Facts about gourds and growing them properly.

1. All About Gourds and Growing Them
By
Martha Bloom

2. Cucurbitaceae – squash,
melon, pumpkin, zucchini,
cucumbers and
GOURDS
Cucurbitapepo - Ornamental
Lagenaria - Hardshell

3. Ornamental Gourds
• Small – variety of shapes, colors and
surfaces
• Easy to grow
• Yellow blossoms open during daytime
hours
• Thin shelled
• Male and female blossoms
• Heavy feeders

4. Ornamental Gourds
• Harvest when stem appears brown
• Frost ruins colors
• Varnish or polish to enhance colors
• May mold or rot easily
• Leave on vine to let dry naturally if you
want to use in crafting
• Will lose colors when skin is cleaned off

5. Hardshell Gourds
• No dramatic colors
• Sizes range from small to very large
• Harder to grow than ornamentals
• Longer growing season
• Shell thicker and harder than ornamentals
• Varieties can be named for their shapes
• Male and female flowers on same plant
• White blossoms at night

6. Hardshell Gourds
• Pollination by moths or hand pollination
• Flowers last one day
• First vine has only male flowers
• Lateral vines have female flowers
• Heavy feeders
• Need lots of room
• Don’t harvest until vine totally dried

7. Growing – Getting started
• Long season – start indoors
• Pre-sprout or start in individual pots
• Germination temp - 70°- 85° 2 weeks in
ground
• Pre-sprout – easier to control success
• Plenty of light after emergence from soil
• Plant outside when soil warm

8. Growing - Outside
• Need plenty of room
• Optimum – 7- 8’ spaced rows, plants
spaced 2 – 5’ apart (single space or hills)
• Sandy, fertile soil – add composted
manure (chicken great), bone meal,
commercial fertilizer
• High nitrogen before fruit set, low nitrogen
after fruit set

9. Growing
• Most growing in first month underground
• Trellis (sturdy)
• Let first vine grow to 10’, then pinch
• Laterals produce gourds
• Flowers last one day
• Solar lights in bed to attract moths

10. Pollination
• Side and
top view
of female
gourd
flower.

11. Pollination
• Female flower - Male flower
• Hand pollinate using paint brush or
removing male and place over female.
Tap pollen onto center. Before dew fall.

12. Young Gourd Plants
• Gourds should be started in individual
containers not flats. Roots don’t like to be
disturbed when transplanting.

13. Large Transplants

14. Gourd Plant

15. Hardshell gourd plants

16. Hardshell gourd plants

17. Ornamental gourd plants

18. Harvesting
• Harvest when entire vine has dried and
turned brown
• Cut gourd from vine leaving long stem
attached
• Store outdoors, off ground until dry
• Can take several months to a year
• Gourds to be used for seeds should not
freeze

19. Curing, Storage and Crafting
• Mold will form on gourd shell during drying
• Green cleaning speeds drying
• Store dry gourds out of sunlight in low
humidity
• Dryer sheets to deter rodents
• Clean by soaking in water and scrub with
copper scrubber
• Do not sand off mold
• Think of as a wood product when crafting

20. Trouble makers
• Insects – cucumber beetles, squash bugs,
squash vine borer
• Diseases – Powdery Mildew – Occurs late
in season and doesn’t affect production
• Frost– Leaves can’t tolerate frost but it
won’t hurt gourds (hardshell) if they are
mature

21. Cucumber Beetle
• Chew on leaves, flowers and fruit
• Carry diseases - Bacterial wilt disease ,
cucumber mosaic virus
• They will find your plants the minute you
set them out. Be ready with insecticide

22. Cucumber Beetle

23. Squash Bug
• Both nymphs and
adults suck sap from
the leaves and stems
• Inject toxic substance
into the plant causing
a wilting known as
Anasa wilt

24. Eggs of squash bug
Young squash bugs

25. Mature squash bugs

26. Squash Vine Borer
• Late June early July
• Lay eggs at base of
plant
• Larvae bores into
stems
• Feed for 4 – 6 weeks
• Vines wilt

27. Deer damage

28. For more information on gourd growing
and crafting visit
http://MarthasGourds.com