Gourds

Any one know any thing about gourd vines? Jim

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I know a little, Jim. :) I'm growing birdhouse, bushel, and swan. The birdhouses are almost ready for harvest, bushels are coming along nicely, and the swans haven't yet vined.

Dave

Jim, we planted birdhouse gourds this year and so far so good. What are you curious about?

I've planted apple gourds this year for the first time and they are doing great. Most of the little gourds fell off at first. I think they were rotting because of all the rain we were getting.

I was reading some thing today and it mentioned Gourds and I was wondering how hard are they to grow. Something I might try next year. Not in a big time way. Just a hobby. Jim

Jim, gourds are fairly easy to grow, but they require a long growing season. A lot of people with short growing seasons start their gourds indoors and then transplant them outside when it gets warmer. If I plant ours right after the last frost, ours do ok. I have transplanted gourds, but I really think they do better if they are planted directly in the ground. This past year, I nicked my seeds and put them them on a damp paper towel for 2 or 3 days, and I think they germinated better than they usually do. Gourds are heavy feeders too. Linda

does anyone have any gourd seeds they'd like to trade, i'd like to start them next year too, which are the easiest to grow, bearing in mind i'm in the uk so would have to start them indoors..?

lil

Lillith, I am growing birdhouse gourds and i will be cleaning them out to paint and make birdhouses so I will have plenty of seeds if you are willing to wait
sandy

Howdy folks...I've grown gourds off and on for 15 yrs or so (right now I have bushel gourds growing in the garden as well as up my deck, AND some luffa gourds as well.) Here is a link to a pretty good gourd page with growing info as well as curing. From this page you can also access the American Gourd Society for more info. http://home.hiwaay.net/~yankee1/drying.htm

Thanks Horseshoe for providing the information on gourds. One thing I've found is that most people don't realize if you grow gourds this year, it will be next year before they are dry enough to work with. When the gourds dry, they will have a thick layer of mold. I usually put the gourd in soapy bleach water to soak and then use steel wool or a knife to scrape off the mold. Then I rinse and let the gourd dry and then it's ready to paint. I paint Santa gourds if I ever have time. Linda