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contain potassium (potash) which resulted in a mature gourd with a thick
shell. An on-line pumpkin production article also suggests applying
potassium (potash) as the fruit begins to set to encourage dry matter
production. Others recommend watering daily or weekly with manure tea. A
simple soil test would eliminate the guesswork.
Seeds.
Seeds can be
purchased from reputable gourd growers who have hand-pollinated their
gourds to produce ‘true-type’ seeds. Check the Alabama Gourd Society
website www.alabamagourdsociety.org
for seed sources, or your local Co-op. Of course, you can always plant
the seeds that you cleaned out of that martin gourd last week too. If
you let the bees do the pollinating for you, and have grown several
different types of gourds at the same time, you will get a
cross-pollinated seed. Cross pollination will not affect the shape of
the current season gourds. Any change in shape will occur when the cross
pollinated seeds are planted. These are always fun too, because you
never know what shapes you’ll end up with.
Planting.
After preparing your soil and selecting the seeds, now it’s time for
planting. You can choose to start your seeds indoors and transplant your
seedlings after danger of the last frost has past. Or you can plant the
seeds directly into the soil. You can plant 4 to 6 seeds/seedlings in
hills, eight to ten feet apart, like recommended for other curcurbits.
Or you can plant them in rows, with rows at least 8 feet apart. Apply
any fertilizer that was recommended by your soil test at planting and
water in everything well. Continue to water on a regular basis to keep
nutrients in the soil solution and available for plant use. Adequate
water is especially important for gourds since they are 90% water.
Thinning
and Pruning. Once
the seedlings are well-established, thin them to 2 to 3 per hill leaving
the most healthy ones. If you planted in rows, thin to the spacing you
desire. As the gourd plant grows, most male flowers will be produced on
the main stem and most female flowers will grow on the side/lateral
branches. Once the main stem reaches 10 feet you can pinch it back and
this will promote more lateral branching and production of more female
flowers.
Pollination.
Once the flowers
begin to appear, pollination will need to take place before ANY gourds
will become a reality. The purpose of the male flowers, (which mostly
grow on the main vine) is to produce pollen only, so all the males will
die shortly after blooming. The female flowers, (which mostly grow on
the side branches) have a small gourd on the end of the blossom. In
order for the little gourd to grow and mature, it must receive pollen
from a male flower. That is supposed to be the job of bees and other
small flying insects that gather pollen. However, since most hard-shell
gourds are night bloomers (begin to open in late afternoon and close up
shortly after sunup) pollination may not occur. In that case, the little
gourd will turn brown and fall off the vine in a few days. This is
especially true if any insecticides have been applied to control other
insects that will damage the gourd vines.
There
is something you can do about it. Go out to your gourd patch in late
afternoon, collect some male flowers and peel the petals and cup from
around the stamen. You will see it covered with pollen. Now go to a
female flower and peel the petals and cup from around the pistil. Be as
careful as you can so as not to damage the little gourd. Now rub the
male flower over the female. Use two or three males per female to insure
good pollination and you should see the little gourds begin to grow and
mature.
Harvesting.
Gourds can be harvested beginning in August through October when the
fruit is mature, and ONLY when the vines and stems begin to turn brown.
It is very important not to pick the gourds until the stem has turned
brown to prevent premature rotting. Once picked, the gourds can be
stored in a storage shed or barn with good ventilation and allowed to
dry. They can also be left in the field to dry. It is not recommended to
bring gourds into your house to dry because the mold that develops can
be introduced into your home ventilation system.
Drying
time depends on size of the gourd and temperature of the drying area.
Gourds are dry when the shell becomes hard and they turn tan or brown,
and you can hear the seeds rattle inside when the gourd is shaken. Some
gourds will be dry when you pick them from the vine, but usually most
gourds are dry within 2 to 6 months after harvesting.
Cleaning.
Once gourds are dry, the mold can be easily washed off with warm soapy
water (or water and bleach) with a metal scrub pad. It is best to remove
the mold in a wet manner to prevent inhalation of the mold. It is
definitely not recommended to sand the mold off with a power tool. Once
the gourds are dry and clean, let the fun begin....
Speaking
of fun, the Alabama Gourd Society will be holding a Gourd Education Day
in Baldwin County at the Loxley Civic Center on Saturday May 6, 2006.
Classes and demonstrations will be held throughout the day beginning at
9 am. An ALGS membership meeting will be held from 12-1 pm. The event is
hosted by the Baldwin County Gourd Patch. More information can be found
on the ALGS website www.alabamagourdsociety.org
or by contacting Pat Patterson patterson@gulftel.com
(251) 978-5988 or Barbara Nelson gary.nelson1@mchsi.com (251)
978-0842.
Brenda
Wood is a Research Associate in the Agronomy and Soils Department at
Auburn University. She can be reached by e-mail: woodbre@auburn.edu. |
