COOPERATIVE KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY FACT SHEET

Decorative Gourds

By Dr. Leigh Whittinghill, Assistant Professor of Urban Agriculture

Planting

• Make sure your gourds are placed in an area where they will get 6-8 hours of sunlight a day.
• Mound soil into hills about 4 inches high.
• Hills should be spaced 4-6 feet apart depending on the growth habit of the gourds.
• Plant seeds at a depth of 1/2 to 1 inches deep.
• Thin to 1-3 plants per hill once seeds have germinated.
• Consult the back of the seed packet for more information specific to your gourd variety.

Care and Harvest

• Water consistently, especially once fruit begin forming. About 1 inch per week (including rain) will be enough.
• Weed carefully, gourds have shallow roots.
• Compost or a balanced fertilizer (e.g. 10-10-10) can be added to the soil around the plant when flowers start to bloom.
• Gourds are ready to harvest 75-180 days after planting and should have developed their full color and become hard.
• To harvest, cut gourds from the vine 1 to 2 inches above the fruit.
• Discard any bruised or damaged gourds.