I have been ask this question numerous times and with harvesting time near for many, I thought I would share how I harvest my gourds. I am no expert, this is just my knowledge. I can remember my mom growing gourds in the garden 30 plus years ago and she passed her gourd growing knowledge to me, which was all by trial and error as we had no internet. I am sure you can find much more knowledgeable advice now on google search.
There's nothing more satisfying than planting a seed and watching your babies grow. I get excited when I see them grow and start to take shape and I imagine all the possibilities with each one.
There's nothing more satisfying than planting a seed and watching your babies grow. I get excited when I see them grow and start to take shape and I imagine all the possibilities with each one.
The pictures in this post are from the year I grew over 2000 gourds. Yes 2000 gourds woohooooo! Do you think I have enough??
How do I know they are ready?? You want make sure them stem to the gourd is completely dead and dried up as this means it has hardened off. The longer it is left on the stem the better. Picking a gourd too soon can cause your gourd to rot. The top row pics show some gourds that are not quite ready as you can still see green on the stem. The pictures on the middle row show the garden still a little green and second pic totally dried up so that means I can cut them. I cut my stems leaving 4-5" as the more stem left the better for the gourd while it cures. You don't want to twist or tear them off as it can damage the gourds curing. The harvesting times may vary depending on what part of the country where you live. You can also leave the gourds in the garden till spring and pick them then. It won't hurt them in fact the longer a gourd dries the better. So, you have now picked your dried gourds what next? You will want to place them on pallets or I dry mine on my deck as it has air flow. I lay them out in rows not touching as I want air flow completely around them. It usually takes till spring for them to fully dry and cure.
These were a few babies that were accidentally missed in the garden and I harvested them in the spring. See you don't have to pick them, you can just leave them and forget about them till spring.
Have fun harvesting your gourd babies and I will continue this blog post in the spring with some gourd cleaning tips a techniques.
Blessings!
Wendy
Blessings!
Wendy