It links back to the other updates which contain an in depth look at all of our growers and efforts from the start of the project.

Grower Update:

As mentioned in the previous updates, we were able to expand our growing efforts to 9 new growers; mostly in Louisiana but some in Texas. This is in addition to our existing six from last year. Sadly, it looks like our Carolina and Alabama plants did not survive into the 2021 growing season. Our sincere hope is to resupply these folks with plants in early March 2022 for a second try.

Reports from the Field:

The last half of 2021 presented many challenges to the growers. In particular, a major part of those in Louisiana were right in the path of destruction of Hurricane Ida. Many lost their vines and the great progress they were making, but that loss seems inconsequential compared to the loss of life and property many in that area felt. Fortunately, our growers who faced setbacks are raring to try again in 2022 and we are making efforts to get them reestablished. Attached are a series of updates and photos from our new and existing growers from the last half of the year.

Wade Guidry – Cutoff, LA

Wade reports that. “(We) lost all our garden including Ishreal Thibodaux’s. But hoping we can get new ones to start from scratch again!” – September 23, 2021. Good news for us all is that we have helped locate more IT mirlitons for Wade to start over in 2022.

David Duvic – West Felicians Parish, LA

“Plants are doing well. Starting to flower. Spraying with copper every 7-10 days hoping to control mildew/anthracnose. So far, I am winning. If anyone knows of a particular product that works well, please let me know.” – September 23, 2021. As you can see, David efforts yielded a very nice crop.

Image 1. David Duvic’s IT mirliton in November 2021

Christopher Brooks – Opelousas, LA

“Bad news to report on my end. Something (I suspect a rabbit) ate both my vines off at the ground. I was hoping that they would re-sprout and resume growing. Unfortunately, they have not. One did put up a start but died back down.” – September 22, 2021. As with Wade, we have helped Christopher locate some more to start over in 2022.

Laken Thomas -Lake Charles, LA

“Unfortunately, my plants didn’t make it. We have been having terrible weather events in SWLA. After I moved them outside their health declined and never recovered. I put up wind barriers and built an area specific for their growing needs but it just wasn’t enough ☹“Fortunately, Laken located some more IT mirlitons from another source so they are set for 2022!

Brad Langlanais – Lafayette, LA

“Unfortunately, I lost my plant back in July from over fertilizing it. It was looking so good too!” – December 2022. Brad was able to locate some of the new white mirlitons a grower out of Mississippi made available in December. We don’t believe these are the Ishreal Thibodeaux variety, but we will find out after growing them the differences between the two.

So far, our Texas growers aren’t doing too bad at all. Please check out their phenomenal progress!

Kevin de Santiago – Round Rock, TX

Kevin has the distinction of being the first gardener in Texas to successfully grow the Ishreal Thibodeaux variety. Here are 4 beautiful specimens.

He notes – “There are eleven more that have reached the “this is happening” size. The vine keeps putting out flowers and our warm temps are holding up.” – December 4, 2021.

Image 2. Kevin de Santiago’s IT mirlitons December 10, 2021

Sadly, shortly after he reported, “The freeze was a lot harder than anticipated.”

Image 3. Kevin de Santiago’s IT mirlitons in early December 13, 2021

Image 4. Sasi Vajha of Houston photographed this IT mirliton down on Galveston Island provided to her by Kevin De Santiago December 23, 2021. We at Mirliton.org really love this shot!

Alan Raymond – Kingwood, TX

Alan reported that “I have 6 mirliton fruit developing.  A few photos are attached.  The largest is about 4 inches long.”

 

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mage 5. Alan Raymond’s IT mirlitons in early December 2021

Image 6. Alan Raymond’s IT mirlitons in early December 2021

Image 7. Alan Raymond’s IT mirlitons in early December 2021

From our established growers:

Paul D’anna, Master Mirliton Grower – Metairie, LA

Paul’s holiday update –

Image 8. The Mirliton Man of Metairie, Mr. Paul D’Anna inspecting some IT mirlitons in December. Paul is in his element! Thank you, Renee Lapeyrolerie, for this great picture!

