Great gourds!

Sunset, May, 1992 by Lauren Bonar Swezey

Pottery of the plant world, hard-shell gourds grow in a fascinating array of shapes and sizes. When carved, painted, or embellished with colorful designs, they're prized as decorative art.

To grow and dry hard-shell gourds (Lagenaria siceraria) for craft purposes is to continue a practice that dates back 9,000 years to the Ocampo Caves in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Over the centuries, use of gourds as functional and decorative containers became widespread, spanning continents, from the Americas to Asia and Africa.

You can grow hard-shell gourds, also known as calabashes, just for the delight of watching them develop into unusual shapes, or for craft projects. Green fruits dry to a hard, woody outer shell that's waterproof and lasts for years with care.

Plant them any time after the last frost. Since they require a long growing season (at least 120 days), order seeds and get them into the ground as soon as possible.

OVER AN ARBOR OR UP A TRELLIS

Like their melon and squash relatives, gourds are easy to grow. But make sure to give them plenty of space; vines of many varieties can reach 20 feet long.

An ideal location is over a sturdy arbor--either temporary (as above) or permanent. This allows ample room for vines to grow vigorously up the sides and over the top and also provides an open area for the gourds to hang freely through the arbor and develop into symmetrically shaped specimens.

The vines' long tendrils cling to almost anything, so plants can also be trained on fences, trellises, poultry wire, or lengths of twine or wire stretched between two poles.

Keep all but the heaviest gourds off the ground. Allowing vines to sprawl can distort developing gourds and make them more prone to pests, discoloration, and rotting. Particularly hefty gourds like 'African Bushel Basket' can't be grown off the ground because their vines won't support the weight. A board or piece of cardboard set under each gourd will help prevent rotting.

PLANT SEEDS IN RICH, WELL-DRAINED SOIL

Choose a site that gets full sun most of the day. In cool or short-season areas, plant in a warm, protected area, such as along a south wall.

If you plan to save seeds from this year's crop to plant out next season, you should grow only one variety of hard-shell gourd. If you grow more than one kind, blossoms may cross-pollinate and produce offspring that are different from the parents.

Soak seeds overnight, then sow them 1/2 to 1 inch deep in moist, compost-enriched soil (or mix in a complete fertilizer). If you grow gourds along a fence or trellis, plant seeds about a foot apart; thin to about 2 feet apart when plants have several sets of leaves. Or plant in hills about 4 feet apart (eight seeds per hill), and thin to the sturdiest two or three plants.

Seeds germinate in a week to 10 days. The rapidly growing plants need plenty of moisture, so water thoroughly and often enough to keep the soil moist. For efficiency, use ooze tubing or drip irrigation. Or use a hoe to form wells around mounds or along rows, and water with a hose. Mulch with leaf mold or other organic matter. Hand-pull weeds; cultivating may damage shallow roots.

PRUNE VINES TO ENCOURAGE BRANCHING

Gourd vines rarely need pruning. But there are exceptions. If you want vines to grow in a certain direction, you need to direct developing growth. To guarantee a large harvest, prune to encourage lateral (side) branching where female flowers--which become gourds--develop. Clip the growing tip off each main vine when vines are 8 to 10 feet long.

If you want big specimens rather than many, you don't have to prune; allow just a few gourds to develop per vine and pick off the rest.

Gourds have separate male and female flowers. (Male flowers are musky-smelling and form on the main vine; female flowers are bulbous just below the petals.)

Bees and moths pollinate the female flowers. If bee activity is low early in the season (because of wet, cold weather), you can hand-pollinate using a small paintbrush. Collect pollen from the stamens in the center of a male flower and transfer it to the pistil inside a female flower.

Control aphids with insecticidal soap or wash off with a gentle stream of water. Pick off and destroy mildewed leaves at first sign of damage. In fall, remove and discard vines and immature gourds, or compost them if they're disease-free. To discourage disease, plant gourds in a different location each year.

WHEN TO HARVEST

You can harvest gourds when tendrils next to their stems are dead, but it's best to leave them on the vine as long as possible--until the gourds turn yellow or brown. They can even stay on the vine through frosts, but a heavy frost can discolor them. If you want to save seed for next year, harvest before a heavy freeze.

Remove gourds with pruning shears, leaving at least 4 inches of stem. Do not handle gourds by the stem or the stem may break off. After harvest, wash gourds thoroughly and scrub with a solution of 2 tablespoons bleach or other disinfectant to a gallon of warm water.