How do I grow gourds?

Question

I planted 9 gourd seeds all in a row about a 2 feet apart along side my house. They are growing real good the vines are bout 3 feet long. But, they are growing little stringy things that are growing straight and some are curly>>>my question is that do I trim the stringy things? because Im afraid of them attaching themselves to my other gourd plants and strangling them. But Ive seen pictures online and I see the gourds with stringy things and they dont looked trimmed. The pictures are of a bunch of gourds plants growing right next to each other. I know I can get a little fence put along side my wall to keep the vines from getting wild. So, do I just need to water my gourds and leave every thing else alone?

Answer 1

NO! Please don't trim the "stringy things". They are actually called tendrils. These are like bean or pea tendrils. Their purpose is climbing. If you were patient enough you could actually sit still with your finger next to one of these tendrils & it would wrap itself aroud you finger!

I love gourds & am growing Birdhouse & Dipper gourds this year.



Here is how gourds need to be grown:

Gourds grow like gangbusters in the midst of summer heat. Vines scramble across the ground, shooting out a few feet in a few days. If you have planted other vining crops like squash or cukes, gourds take pretty much the same care.

Where to Plant

Choose a location that gets at least 6 to 8 hours of full sun. Depending on variety, vines can reach up to 65 feet in length, so leave plenty of room for them to sprawl on the outer edges of your garden, or use a very sturdy trellis. If possible, direct luffa gourd vines to grow up a tree, ramada, or trellis. This allows the gourd itself to hang down with good air circulation, rather than rest against moist soil where it can rot. It also helps the fruit to maintain a nice straight shape suitable for making loofa sponges.

Sowing Seeds

Sow seeds when soil temperatures have warmed up, anytime from March through early August. Seeds germinate quickly but then young plants seem to sit awhile before suddenly growing by leaps and bounds when hot weather kicks in, so I don't miss much by planting late in the season. Just make sure that the gourd variety you select can mature before the first hard frost in your area. Ornamental gourds (Cucurbita pepo) with the bright colors used for holiday table decorations take about 90 days to mature. Hard-shelled gourds (Lagenaria siceraria) that are used for arts and crafts take longer, about 120 days. Luffa gourds (Luffa cylindrica) are fleshier and take about 130 days. Since it's getting a bit late in the season, plant them in a location protected from frost or near a wall with reflected heat to extend the growing season.



I like to let the vines scramble up, over & around tipi's made of 3-4 Large 6 foot stakes. The lush vines with their big leaves completely obscure the tipi, creating a prehistoric-looking green mound.



If you incorporate plenty of organic matter into the soil before planting, you probably won't need additional fertilizer. Sow seeds about 1 to 1-1/2 inches deep and leave 3 to 6 feet of space between plants. Keep soil moist until germination. If you haven't taken these steps as you said you already planted your seeds, I always apply fish emulsion fertilizer about 1x ervery 2 weeks.



Watering

Keep plants well watered, but don't overwater if the plants wilt in the afternoon heat. Plants can lose more water through transpiration (water loss from the leaves) than the roots can take up to replace it during hot weather. If the plants are wilted in the afternoon, wait until morning to water. They may recover. If still wilted in the morning, give them a drink.



I hope this information helps. Be sure to let me know if you have any other questions.

Happy Gardening & Warm Blessings

Answer 2

Those little stringy things are actually part of the gourd vines. Leave them alone and just keep them watered,by putting up a little fence the vines will start crawling on them. I planted gourds one year with no support and the vines just kept growing and got very long, they attached their selves to the nearby trees so I had gourds hanging from my trees. I believe they need lots of room to grow,but then again it could depend on what type of gourds they are. Good Luck!!

Answer 3

I grew Gourds two years ago. They can be trained. You have to tie them with something soft that will not dig into the skin. It takes a lot of time and patience. There are Websites that can help you. Just type in "growing gourds" in your Search area. That is how I learned to do it.