Going gaga for gourds
When I first started growing gourds, I was more of a cut flower
gardener than a tomato-and-pepper gardener.
But gourds don’t fit either cataegory – not exactly flowers
although they do develop flowers, and certainly not edibles
although someone might try to eat a very small one.
Going gaga for gourds
When I first started growing gourds, I was more of a cut flower gardener than a tomato-and-pepper gardener.
But gourds don’t fit either cataegory – not exactly flowers although they do develop flowers, and certainly not edibles although someone might try to eat a very small one.
So, when people ask, “Why do you grow gourds? What good are they?” I just smile and shrug off their curisoity.
Actually anyone who asks “why” just doesn’t understand the pleasure of watching these vines spread out, pollinate flowers, and then develop wonderfully shaped green gourds. When they dry about six months down the line they are become hard-shell gourds used for crafts.
I got hooked on gourds a number of years ago when I met Ginger Summit, a gourd artist from Los Altos who wrote a book “Gourds In Your Garden.” As I garden writer, I showed up to interview her. Knowing little about gourds, it was a real eye-opener, both as a gardener and an artist wannabe.
When I left, she handed me three dried gourds and urged me to try my hand at painting and decorating them. It turned out I was artistically challenged. But I had cut open one birdhouse gourd and had a pile of seeds left over.
On a whim I tossed some of those seeds into planting holes here and there around my yard. Surprise! They grew and I had my first amazing crop of gourds. I was good and truly hooked.
Over the years I’ve experimented with both store-bought and saved seeds. I’ve harvested the most amazing shapes and forms since no two gourds ever look the same. The most common shape – make that easiest to grow – is the birdhouse gourd, which is easily crafted into a birdhouse. Bottle gourds are shaped like their namesake. Canteen gourds are round like a pot, and dipper gourds have long handles. My favorite is the speckled swan gourd.
At one time finding seeds for hard-shell gourds involved knowing someone who knew someone who grew them. Now they can be found on spring-garden seed racks and in many garden catalogs. I’ve had good luck with seeds by Renee’s Garden using packets of “mixed gourds” and “speckled swan” seeds.
Gourds are hot-weather sun lovers. Here’s how I do it:
Start the seeds in 3-inch peat pots, two seeds to each pot. Use a seed-starting mixture available at garden centers. Place the pots outdoors in a sunny spot, water lightly every day to keep the soil moist. When seeds sprout, thin and remove the weaker seedling. Keep the seedlings moist until they reach about 3-4 inches high.
Gourd plants aren’t fussy, but you will get best results when planted in enriched, well-drained soil. Dig a planting hole, toss in a handful of slow-release fertilizer, cover the fertilizer with a bit of compost, and tear off the bottom of the peat pot to free the roots. Set the peat pot in the hole so that the top of the pot is even with the surrounding soil. Water to set the soil firmly around the pot.
Soon the little plants will start “running” – meaning the vines will grow and reach out in every direction. Water every three-to-five days, depending on the weather. Fertilize with a liquid fertilizer such as Peter’s evry three-four weeks.
Gourd vines are really ambitious, so plant next to a fence, sturdy supports or trellis.
Vines set many white flowers, but only some are pollinated for the gourds to develop. In her book, Summit writes that white-blossoms for hard shell gourds are only pollinated at night by flying insects. Whatever the magic answer, you can expect anywhere from one to 10 gourds from a single vine.
So, how did I do with this year’s gourd crop?
I had 12 seed starts, gave away five, and planted seven tiny plants along the side fence. The vines were extremely aggressive. They “ran” up the wire fence, across 5 feet of open space, and climbed over the 6-foot wooded fence into my neighbor’s yard. One vine just kept going, working its way up a 30-foot tree on my neighbor’s side of the fence.
That tree was the neighborhood conversation piece. There were 10 gourds attached to branches, the most gourds I’ve ever gotten from a single vine. All were birdhouse gourds, and nine were retrieved. The last one is so high and inaccessible that I figure it will either hang there until it blows down in a storm or stay there forever.
All together I harvested 29 gourds in canteen, birdhouse, and bottle shapes. Only one speckled swan made it, but it is a beauty.
What do I do with them? The gourds go into my garden shed where they will dry out over the next six months or so. Gourds need to be dried and cleaned (by soaking in bleach and water) before they can be used for crafts.
Then they go to my daughter who is a talented gourd craftsperson. They become decorative pots, holiday ornaments, painted Christmas figures, and my favorite, a Halloween mask to hang on the front door.
You cannot eat a gourd, but you sure can have fun with them.
