Container-Growing of Gourds

by Cindi Creswell

Presented to TGS Arlington Gourd Patch February 20, 2005

[notes taken by Joe Pritchard, TGS Arlington Gourd Patch]

            Gourds may be grown in containers if you have limited space. Cindi recommends large, plastic planters – 24” or larger in diameter. Do not use terra cotta planters because they dry out too rapidly. Miniature gourds and the smaller ornamental gourds (Cucurbita family) lend themselves well to container-growing. The hard-shell Lagenaria gourds are generally too large to grow in containers.

            You must have good drainage at the bottom of the container. A layer of rocks, pebbles, or broken clay pots will ensure there is no standing water in your container. Fill the container with composted materials and good-quality potting soil.

            Fill an empty egg shell (save them from breakfast and cooking) with good potting soil. Place a seed in the soil in the shell. Use Styrofoam egg cartons that contain a small amount of water. Place your seed-in-a-shell in the egg cartons. Keep them in a warm area – seeds prefer temperatures of 85 to 90 degrees to germinate.

            Once all danger of frost and freeze has passed, you may plant your seedlings in the containers. Make a small hole or crack in the bottom of the egg shell so the roots can grow through. Plant the seedling – egg shell and all – about three per container. Plants grown in containers like some shade, but they also require sun. You will have to water your container gourds frequently, since the containers dry out quickly. But – don’t over water them!

            You will have to construct some type of vertical framework for your container gourds to climb. The simplest structure to make is a cylinder of medium-gauge wire mesh which can be wrapped around the pot and extend approximately four feet above the upper edges of the pot. Simply direct the emerging vines to the wire mesh. Or, you can use four wood or PVC pipe rods stuck in the pot around the perimeter; use twine or wire mesh to provide a growing “cage.” Or, stick a single rod in the center of the pot and then create a “tepee” with heavy garden twine. In any case, allow at least four feet above the surface of the container for growing. Finally, you could place the containers along a chain-link or wire mesh fabric fence and let the vines grow on the fence.

            Gourd plants may have several types and shapes of gourds on the same vine, especially the miniature and ornamental gourds. Three of Cindi’s container-grown plants yielded 80 miniature gourds of varying types and shapes.

            Ornamental and miniature gourds usually mature in 110 to 130 days. They should be harvested before any sign of frost or freeze. Dry them as you would any other gourd – lots of air flow and separated from each other. Ornamentals will usually dry in a couple of weeks after harvest. Discard any gourds that are collapsing or that have damage so they do not contaminate the rest of your crop.

            The bright skin colors on ornamental gourds usually begins to fade in three to four months. A protective coating of paste wax or floor wax and a soft buffing may increase their life to four to six months.