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Pumpkins, Squash & Gourds

Anyone growing gourds this yr?

11 years ago

I'm wondering who is growing gourds and what variety? I can't believe I'm having some problems w/ the gourds right now. I'm growing the fancy gourd variety. I wanted to grow the birdhouse gourds but didn't get around to putting them in! What problems are you having, if any? Some of my leaves are turning brown and dying. I think the rabbits are actually eating some of them, too!

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Comments (9)

Sid23
11 years ago
Do you have vine borers or squash bugs. Mostly anything in my patch that is turning brown is from borers or bugs. The only thing I have no problem with currently is the gourds. I'm growing fancy and another, I think they are called Daisy or something like that.
asm_scott
11 years ago
I planted 11 birdhouse and had 9 of them sprout. I didn't read the package correctly. I thought it said 6-8 INCHES apart. It actually said 6-8 FEET apart. I made a trellis of sorts from an old pallet and trained them to grow up and over it. I have not had any problems YET. I don't use any fertilizer or pesticides. I'll see what photos I have to hopefully inspire your gourds to grow big.
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Comments (2)
We have grown the type you use for birdhouses from transplants in the clay soil, up against a chain link fence, without amendments and very little fertilizer. They were a range of sizes from small to medium and from one vine I think we ended up with better than twenty gourds. We didn't pinch or pick very often though.. they were largely neglected. I wouldn't do it up against a chain link fence again though. The foliage is big and bushy and little gourds tend to sneak up on you and end up growing in the gaps of the fence. Rust is another issue.. of the fence, not the gourds lol. The link below is bound to be a lot more helpful than I can be though, if you have not seen it previously: Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.ncgourdsociety.org/growing.htm
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Comments (28)
Well, since I just finished scraping the last two gourds, I thought I'd give you an update to my efforts. So out of the 70, 11 (6 big ones) dried. I'm happy with that - I certainly didn't want 70, LOL. These are still in the natural state (no paint/varnish etc) A few I brought inside from the greenhouse when it started to get consistently cold. I scraped the green off and stabbed the bottom with a sharp knife to allow some drainage (I read this will hasten the drying process). The scraped ones still molded some, but I kept them near the kitchen sink and washed them every other day. I left the rest in the greenhouse to freeze and just about 10 days ago went and brought the last two in the house. I had to let them thaw for a day - frozen solid they were. Although the green had begun to dry off, I still scraped them to clean them up. By the way, after the green was scraped off, those pitted marks just turn out to be dark spots on the hard shell. So, if they're mature enough to dry, they will, regardless of where they're kept. The biggest ones dried more than the small ones. If I were to do it again, I'd pinch off all the smaller gourds once the biggest ones set and are growing well. I don't know what I'll do with the small ones, but will be making birdhouses out of the larger ones.
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Comments (29)
African Wine Kettle. One of my favorites! Work your soil well with compost. fertilize with lots of potash. water deeply and regularly. don`t be in a hurry to harvest.have a plan on what to do with several thousand gourds when the market for them bottoms out. get the new Red Hot Chili Pepper's disc "Stadium Arcadium". take a hit on a 14 or 15 if the dealer has a 9 or better showing. don`t be sucked into the notion that reality tv is fine entertainment. don`t be a bandwagon-jumper...cheer for the underdog down there in the mud who's fighting their genetic prison to succeed. Never sell your dreams for small desires. Always wear clean underwear. ~GG
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Comments (3)
I have had grouds start late on the vines. I just let them grow until the first frost and they just end up smaller gourds than they would have been had they started earlier in the season. I live in a humid climate and I don't know if the humidity has anything to do with curing but I know that the moisture causes more mold. I love the designs that the mold makes when I clean them. I had one gourd that I made into a bowl that had a perfect turtle picture on it made from the mold. I stayed with the theme and wood burned turtles on the rest of the bowl and lid. Good luck with your gourds.
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asm_scott
11 years ago
I'll have to take another shot of the vines today. They have really spread out since my last photo.
lizbeth_pa
Original Author
11 years ago
WOW! Looks awesome!! I wish I had done birdhouse gourds! I bought the seeds but didn't start them. I just planted fancy gourds and the mini pumpkin. Im getting some and not sure when I should pick them. I'll try to post a couple of pics here!
lizbeth_pa
Original Author
11 years ago
I will try to post a couple of pics here of my gourds! Here's trying!
lizbeth_pa
Original Author
11 years ago
Here's another view. The gourds took to growing along my fencing, as well as sending off runners on the ground!! You can also see some of my eggplants!
lizbeth_pa
Original Author
11 years ago
Those are great pics and thanks for sharing them! The gourds sure take to the fencing w/ little coaxing or redirecting, dont they? Mine have been funny, though. They ran along the fencing from inside the garden where I planted them, then the headed back to the ground outside the fencing! We mow around the gourd runners! LOL! I did get some of those green striped guys, too! I think gourds are fun but some got on some of my other veggie plants! haha! I am sticking a few more gourd seeds into the garden today (or already did so) and see what happens! We still have a lot of warm days left before our frost starts. And I hear gourds do okay after 1st frost, if it's not a killer frost!! How many gourds do you have coming in? I just pulled a few this morning cuz the vines died on them and also a mini pumpkin.

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