James Cobb– Houma, LA

James reports

“2 nice ones growing. Have about 1/2 dozen more about golf ball size and loads of tiny ones & flowers. Been some rough going the last year but hanging in there. There’s hope.” – November 2021

Image 9. James Cobb IT mirlitons in early November 2021

Chef John Folse – Baton Rouge, LA

“All good here. Vines very full and still picking and begin to plant for greenhouse. Many are already spreading roots. Big year again.” – December 2021

Once again Chef John and his great staff at White Oak Estates and Gardens have put aside some for the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project so that folks like Wade, Christopher, and Carolina grower Keith Mearns can give it another shot!

Image 10. White Oak Estates and Gardens IT mirlitons being potted in the greenhouse in early January 2022

I believe these are all of the photos I have from our growers. I imagine you are as impressed with their progress as I am. This is an amazing finish for 2021 compared to where we were in December 2020! Kudos to all the growers and continued success as we head into winter and work on overwintering and preparing for the 2022 growing season.

Additional Louisiana Growers – Independent of the formal group

Jay Thibodeaux – Opelousas, LA

Jay bought some from Paul D’Anna last year and had a great year making over 100 available for sale. Look at the size of this one!

Image 11. Jay Thibodeaux’s whopper IT mirliton December 2021

Image 12. Jay Thibodeaux’s display of some beautiful IT mirliton December 2021

Buddy and Charlotte Baham – Algiers, LA–

Back in March 2021, we learned of another Ishreal Thibodeaux grower that had gotten some of the original mirlitons Dr. Lance Hill shared with growers back in 2013. We were very pleasantly surprised that they had been growing these in abundance in Algiers for over 8 years. They generously made some available for sale back in March and shared some pictures of their Fall 2021 bounty. Check out these awesome pictures by Buddy Baham.

Image 13. Look at the size of those IT Mirlitons from Buddy and Charlotte Bahams!

Image 14. Buddy and Charlotte’s mirliton structure in Algiers!

Image 15. A cluster of the IT Mirlitons in Algiers

Image 16. The IT vine has found a wonderful place to thrive in Algiers!

Tee Shirt Campaign:

We continue to have steady sales of our Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project tee shirts. The purchase of these shirts helps us continue our efforts to preserve and promote the work of Mirliton.org. If you are interested in purchasing one, these shirts are available as a special offering for those wishing to donate $30 per shirt to Mirliton.org. To order your own, simply click here or send me an email at rpcajun2r@gmail.com.

Image 17. The official project Tee Shirt

Image 18. The official tee shirt of The Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project

Education and Inspiration Through Food:

One of the many other projects we conducted in 2021 was a fun little effort engaging the help of many notable south Louisianians to provide instructional videos on how they say the word, mirliton. The Mirliton Pronunciation Project was a great success and we have 27 episodes from the first pass and will be working on many more for the second round. If you haven’t seen them, please check them out by clicking on the following playlist: Mirliton Pronunciation Project. You’ll see many familiar Louisiana names like Chef Frank Brigtsen, writer Lolis Eric Elie, director Glen Pitre, outdoorsman Don Dubuc and many many more. I also hope you check out episode 26 below with our very special guests – the children of Mr. Ishreal Thibodeaux! Let us know what you think! Click below or here!

Image 19. The children of Ishreal Thibodeaux help out with the Mirliton Pronunciation Project

Chef John Folse provides another great recipe using the IT Mirliton found via WAFB’s website. Check out this Mirliton Custard recipe here: Mirliton Custard (wafb.com)

In addition to the great information regarding the growing of mirliton, don’t forget we have a section completely devoted to recipes found below: International Mirliton/Chayote Recipes – Mirliton Dr. Hill has continued to add great recipes as he comes across them. Check it out and start planning your 2022 mirliton menus now!

Finally, I had a chance to help spread the word on our mirliton efforts via three platforms. I gave a general hourlong mirliton talk via Zoom to the Pensacola Organic Gardening Club in October, followed by the very enjoyable and educational Tip of The Tongue podcast (part of the Nitty Grit Network) which falls under the umbrella of the great Southern Food and Beverage Museum in New Orleans. Thank you again to the founder and show host, Liz Williams for having me as her guest. You can check out the interview here: Tip of the Tongue 103: Mirliton, Chayote and Christophene — Southern Food & Beverage Foundation

