Where Should I Plant Gourds?
Gourds have four main requirements, lots of nutrients in the soil, lots of space, lots of moisture and, except in the warmest climate zones, lots of sun. Gourds prefer well-drained, clay soils that retain moisture without becoming overly wet and muddy. The soil should have a pH level between 5.8 and 6.4. If you plant gourds in loamy, sandy soil, they are less likely to grow well.
Because gourds deplete the soil of nutrients, you should avoid planting them in the same space for at least two years, but, preferably, you should wait four years.
To reduce the chances of attracting shared pests and diseases, you should avoid planting your gourds where you planted related plants like pumpkins, squash, and cucumbers. In addition, to avoid cross pollination, you should separate these related plants by several hundred feet if you can.
What Do I Need to Do to Prepare the Soil for Growing Gourds?
To make sure that your soil has plenty of nutrients, work a thick layer of compost into the soil before planting your gourds.
How Much Sun Do Gourds Need?
Gourds prefer that the soil be warmed by the sun. In fact, gourds prefer full sun in all but the warmest climates.
How Do I Space My Gourds?
Unless you intend to grow your gourds on a fence or trellis, the vines require a lot of room to sprawl. The vines can spread out 20 to 40 feet or more.
If you are sowing seeds directly into the ground, plant four seeds 2 inches deep in mounds or hills that measure 4 to 6 inches high and 12 inches in circumference. The hills should be spaced five feet apart in rows that are 4 to 8 feet apart.
If you are planting seedlings, plant one seedling per hill and space the hills as above.
If you will be growing the vines on a trellis, fence, or other support, locate the hills near the support.
When Should I Plant Gourds?
If you live in a cooler climate with a shorter growing season, you can start your seeds indoors four to six weeks before the last frost date in your area.
Wait until after the last frost date when temperatures stay around 55°F (12°C) to sow seeds directly into the garden or plant your seedlings. The seeds germinate more quickly in soil that is warmed by the sun, and quick germination reduces the chances of rotting.
Your gourds will grow best when temperatures reach 75°F to 85°F (24°C to 29°C).
How Do I Start Gourds Indoors?
Use peat moss starter pots filled with a seed starter mix. You can transplant your seedlings in theses pots without disturbing or damaging the roots.
Plant four seeds per pot 1/2 inch deep and cover the pots with clear plastic to keep the soil moist and warm. Water the seeds daily, keeping the potting mixture moist but not overly wet.
Keep the seeds and seedlings under grow lights that include lights from the red end of the spectrum to prevent the vines from becoming “leggy” with few leaves and long growths of stem.
After the seedlings have developed four true leaves, thin out the two weakest seedlings from each pot.
How Do I Transplant Gourd Seedlings?
If you use peat moss containers, you can carefully slit the sides and bottom of the container and plant the seedlings in the container, or you can carefully remove the container and plant the seedlings with the potting mix still around the roots.
Plant each seedling in a separate hill covering the plant with soil up to where the new growth begins.
Will Gourds Grow in Containers?
You can grow gourds in containers, but the vines may not be as productive as vines grown in the garden.
Make sure that your container drains well.
You may need to shield your containers with a reflective covering such as aluminum foil to deflect heat and keep the roots from getting too hot.
While you will only need to fertilize gourds grown in the garden twice, if at all, you may need to fertilize container grown gourds more often because the watering required to keep the soil moist also removes nutrients from the potting mix. Use a 10-10-10 liquid organic fertilizer diluted to half strength as needed.
Plant one seedling or four seeds per container. Cover the seedling with soil up to the new growth. Cover the seeds with 1 inch of soil. If you have planted seeds, thin the container to the strongest plant when the seedlings have developed four true leaves.
How Do I Fertilize My Gourds?
After planting seeds or seedlings, apply a side dressing of 10-10-10 organic fertilizer by sprinkling it around each hill, working it into the soil, and then watering the hills thoroughly.
Apply another side dressing of fertilizer a month later. If you wish, you can continue applying side dressings of fertilizer every month although some growers only fertilize their gourds once after planting and once in mid growing season and others don’t fertilize their gourds at all after adding compost to the soil before planting.
Should I Mulch My Gourds?
Add a layer of mulch around your seedlings to discourage weeds and retain moisture. Remove weeds as soon as they sprout so that they cannot steal soil nutrients from the slower growing gourds.
How Do I Thin My Gourds?
After the seedlings that you planted as seeds have sprouted and developed four true leaves, choose the two strongest in each hill and thin out the other two.
When Should I Water My Gourds?
Keep the soil moist without allowing it to become muddy. Watering your gourds once a week throughout the growing season should be sufficient under normal conditions.
However, water your gourds more often under drought conditions. You can begin reducing your watering in August and stop watering altogether by September when the vines should be beginning to dry out as the gourds mature.
Should I Prune My Gourd Vines?
Gourd vines produce male flowers on the main stem and female flowers on the side branches. It’s the female flowers that produce the gourds, so to encourage the production of more gourds, you will want to prune back the main stem when it reaches 10 feet. This encourages the growth of the side branches.
What Are Gourds’ Companion Combatant Plants?
