The Virginia Lovers' Gourd Society, the proud Delta chapter of the American Gourd Society, is comprised of volunteers who believe in the historic and economic value of gourds as objects of utility and art. If you live in Virginia, joining the AGS automatically makes you a member and will receive the monthly newsletter! Be a part of, or start, a local gourd patch near you to meet regularly with like-minded folks. We're learning, loving, and living the gourd life!
This particular blog is about growing gourds, the first step toward making gourd products of all kinds. Let's start Growing Gourds!
Growing Gourds
Growing gourds is the first step toward making gourd products for utility or for art. Once grown, you can enter green gourds into fairs and agricultural exhibitions or wait until they dehydrate and produce art-worthy objects for competitions. Let's get started!
Thursday, March 3, 2016
From Seed to Sell
Before digging right in, have a look at this brief overview for growing gourds from start to finish.
Once you see the year in motion, we can get started with the process!
Gourd Types
There are three types of gourds:
Hard-shell
Gourds
The fruit has a white flower for pollination; the fruit is green
on the vine.
The fruit dehydrates to a tan/brown color.
Used
for art and crafting.
Will
not rot if dehydrated properly.
Ornamental
or soft-shell gourds.
Colorful
shells
Used
for fall decorating.
Hard
to dry/dehydrate, many rot.
Luffa
or vegetable sponge gourds.
For the purposes of this blog, we will be discussing the Hard-shell gourds used for art, utility, and crafts. When dehydrated properly the outer shell becomes like wood. There are over 30 types of hard-shell gourds (see charts by Dan Dunkin - as you will see, gourds take the name of the purpose they were used for, or for their distinctive shape.)
Preparing the Ground
Gourds need 100-180 days of full sun to grow and mature on
the vine.
Prepare the soil ahead of time in order to plant the seeds or seedlings
as soon as possible after the last frost date in your area. Choose a location that receives full sun
and has ample space to accommodate rampantly growing vines. Although soil should be deep, well-drained and
adequately pulverized, any type of soil will do if it is properly
irrigated and fertilized.
If needed,
turn in well-rotted manure and/or a good 10-10-10 fertilizer, preferably one month before planting. Plant seeds or seedlings in a
hill just above the hole. Gourds enjoy growing in a soil PH of 6.5
to 6.8.
If soil is shallow or extremely poor, dig a hole about
1 foot deep (a shovel depth).
Fill the hole with a mixture of soil, compost, and well-rotted manure. Once the base is constructed,
top off the hole in a hill with the remaining soil taken from the hole initially. Build a rim of dirt
around the hole so as to have a slight rise so
water runs into, and not away from, the hill.
Seeds and Planting
If you want to produce a specific type
of gourd, you will need to purchase true-to-type gourd
seeds. These type of seeds come from a
crop of gourds that were not allowed to cross-pollinate. Seeds can be purchased in stores or over the
internet. Just type in “gourd seeds” in
the search engine and selling sites will appear. Seeds saved from a previous year’s
crop grown in a garden with other types of gourds will probably end up offering some very interestingly shaped gourds.
There are two methods of planting gourd
seeds: in hills of mounded soil or in
garden rows.
Hills: If vines will grow horizontally across the
ground, plant in hills spaced 10 feet apart. If
vines will grow vertically up a fence, trellis, or arbor, plant in hills 6 feet
apart. Hills
should be 24 inches wide and dished in the center with a soil rim around the hill as shown in the Preparing the Ground post. Plant
8-10 seeds per hill to ensure that at least 3 will germinate.
Rows: Plant
seeds or seedlings 2 feet apart in the row with 5 feet between rows.
Seeds should be plump with a slight sheen
on the surface.
Gourd seeds can be slow to germinate. They need to be pre-soaked due to their hard shells. Do this by placing the seeds between wet paper towels for 1-2 days.
Plant seeds on their side to a depth of one inch (about knuckle-deep). Gently push the seeds into the soil to insure good contact with the soil, cover with soil and pat the soil down. Water in well. The rim built around the planting hill should help direct the water.
Surround the hole's rim with several layers of newspaper covered by a thick layer of straw to control weeds. Spray with water to anchor the paper and straw to the ground.
The seeds may take 1-2 weeks to germinate.
After seeds develop into 6 inch seedlings, commit gourdicide and thin to 3 plants per hill. Don’t feel guilty -- you will not be arrested for committing this deed -- too many vines leads to poor fruit production so this culling is actually very healthy.
Note: Starting your gourd seeds indoors? You may have to do so if your growing season is short. Start 4 weeks before the last frost. If started any earlier, the seedlings may become root bound in their pots and their growth will be stunted. CAUTION: When transplanting seedlings grown in pots, do not disturb the roots. Remove the bottom of the pot and plant the whole pot.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
The Growing
Initially, the 3-4 plants you left in the mound will look small but will quickly become bigger and send out viney arms.
Irrigation: Gourds need a good watering
once a week during the growing season.
Water the hills, not the foliage as watering the leaves encourages
foliage diseases. Toward the end of the
growing season, withhold extra water so the gourds will begin to harden off
before frost.
Fertilizer: A side dressing of a low
nitrogen garden fertilizer such as 5-10-5 may be added when the gourds begin to
form. Do not add a high nitrogen
fertilizer late in the season as this will encourage jungle-like growth and
actually delay fruit maturity.
Cultivation: Gourds have shallow, laterally running
roots. Do not cultivate too closely to
plants. Mulching will help retain water
and keep weeds under control.
Harvesting
The BIGGEST mistake gardeners
make is harvesting their gourds too early!
After frost, the leaves will die and for the first time the beautiful gourds
show themselves. It is so tempting to
run down to the garden and harvest them. However, gourds need to be left on the vine as long as possible. A gourd is ripe and ready for harvesting when
its stem and tendril have turned completely brown which will be well after frost. Use sharp shears/clippers and leave at least
3 inches of stem. Allow the green fruit to dehydrate over the next season or two in a well-ventilated area off the ground.
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