I then finished off the year sharing our efforts on one of New Orleans’ great radio institutions, Tom & Mary Ann Fitzmorris’ The Food Show. You can find my 30-minute segment about an hour in here: THE FOOD SHOW – DECEMBER 10, 2021 – WGSO 990AM

Final Thoughts for the 2021 Growing Season:

This final update of the 2021 growing season should clearly give the reader an idea that the program is doing quite well despite our issues due to Ida. I am really impressed and inspired by what I am seeing from our Texas growers and the independent work done by Buddy & Charlotte Baham and Jay Thibodeaux are enhancing and supporting our work. The goal for the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Project all along has been to preserve and then develop a network of growers that are able to provide others interested in this variety a reliable source to call upon as the we make a resurgence. It really looks like the we are a lot closer to that point then I expected we’d be after two years. At last count, we have 7 growers with great productive vines and perhaps 50+ independent growers going into 2022! I really believe by the end of 2022 we will have a great network of Ishreal Thibodeaux growers throughout the Gulf South that should be able to make this variety available to all who are interested in growing them.

As a final note, I have added only a few names to the third wave of growers in 2022 but if still interested in the project, please check out this link. Thank you all for the interest and support in 2021 and we wish you, your family, and friends a safe, healthy, and wonderful spring growing season.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, please send them to me David J. Hubbell at rpcajun2r@gmail.com. Thank you.

Pioneers in Louisiana Mirliton History – Part 2

by | Sep 24, 2021 |

Pioneers in Louisiana Mirliton History

John Burns Sr. (1884-1947)

On Thursday September 18, 1941 Hermann B. Deutsch, a reporter for many New Orleans newspapers over his 50+ year career, penned the following on page 8 of the New Orleans Item:

“Each artist chooses his own medium for the attainment of beauty. Wagner worked with music, Rembrandt with oil pigments. Keats with words, Phidias with the sculptor’s chisel. Pavlova with the dance. Cellini with the goldsmith’s mallet, Genthe with camera. But John Burns of New Orleans chose a Mexican vegetable with a French name and American devotees to create beauty in the Irish Channel.”

The title of the article was Orleanian Creates Beauty in A Mirliton Arbor1 and ran with the following picture:

Image 1: The New Orleans Item1 Article

When I first read through this article, I was curious as to who was John Burns, what kind of mirliton was he growing, how tall was the arbor given that Mr. Burns was standing on his shed roof, and where exactly was it located in the city?

John Burns Sr.

John Thomas Burns Sr. was born on March 27, 1884 in New Orleans to John Peyton Burns and Catherine Connert and grew up in the city’s 1st Ward. His father was originally from Canada and his mother appears to have been a native New Orleanian. Per the 1900 and 1910 Census2,3, it was recorded that everyone from his parents down to siblings could read, write, and spoke English and that the younger members were enrolled at school. Thus, we can conclude that the family was fairly literate and educated. In his early years in 1910, John held the job of being a Clerk for the railroad. On December 17th, 1913, John married Ellen “Nellie” Lacey. Like John, Ellen was born in New Orleans (March 15, 1884). Ellen’s father was Thomas J. Lacey originally from Ireland and her mother was Mary Smith from New Orleans. The 1930’s census4 lists Ellen as a homemaker who could also read and write. By 1918, when John filled out his WWI Draft Card, he had been working as a longshoreman and the couple had moved to 2419 St. Thomas Street in the neighborhood known as the Irish Channel. John was described as being of medium height at 5’ 5” and medium build with grey eyes and brown hair5. By 1920 John was employed as a “screwman” on the river front6. According to the article “THE 1907 NEW ORLEANS DOCKWORKERS GENERAL STRIKE”7 by Malcom Suber, “The New Orleans screwmen were responsible for tightly packing cotton bales in the holds of the ships. This critical task put them atop the labor force on the docks thus providing the screwmen with the highest wages on the docks.” A similar reference cited on Wikipedia also commented that “their work was highly skilled, required immense strength, and was indispensable to the smooth operation of the waterfront.”8 Thus, we can assume that despite his medium stature, John must have been a pretty strong man in his youth and earned a fairly decent wage. However, from then until 1928, John’s profession was listed in the New Orleans City Directories9 as simply a laborer. In 1928, his occupation is changed to that of Bridge Tender.10 The Bridge Tender is basically one in charge of the bridge ensuring its operation and safety both on the bridge and for the passage in the canal. At the time of the mirliton article, he was the Bridge Tender for the bridge at Broad Street and the New Basin Canal. Today that is basically where Broad crosses the Pontchartrain Expressway near the WLAE studios. Image 211 is a photograph of the south Broad Street side of the bridge in the last few years that John worked there. Around 1946, the city started to fill in the New Basin Canal which was eventually replaced by the Pontchatrain Expressway.

