Growing gourds is a lot of fun. If you’ve never done this before, and you have a back yard that you don’t mind a single vine taking over – and perhaps even covering your porch and trellis – let us give you some insights on how to grow gourds. Gourd growing is really a lot of fun, once the female gourd flower is pollinated, the little gourd starts growing, and they grow so fast you can practically watch them from day to day getting bigger and bigger. We will start of the process by germinating gourd seeds
Gourds do not tolerate cold, in fact the seeds will not even germinate until the ground reaches a certain temperature. For this reason many people germinate the seeds in advance. The seeds also cannot be planted until the risk of the last frost is gone. One frost and you will come out in the morning to see what looks like black oily wilted leaves, and the gourd vine will be gone. so in learning how to grow gourds and get a jump on the growing season, get a Ziplock baggie, a paper towel, and about 6 to 12 gourd seeds. Get the paper towel damp, not dripping, but don’t wring it dry either. You want it wet enough to almost drip, but not quite, or if it does, it does so slowly.
Fold the paper towel at least twice until it fits flat in the baggie. reach in and line up your seeds in two rows of 6, (if you have a dozen), remove the excess air, (it doesn’t have to be vacuum packed), and place this on top of an old TV set or computer monitor. You want them to feel warm to the touch, but not hot. Window seals may get too hot when the sun shines.
When germinating gourd seeds, the roots come out slightly different from many other seeds. Some seeds, the roots come out the pointed end and shoot straight out in search of water and nutrients. Those types of plants do better when planted point down. when gourd seeds germinate, the root comes out the pointed end of the seed, then does an immediate 180 degree turn and grows along the wide gourd seeds shell. Many gourd seeds are so large, I believe it was the gourds way of insuring the ability to push the shell and the plant out of the dirt. It uses the point like a chisel or a wedge and it actually pulls the shell out of the ground point first.
Once the seeds have germinated, it is time to plant the seed in the ground or in a planter. See my next article on how to grow gourds for this process.
Be sure to visit the Gourd Reserve to see some of what can be done with gourds, and the beautiful pieces of art some people have created with gourds.
