Wow something I know a great deal about.
I've grown dozens of different kinds over the last 25 years.
The only thing they need is lots of sun and heat.
I havn't planted mine yet.
an old rule of thumb is always wait till 2-4 weeks ALF.
Now days I'll use a little mantis to till a spot but have only done that a few years.
I started a few different kinds and they were gone at the end of the fling.
Anyway I'll just start
Bushel
Martin
Luffa
Cucuzzi
this year in the ground and no big deal.
Water alot at first and when they get established pretty
drought hardy.
I put to offers in before the fling anyone want gourds
no one replied so I didn't bring some of my hundred dried gourds I have.
Thats another thing It took me 2 years to dry a giant bushel gourd they take up room.
I was told by an elder that Indians would put the dead babbies in the bushel so I had to grow them and the vines are massive.
There are big dippers snd small
large birdhouse and small.
They all cross with cucumbers,cantalope,small decor gourds,squash,and pumpkins.
I grew something that has tasted like all n 1.
good luck.
Lots of room
privicy fence perfect.
tree
still have gourds dried!

Kelly,

As Tree said, gourds aren't picky and can grow anywhere. I think they grow better in poor soil because in rich soil they can make excessive leaf growth, so feel free to put them in unimproved soil along a fence line or near a building they could shade (I sometimes use them to shade our shed).

My dogs grow gourds every year. It all started when I gave them decorative autumn gourds to play with after I'd replaced the autumn decorations around the yard, patio and barn with Christmas decorations. I threw the gourds into the dog yard where the dogs played with them endlessly. Eventually, the gourds either were broken or buried....and we all were surprised when gourds popped up all over the dog yard the next year. Of course, the dogs trampled any plants growing in the middle of their yard, but the ones that were near fences climbed and grew on those.

The first year, the dogs didn't really realize what they had growing on the fence, so they ignored them, which was a good thing. In the fall, I harvested the gourds and used them as autumn decorations. Later, I gave those to the dogs to play with. Since then, the dogs harvest their own gourds whenever they want to play with one, so very few gourds make it to maturity, although I still do get to harvest the ones growing on the outside of the fence where they can't reach them. Usually the dogs start harvesting and playing with their gourds in August or so.

I have grown all kinds of gourds, but usually grow smaller ones for autumn decorations and birdhouse gourds for birdhouses. I did grow bushel gourds one year in absolutely horrid clay soil and they got nice and big and did really well, but it took a year or two for them to dry.

The first year or two that I grew them, I did direct seed them in soil. After that, I would raise them in paper cups and transplant them into the ground cups and all. That allowed me to start them inside a week or two earlier while the ground was still a bit cool for direct-seeding. Clearly, though, since the dogs 'plant' them by burying gourds in the soil or by scattering seed on top of the ground, they can't be that hard to grow!

I love growing gourds, but I keep them back around the dog yard, the barn and the shed, which means they are far from the garden. They're such vigorous and rampant growers, you don't want them close enough to your garden that they can grow into it and take over every square foot of space.

Dawn

Would dippers and birdhouse really be ready by Christmas of this year? My father recieved a green fresh bird house
from a Chickasaw Conference last year aound Thanksgiving.

If he got a full grown grourd last year and it's properly dried and rotated it should be ready.
If it was green it was probably picked too early.
You leave them on the vine until the vine dies completely.
I leave mine till before the first hard freeze and they are tan then. I've never tried drying a green one,I'd thought it would have rotted by now or will before it dries. If you plant the birdhouse and dipper this summer and the gourds don't get giant and properly dried you could have them for
christmas 2012.

Dawn cute story about the dogs. That's one way to get help in the garden.
I guess some birds helped me this year twice. I have a wild polk and an unidentified perennial growing.

Seeker,

I never intended for the dogs to be gardeners. It just happened. : )

We are in a very rural area and the birds plant everything under the sun here. I've managed to keep poke out of the garden, but spend part of every year pulling up all kinds of other weeds, including seemingly billions of lambsquarters and pigweed plants. I know some people eat them, but I hate them and they are so invasive here.

The squirrels also plant a lot of pecans and acorns in my garden, so I spend part of every year removing tree seedlings.