Image 2: South Broad Street bridge over the New Basin Canal (1941-07-09)11

John and Nellie had six children: Eleanor, Lorraine, James Joseph, Rita, John, and Raymond. July 17th, 1925 was a sad day at the Burns residence when one year old John Benedict Burns passed away. The funeral was conducted from the residence the next day and the child was buried in St. Patrick Cemetery #1.12

John Burns appeared in the New Orleans papers a couple of times from 1913 through the 1941 article. In some of the articles he was either the main subject or in a “supporting role”. In September of 1925 he was charged with impersonating an officer after trying to extort $1 (equivalent to about $15.50 today) from a bar owner by showing him a “special badge”13. In this case it appeared that he had been as Bob Cratchit would say “making rather merry” before the event. In 1931, he was credited with saving the lives of those trapped in a cab on the bridge14. However, in 1932, John unfortunately made a poor choice that end up with him in the hospital due to the negligence of an intoxicated driver he rode with15. About 2 years later, he had to be called upon to help police drag the New Basin Canal when a train porter had jumped to his death from the bridge16. After this, there weren’t any more mentions of Mr. Burns excluding the mirliton article and his obituary which appeared in the Tuesday April 15, 1947 edition of the New Orleans Item17.

What Kind of Mirliton?

This question is probably the hardest to answer. The reason being is that mirliton comes in so many sizes, shapes, and colors and until Dr. Lance Hill and Mirliton.org started giving them “names” it was probably described by just that – size, shape, and color. There unfortunately isn’t a picture of Mr. Burn’s mirliton, but they are described “great green bells”. Some things we can glean from the description is that these were rather large mirlitons with a narrow top but a wider flat bottom. Even though the author called them “vegetable pears” he doesn’t describe them as pear shaped. In a lot of cases the mirlitons have a rounded bottom like a pear or avocado. He also only described them as green versus light green and there is no mention of spikiness. Based upon his description, I would venture to guess they might have looked like the Sister Morgan or Joseph Boudreaux varieties.18

Image 3: Sister Morgan Variety

Image 4: Joseph Boudreaux Variety

Arbors

The American Heritage Dictionary defines arbor as a shady garden shelter19. According to some online sources, the concept of the arbors goes back as far as the ancient Egyptians, helping to create a shady resting place in the unforgiving hot dessert. There is recorded evidence of their popularity in Ancient Greek and Rome as well as through the Medieval period in Europe. In these references they speak of vining plants covering the arbors and they seem to add both beauty and functionality to the outdoor spaces. Newspapers in the New Orleans area also describe properties for sale in the mid to late 1800s with either grape, ivy, or rose arbors. In fact, there were a lot written of arbors in the New Orleans papers of the early 20th century extolling the virtue of the arbors to help hide unsightly fences as well as providing a nice shady and cool area to endure the summer heat of the semitropic New Orleans area.20 It also would make sense that especially in newly established, closely situated neighborhood yards of the early 20th century without many big trees, it would be just the answer for backyard privacy especially since folks probably spent more time outside then in. To note, the first house in the New Orleans area built with central air conditioning was Longue Vue House built in 194221. Thus in 1940, attic and window fans were the norm. According to the Sears advertisements of the day, a window fan could range between $32- $55. At the time, it looks like a bridge tender’s salary was around $25 per month. Of course, you could put down $5 to purchase, but I am sure it would easily be a year or so to pay just one fan off at a salary of $25 per month. Thus, even in the modern age of the 1940s, an arbor didn’t just hold value for its aesthetics, but also for its functionality.

Life in the Irish Channel

The Irish Channel is a name of an older working class New Orleans neighborhood south of the Garden District and adjacent to the Mississippi River, just upstream of the French Quarter. There apparently isn’t a definite origin of where the name came from, although the popular one is associated with the influx of Irish immigrants who came to New Orleans in 1830 to help dig the New Basin Canal and in turn, they “channeled” into the area where they settled.

