Gourds are used by crafters to create beautiful bird houses, along with other pieces of art. They are also used in remote areas of the world to make tools used in everyday life, such as bowls, and spoons. However buying gourds to make your own craft projects can be rather costly, and they are hard to find. Amazingly gourds are not that difficult to grow, it’s just most people who grow them, use them rather then sell them. Why not grow your own gourds? After all then are fun to grow, make a beautiful vine, and produce gourds that you can use for crafts. Growing gourds is a great family project with plenty of benefits.
GETTING STARTED:
Before you even buy your gourd seeds, you need to decide where you are going to plant them. Gourds grow on a vine, which grows very fast. You will need something for your vine to grow on. Use care if your planning on growing your vine on a wooden fence. The vines are thick, and run creating beautiful coverage, with amazingly large leaves, and blooms. However, gourds are heavy once they start growing, and can destroy older fences. You can easily build your own trellis using 6 foot pieces of 2 X 4’s to remedy the problem. Gourds also need sunlight, and warmth in order to grow. They do not do well in cold weather. As long as the weather stays over 60 degree’s, and the plant gets at least 4 hours of sun a day, it will grow like a weed.
BUYING GOURD SEEDS:
Gourd seeds can be found at almost any store that carries seeds. Burpee seeds has a great growth rate, with over 85% of the seeds germinating. If you decide to buy your seeds from the store you can expect to pay between $1.00 to $2.00 per pack. Online the same seeds will cost you around $3.00 per pack plus shipping.
BEFORE YOU PLANT:
Before you sow your gourd seeds, you need to make sure you have decent soil. Gourd vines are very durable, and will grow in poor soil but, they do ten times better in average soil. If you have sandy soil, you can mix a 40 pound bag of potting soil with your regular soil in the area you plan to sow your seeds. Potting soil is very inexpensive, you can find 40 pound bags at any home improvement store, of garden shop for less then $3.00. You don’t need to worry about buying fancy soil, the cheap stuff will work just all well for growing gourds. Once your soil is mixed, moist it, and then plant your seeds as the seed packet instructs you to. Be sure to keep the soil where you planted your seeds moist, by watering everyday.
In 7 to 14 days your seeds will break ground. Do not be surprised if you have 15 – 25 plants started from one pack of seeds. Once the plants are a couple of inches tall you can thin them out. It’s up to you whether you want to trash some of them, or transplant some of them. Your gourd vines will grow best if they are at least a foot apart. However, you can grow them as close as 6 inches apart if you want a thick coverage. You will still need to water them daily, and after they are 4 inches tall you can start fertilizing them weekly. As your gourds grow you will need to check them daily to make sure they are growing where you want them to. The vine will wrap around anything it can including chairs, tables, and other plants. Then you see this happening just carefully unwrap the vine, and place it back where you want it to grow. You can also use yarn to loosely tie the vine in place, if it just will not stay where you put it.
JACK AND THE BEAN STALK:
All that’s left to do is water, fertilize, and watch it grow. The bigger the vine gets, the faster it grows. At first you might only see an inch or so of new growth a day, but within a month you will be noticing 6 to 8 inches of new growth a day. The beautiful blooms your gourd vine gets will develop into gourds. However, the blooms are beautiful, and attract butterflies.
TIPS & EXTRAS:
You can grow gourds in large containers such as 3 or 5 gallon buckets but, they still need something to grow on. You can place the containers next to a fence for a quick and easy fix.
If you want vine coverage with beautiful flowers but, do not want the gourds, simply clip the blooms off after you have enjoyed them for a few days.
Gourds can be used for many different arts & craft projects. Once you dry them out, save the seeds to replant.
You can start seeds in small container such as 8oz plastic cups. However, use lots of care when you transplant them. They have small roots, and are easily damaged.
Growing gourds are fun, and are easy enough for kids to do. Consider making your gourd garden a family project, so that everyone can join in on the fun.