Dawn

Seeker,
Do you leave your gourds on the vine to dry? My son grew the one I made the birdhouse out of. We had some trouble getting them to dry without rotting. Any advice on drying would be great. We've planted a few different kind this year. I turned my clothes line into a trellis. Looks pretty funny right now. Hopefully, it will be covered with gourds this summer.

lITTLE SECERT i PUT MINE oN THE shelf of DH Tin barn
I hvee hundereds
I come to the city 2+_ times a month I have gourds
I've been donatging to DANAa teacher in minco cool teacher

Dawn, how awesome are you when your garden talents even rub off on your animals =)

Well, I planted my gourd seeds today out by my compost heap, far away from the main garden. Fingers crossed that they work! But it's kind of a bummer that they won't be ready until 2012. Tree, if you really are rolling gourds and wouldn't mind sharing a few birdhouse gourds, I'd be ecstatic. I could give some squash seeds (I have tons). Just let me know.

Kelly

Funny!!!

I'm going to write that down for when I need a special date night with my husband. Too funny!

Sorry about my mis prints.
2 years ago I got my head cracked open on my motorcycle.
It's hard to see and hear.
KELLY
YES I HVE ALL THE FREE GOURDS U COULD WANT.

I want to second what Seeker said about drying your gourds on a shelf in your barn or garage. I'll leave them on the vines to dry for a while, but then I'll move them to the barn-style garage to continue drying. I've also stored edible winter squash in the well-insulated garage and had them last for a year in there.

OkiePokie, Our dogs are really talented, but I don't think I get any credit for what they do. : ) I wish I could get them to dig in an area where I need a new garden bed built, but they stedfastly choose to dig only when and where they want. They are super-talented at sleeping in the sun in cool weather and sleeping in the shade in hot weather.

Dawnrenee, I've heard of people harvesting gourds and Seminole pumpkins that way, but you're the first person I've ever seen actually admit to it. One rainy day when we all have too much time on our hands, we need to start a thread on 'redneck gardener confessions' where we all can confess what we do that might make us look like redneck gardeners.

Seeker, Wow, that must have been quite an accident. I had no idea you had been through something like that. I am glad your survived what sounds like a horrible accident.

Dawn

That may have ruined my days of riding my scooter i've had since I was 14 but it surlley didn't break me in garding.
Thank u i just have a hard time seeing things neurologic crap. I will ride again hopefully. I will get my honda back soon, He has 4 Harleys I just want want my honda not 2 much to 2 ask.

dumb sorry i have lots of martin and bird left

Excellent advice. Just what I needed. I was wondering when to start my gourds and loofa plants. Not sure what our season is really going to be this spring, so I might start them indoors.

bon

Bon, Even if starting gourd seed indoors, I'd wait and start gourds later than this. It isn't just that they like sunlight and heat--they need plenty of both. If you sow gourd seed into soil that is too cool, it will rot. Or, if it germinates while the soil temps and nighttime air temps are too cool, the plants often just sort of fade away and die. They do not like cold. When you raise them inside as transplants, you will get the best results if you plant them in plantable pots because they do not like being transplanted. Keep in mind that they grow really fast after the seed germinates, so if you start them too early indoors and cannot transplant them into the ground fairly quickly, they'll rootbound indoors and often that translates to poor plant growth once you put them in the ground. Always plant gourd transplants on a sunny, warm day with relatively light wind because they do not like going from a nice warm house to cold, wet ground and will sulk.

While you often will see a soil temperature of 60 degrees mentioned as the lowest soil temp at which gourd seeds will sprout well, I like to wait until the soil temps hit 70 degrees. Honestly, here in OK, we usually go from a soil temp of 60 to a soil temp of 70 in no time at all anyway. For me, they sprout faster and grow more vigorously if I wait at least 2-4 weeks after my last frost date. Down here in SC OK, my last frost date officially is March 27, 28 or 29, depending on which reference source you use. But in the real world where I live and garden, we often have freezing temperatures until the first week of May, so in recent years where the cold has held on forever at night light that, I usually plant gourd seeds right after that last cold night in May. Last year, I stuck the gourd seeds in the ground near the garden fence on the same day I removed the frost protection row clover for the last time. Maybe 8 to 10 days later, we had gourd plants up, growing, and climbing the fence. When you stick the seeds into warm ground, they can't wait to sprout and grow.

If you soil is dry when you plant them, you can speed up germination by soaking the gourd seed in plain warm water for 24 hours before planting. Or, you can soak them, wrap them in a coffee filter or paper towel, put them in a ziplock bag and let them sprout inside, and then stick the sprout right into the ground.

Dawn

Ty, for that!

I've read the loofah can take more than 200 days! But they may be including less seriously hot summers than Oklahoma? I'll be so happy this fall when I get some growing time under my belt and look back with clearer understanding. Well, some... .ha!