Image 5: Irish Channel 22

At the time John Burns and his wife lived there, the area was essentially an 80-year-old neighborhood. Despite the name, there were other nationalities such as the Germans, Italians, and African Americans as well. The inhabitants primarily work around the Port of New Orleans in the 1900s, as was seen with John’s jobs prior to 1928. The area also garnered a reputation as being a tough area with a lot of gang rivalry that was more prevalent in the latter part of the 1800s. As with most of the city, the Irish Channel was predominantly Catholic and actually had 3 churches established in the early years for the different nationalities: St. Alphonsus for the Irish, St. Mary’s Assumption Church for the German, and Notre Dame de Bon Secours Church for the French. The churches were all consolidated in 1925 with St. Alphonsus becoming the Parish Church. It closed in 1979, but has been reopened as the St. Alphonsus Arts and Cultural Center. 23

John Burns Sr. lived at the St. Thomas residence basically from (I’m guessing) 1914 till his death in 1947. The house number is listed as 2419 to 2409 during his lifetime and appears the twin shotgun was basically combined into one residence of 2407 sometime in the 1970s. Image 6 shows what this location looks like in the present day.

Image 6: Location of John Burn’s Irish Channel residence.24

From Image 7 we get a sense of what the back property’s dimensions were. Based on a measure of the current backyard, it is about 52 feet long by 28 feet wide, but in 1941, this house was a duplex, so one can only assume the yard may have possibly been split. The article list that the arbor was 28 by 16, which would match up with about half of the available yard in the backyard. The article also stated that “…behind it is a garden where there’s a peach tree that bears, fruit, a trellised rose vine that blooms the year ‘round a big chrysanthemum, shrub, a fig tree…” “Behind the garden is the shed and behind the shed the present pride of the Burns estate, an arbor of mirliton vines.” Evidentially the backyard was packed! As a side note, I am also speculating that the house looks to have been added onto, so I imagine there may have been more room in the early days.

Image 7: Lot John Burn’s Irish Channel residence.25

Per the rest of the article, we get a sense of how the arbor was constructed. Mr. Burns stated “I planted seven mirlitons last April right up against the fence there, opposite the shed and let them grow up as high as the top of the arbor now. Then I built out the arbor for about three feet, and put wires every three inches, and worked a half hour or an hour every day, spinning the new shoots around the wire, and when they went beyond that, I put on another three feet of arbor top, and spin the shoots along that, and so on till it covered the whole yard. That vine is a solid arbor 16 feet wide and 28 feet long now, and we can sit under the shade of it and enjoy ourselves.” This had to definitely be an impressive structure to behold. The amount of time to string the vines around astounds me, but I can feel his passion as I have easily spent 30 minutes retraining the direction of my vines. If a shed was approximately 6 feet tall and John Burns added another 6 feet (about 12 feet total) to it, it would also give a higher “ceiling” for the hot air to rise to. My mirliton arbor in Mobile is 8 feet wide by 24 feet long and 7 feet tall, so about half the size of Mr. Burns. I can only image the size and shade his provided. I am attaching a few pictures of mine so one might get a sense of how much shade this structure could provide, plus it must have been even more magnificent as the mirlitons hung down in the fall.

Image 8: Under the author’s shady mirliton arbor.

Image 9: The exterior of the author’s “unruly” mirliton arbor.

As a quick aside you might wonder how the Burns’ enjoyed their mirliton. Well according to Mrs. Burns, “when the mirlitons come -you see you scoop them out and stuff them with mirliton meat mixed with shrimp and sweet peppers and bread crumbs as a bit of bacon – that’s very good.” Mr. Burns also added that “Just frying a slice of mirliton with a slice of baloney sausage is mighty good too…I expect we’ll eat mirlitons this fall till we’re tired of them and maybe sell the rest. Not so bad, is it?”

