Growing Gourds

The Most Aesthetically Pleasing Vegetable in the Garden!

Growing Gourds!

We love gourds at Kula Nursery! Luffa gourd, angled gourd, bottle gourd, snake gourd, we’ve got them all! As our climate continues to warm, gourds are a more sustainable crop for regions with excess heat. Nearly all gourds grow the same, the only exception being its vine length. Bitter gourds grow 5-6 feet in length while angled and luffa gourds can grow 30 feet in length!

Gourds are extremely sensitive to cold weather, even more so than peppers and eggplant. Make sure night time temperatures are steadily above 60 degrees F. Any lower and your plants will become stunted.

Incorporate compost or other amendements into the soil before planting. They are heavy feeders and may require additional fertilizer when plant starts developing flowers.

Although some gourds can be grown to trail on the ground, all of them will beenfit from a sturdy trellis. Provide a South facing trellis if possible, as gourds love full sun and full heat. Consider top pinching your plant if it has reached the top of the trellis. This will encourage the plant to branch out and fill out the trellis. Depending on the variety, if the vine is left to continue growing it can reach up to 30 feet in length.

Water young plants every day or every other day when young to help establish the roots. Once plants are established, waterings can be reduced to 2-3 deep waterings a week. Ideally, 30-60 minutes of drip irrigation.

Continual harvesting will send energy back to producing more fruit. For bottle, luffa, angled and snake gourd, harvest when fruit is still very young (a few inches in diameter). Once fruit gets more mature, it will become inedible. Bitter and Ivy gourd (Tindora) will become scarlet when ripe so make sure to harvest before the color starts turning.

Plants can be suseptible to critters and insects when young. Sprinkling diatamaceous earth (DE) around the base of the plant and on the leaves can detract common pests. Once plants are established, plants are hardy and withstanding of common pests.

If growing luffa or angle gourd, allow a few fruits to completely dry on the vine to harvest the sponge! The plant needs a very long growing season to completely dry and may only be possible in regions with 5 months of warm weather. Alternatively, bottlegourd or birdhouse gourds can also be left to mature on the vine and can be used as a musical instrument or as a vessel for water or other items.

Tindora

Tindora grows slightly differently than the rest of the gourds we offer. It is a tropical perennial, considered invasive in Hawaii and can grow wild in tropical-like regions such as Florida and Texas.

Stem cuttings are the primary way of propagation for tindora. At the end of Summer, before the first frost (or before temperatures dip into the 40s) prune your tindora plant down to a few inches above the soil line. The plant will regrow from the base in the Spring. Alternatively, you can cut a few 6” semi hardwood cuttings from the base of the plant and put them in a pot of soil in a sunny window through the Winter. A new plant will grow from the cuttings and can be replanted the following Spring.

Plants can be grown in a container and brought back inside in the Winter as well. However, the plant will grow much larger if grown in the ground.

Overall, gourds are easy to grow but require a very hot and long growing season. They can grow up to 30 feet so providing a trellis and consistant waterings is neccessary. They are not prone to many common pests and are well adapted to warming climates and heat spells.