Job's Tears: 1st Fruits!

Job's Tears are not gourds. But I've been raising these plants for over a year. They survived my first gourden (last year- when all the gourds died) and I replanted them in my wine barrels plus another plant that I put in the pot you see here. Anyway, last year, I raised them from seed, but they did not fruit. This year, I hit them with some VF-11 and they started to produce the actual "tears".

Why am I raising Job's Tears in my gourden if they are not gourds? This grass produces a seed that some anthropologists believe were the first jewelry our ancestors would have worn. It is often called "nature's bead" because of its hard sheen, decorative patterns, shape, and self-hollowing property. You've probably seen them- they are often mistaken for puka shells. I plan to braid and bead my shekeres with the job's tears I harvest. I hope I have enough!

Here is just one of my plants.
You can see 3 seeds in the upper left.
There are about 5 or 6 other seeds on this plant alone.

Here is an internet photo of a shekere beaded with Job's Tears.
This one looks a lot like the shekere I own and play.