Sadly, on Monday, April 14, 1947 at the age of 63, John Burns Sr. passed away. His wife Ellen lived on almost another 20 years and passed away on April 11, 1965. She apparently moved from the St. Thomas Street house the year after John died. At the time of his passing, John and Ellen had 5 children and 6 grandchildren. His funeral was held on Tuesday, April 15, 1947 at Leitz-Eagan Funeral Home which at the time was at 2241 Magazine St. Religious services followed at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church and he was interred at the St. Patrick No.1 Cemetery in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Image 10: John and Ethel’s Grave Stone26

Closing Thoughts

As I got into researching John Burns Sr., I felt a real admiration for his mirliton work. As I read about the Bridge Tender’s job, it occurred to me – having to take care of both activities on the road and water plus maintenance and safety had to be quite draining and stressful at times. I can imagine that when he got his arbor started it must have been a source of enjoyment and solitude away from the day-to-day operations. From what I can tell the house had to be around 850 square feet and with 5-7 people living there, things must have been often cramped. Utilizing the mirliton as an arbor is a brilliant idea that provided both beauty, functionality, sanctuary, and food to his large family. I think in many ways I could set up my arbor in a similar way and could easily utilize it as a nice space to relax and enjoy a cold beverage especially after yard work. Hopefully this will inspire others to set up a nice backyard arbor that can work their mirliton vines into the landscape. While John Burns Sr. had seven plants, my experience has been that one mature vine could be more than sufficient to provide cover in a small area. As we are seeing, the early 20th century mirliton growers were a creative bunch that didn’t simply just grow a plant, but utilized them in such a way that was both fun, functional, and committed to their hobby. I hope you are also inspired by the latest Pioneers in Louisiana Mirliton History, John Burns Sr.

Sources:

  1. Desutsch, Hermann B. “Orleanian Creates Beauty in a Mirliton Arbor.” New Orleans Item (New Orleans, LA) 18 September 1941, page 8 GenealogyBank
  2. 1900; Census Place: New Orleans Ward 1, Orleans, Louisiana; Page: 20; Enumeration District: 0001; FHL microfilm: 1240570
  3. 1910; Census Place: New Orleans Ward 1, Orleans, Louisiana; Roll: T624_519; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0001; FHL microfilm: 1374532
  4. 1930; Census Place: New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0193; FHL microfilm: 2340544
  5. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
  6. 1920; Census Place: New Orleans Ward 11, Orleans, Louisiana; Roll: T625_622; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 184
  7. http://nolaworkers.org/2018/12/17/the-1907-new-orleans-dockworkers-general-strike/
  8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans_dock_workers_and_unionization
  9. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
  10. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
  11. Charles L. Franck / Franck-Bertacci Photographers Collection, The Historic New Orleans Collection – https://louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/hnoc-clf%3A1100
  12. New Orleans Item (New Orleans, LA) 18 July 1925, page 2 GenealogyBank
  13. Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) 28 September 1925, page 4 GenealogyBank
  14. Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) 14 November 1931, page 7 GenealogyBank
  15. Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) 22 May 1932, page 10 GenealogyBank
  16. New Orleans Item (New Orleans, LA) 1 July 1934, page 4 GenealogyBank
  17. New Orleans Item (New Orleans, LA) 15 April 1947, page 5 GenealogyBank
  18. https://www.mirliton.org/photo/ed-landry-james-boutte-joseph-boudreaux-mirliton-varieties-dec-2010-chayote-sechium-edule/
  19. The American Heritage Dictionary, Dell Publishing, 1983, pg. 35.
  20. Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) 11 March 1934, page 21 GenealogyBank
  21. https://wgno.com/news-with-a-twist/first-house-in-new-orleans-to-built-with-central-air-conditioning-still-operates-at-this-historic-landmark/
  22. https://www.datacenterresearch.org/pre-katrina/articles/IrishChannel.html
  23. https://readtheplaque.com/plaque/st-alphonsus-church
  24. Google. (n.d.). [Google Maps directions for driving from 2407 St. Thomas St, New Orleans, Louisiana]. Retrieved September 5, 2021, from https://www.google.com/maps/place/2409+St+Thomas+St,+New+Orleans,+LA+70130/@29.9236126,-90.0764497,3a,75y,10.91h,75.97t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s0i31zWsT2KcsgVUY5ECu0g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x8620a42a485e3ec1:0x9d258ff1c1881d79!8m2!3d29.9238154!4d-90.0764713
  25. https://beacon.schneidercorp.com/Application.aspx?AppID=979&LayerID=19792&PageTypeID=4&PageID=8665&KeyValue=2407-STTHOMASST
  26. U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

 

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