Gourds companion plants are plants that either repel pests that are attracted to gourds or that lure those pests away from gourds. These plants include:
- Broccoli
- Catnip
- Dill
- Marigolds
- Radishes
- Tansy
What Are Gourds’ Combatant Plants?
Potatoes are a combatant plant that battles for the same soil nutrients that gourds require. Morning glories are another combatant plants that reportedly stunt the growth of gourds.
What Pests Are Attracted to Gourds?
Gourds attract squash bugs, cucumber beetles, cutworms, and aphids.
- Squash bugs resemble stink bugs. They create small holes in the leaves of your gourd vines. The leaves wilt, and the growth of the gourds becomes stunted. Both the gourds and the leaves turn yellow. Diatomaceous earth sprinkled on the ground around your vines pierces these soft bodied insects as they crawl from plant to plant causing them to become dehydrated and die.
- Cucumber beetles are dark lime green insects with dark spots on their wings. They create the same symptoms in your gourds that squash bugs do. Wood ash contains nitrogen that reportedly deters cucumber beetles when it is sprinkled on the ground around gourds. Row covers also prevent cucumber beetles from reaching the vines.
- Cutworms feed on the roots and stems of your vines and can cut the vine off from the roots. Either egg shells or diatomaceous earth will pierce the body of cutworms, and coffee grounds also discourage them.
- Aphids cause gourd vines to wilt and become deformed. Although aphids themselves are so tiny that they are hard to see, they leave a tell tale sticky residue on the plants. They can be flicked off vines with a spray of water from a garden hose. They have such weak legs that, if you are growing your vines on trellises, the aphids will be unable to climb up the vine again. As with squash bugs and cutworms, diatomaceous earth also pierces the bodies of aphids.
Organic pesticides like garlic oil spray and tomato leaf spray also can help control some of these pests. However, before deciding to use a pesticide, even an organic one, consider that honey bees are attracted to gourd blossoms. Some of these pesticides can harm the bees as well as the pests.
What Are the Diseases That Can Attack Gourds?
Cucumber beetles that have eaten a plant that was infected with bacterial wilt can carry the disease to other healthy plants, including your gourds. The bacteria prevents the flow of water along the stem and branches of your vines which causes them to wilt.
There is no treatment or cure for this disease. If vine becomes infected, destroy it immediately to try and prevent the spread of the disease. At the same time, try to eliminate any cucumber beetles from your gourds and prevent any future appearances of these insects.
Should I Grow My Gourds on a Trellis?
Growing your gourds on trellises reduces the chance of rotting, disease, and insect infestations. It also keeps the gourds cleaner and allows the gourds to grow into their natural symmetrical shape.
Ornamental Cucurbita gourds can grow on tomato cages but the larger Luffa and Lagenaria gourds require sturdier supports made from wood and heavy wire or even an arbor. Larger gourds also may benefit from slings made of hose or socks.
If you are growing larger gourds that may be too heavy for a trellis, a thick layer of a mulch such as bark chips keeps the vines from touching the ground and potentially rotting.
How Do I Shape Gourds as They Grow?
If you want a flat bottom on a Lagenaria gourd for a planned craft project, allow the gourds to grow on the ground and sit them on a can or a piece of cardboard. You can also shape gourds by growing them in molds and shape the necks of the gourds by training them to grow around broom handles, tobacco sticks, or other objects. With patience, you could even shape the neck of a gourd into a knot.
When Should I Harvest My Gourds?
You should leave Lagenaria and Luffa gourds on the vine for as long as possible. Lagenaria gourds will turn dry and turn brown on the vine, and you will be able to hear the seeds of Luffa gourds rattling inside the gourds when you shake them. Lagenaria gourds are hard shelled gourds that won’t be harmed by a frost.
Ornamental Cucurbits, on the other hand, are thin shelled gourds that need to be harvested before a frost occurs. These gourds are ready to harvest when the stems to the gourds dry out and turn brown.
How Do I Harvest My Gourds?
When harvesting gourds, you must be careful not to bruise or damage them to avoid making them susceptible to rotting. You should never twist or pull the gourds from the stem. Instead, cut the stem with a sharp knife or scissors leaving at least an inch of stem on the gourd. If you leave a longer bit of stem, you can use it to hang the gourds to dry. Hanging them eliminates the need to turn the gourds everyday so that they dry evenly.
How Do I Dry My Gourds?
Luffa gourds dry on the vine. To dry Lagenaria and Cucurbit gourds, wash them in a solution of nine parts water to one part household disinfectant to discourage mold, dry them with a soft cloth, and then hang them or lay them on newspapers in a warm, dry place.
Spread them out so that air can circulate between them. If you lay your gourds on newspapers you will need to turn them daily to ensure that they dry evenly. Change the newspapers if they become wet.
After a week, wipe the gourds with rubbing alcohol, dry them, and move them to a warm, dry, dark area to finish drying. Either hang them or spread them on newspapers so that air can continue to circulate around them. If you lay them on newspapers, you will again need to turn the gourds daily so that they dry evenly.
Smaller gourds, like Cucurbits, should complete the drying process in about a month. However, larger gourds and pumpkins can take up to six months to dry.
When your gourds are dry, they are ready for whatever project you have in mind. Adding a coat of matte or glossy varnish adds a layer of protection that can help your gourds last for years.
