Gourds, How to Grow and Care 
For Them 
By L. J. Farmer 
Ornamental gourds have become quite 
popular with many people during the past 
few years. They are used for decoration 
of living rooms in many ways, put jn 
bowls or dishes for the table; or hung 
about or placed on mantlepieces. They are 
used for bird houses, water dippers and in 
innumerable other ways. There are many 
shapes, forms and colors. In colors, they 
run from pure white, through all the colors, 
shades, etc. to jet black. Some are smooth, 
others are serrated; some are warty; some 
are round; some are flat; others are elong¬ 
ated. Some have two colors, such as yellow 
and black, yellow and green, etc. They 
make a very effective center table attrac¬ 
tion to take the place of fruits or flowers. 
However, they are not edible, as some peo¬ 
ple suppose; although some of them re¬ 
semble pumpkins and squashes. There ap¬ 
pear to be two general types—those very 
similar to squashes in appearance, having 
soft shells, and those whose shells are 
very thick and hard, when dried. 
How to Grow Gourds 
The gourd succeeds best in a warm dry 
soil, well drained and exposed to the sun. 
Land that will grow good corn and pota¬ 
toes, and incidentally pumpkins and 
squashes, is best for gourds. They will 
not thrive on low, wet, swampy soil, where 
water stands part of the season. The soil 
must be rich and naturally warm. Prepare 
the land same as for planting corn or po¬ 
tatoes. Plow out a ditch by going both 
ways. Fill the ditch half full with well 
rotted manure and cover the manure with 
three inches of top soil. Have these 
ditches or rows 6 to 8 feet apart and the 
hills, three feet apart in the row. If a few 
seeds only are to be planted, dig holes ten 
inches deep and three feet apart, partly 
fill with manure and cover with three inches 
of soil. After danger of frost is over, 
about the same time as you would pump¬ 
kins or squashes, plant the seeds about 
one inch deep, about 6 seeds to the hill. 
When the plants come up, protect them 
from the striped bugs or other insects, by 
dusting with some arsenical poison mixed 
with hydrated lime. When the plants ap¬ 
pear to have survived the insects, thin to 
one or two plants to the hill. The fewer 
plants to the hill, the more good gourds 
you will get. The past season, we found 
one plant, self planted, on a manure heap, 
that produced nearly a bushel of one of 
the smaller type of gourds and everyone 
was perfect shaped. Gourds do not require 
as long a season as winter squashes, but 
should be planted about the same time. 
If your gourds run to vine and do not 
fruit, it is a pretty good sign that your 
soil is too rich in nitrogen. We suggest 
that you mix the soil in the hills with 
ashes—one fourth wood ashes and three 
fourths sifted coal ashes; all mixed with 
an equal amount of garden soil. 
When to Gather Gourds 
One can tell by the general appearance 
when to gather. They do not all ripen at 
once and have to be gathered at different 
times, selecting only the mature speci¬ 
mens each time. Of course, if heavy frost 
is expected, they should be picked, but 
they will often endure a quite heavy frost 
the first time. The first heavy frost will 
kill the leaves, so gourds will not escape 
the second frost so well. Do not let the 
gourds remain on the vines until they 
drop off, of themselves, they are then too 
ripe. 
In picking gourds, use a, knife and leave 
on a good length stem, say two or three 
inches. Gourd connioisseurs do not con¬ 
sider a stem4ess gourd of much use or 
value, but we notice that eventually, soon¬ 
er or later, the stems of all gourds get 
broken off and they are just as pretty. 
Store the gourds in a dry room by them¬ 
selves, so they do not touch each other. 
Do not put in piles or place in baskets, as 
it tends to discolor them and sometimes 
induces rot. Keep from rats and mice, as 
these animals will spoil the whole gourd to 
get the seeds, same as they will with 
squashes and apples. After the gourds 
are picked and stored, they should be 
cleaned with a stiff brush and all mud and 
persistent dirt removed with a damp cloth 
or by washing. They should then be prop¬ 
erly disinfected by dipping in some anti¬ 
septic disinfectant germacide, to prevent 
decay as long as possible. When thorough¬ 
ly dry and ripe, they may be shellacked, 
which further helps keep them longer. 
Gourds keep and look good for about a 
year, when they begin to lose color and 
the skin gets rough. They can be then 
painted any color or design. I have seen 
varioius figures or designs painted on them 
with very pleasing effect. Characters, such 
as Dutch women in wooden shoes and 
characteristic dress, are very pleasing. We 
prefer that our own, ornamental gourds be 
left as they grew naturally, without paint¬ 
ing or shellacking, as long as possible. 
Use transparent shellac and dip them in it 
or paint it on with a brush. 
It seems easy enough to grow and care 
for gourds, but in many sections, quite 
hard to, dispose of them commercially, as 
few people, as yet, are gourd conscious. 
We advise to try them for home amuse¬ 
ment, but to go slow if contemplating 
growing them for market. Be sure to 
watch and see what the other fellow is do¬ 
ing. Too many gourds are worse than too 
much cotton, corn and wheat, you can’t eat 
or wear them. 
Price of Gourds and Seeds of Gourds 
GOURDS, 10 specimens, all different, 
.$1.00; 25, all different, $2.00; 100, 50 or 
more kinds, $7.00. Not prepaid. 
Packet of 100 or more seeds, the run of 
the field, 25c, 5 pkts. $1.00. 
Warted Varieties, 50 seeds, 25c. 
Dipper and Bird Nest Kinds, 50 seeds, 
25c. 
Small Types Mixed, 25 seeds 25c; 100, 
76c. 
Selected Seeds, 2 each of 25 varieties, 
50c; 100 seeds, 50 varieties, 75c; 200 seeds, 
50 varieties, $1.00, postpaid. 
Mexican Ornamental Corn 
This ornamental corn is a good com¬ 
panion for gourds. Single ears or traces 
of these ears, hting up in a room, lend to 
the attraction. The ears are spotted or 
are speckled like speckled poultry. There 
are six to eight colors. It requires the 
same culture as ordinary Indian corn. 
Genuine seeds, 6 colors, 25 seeds, 10c; 100 
seeds 25c; 500 seeds, $1.00. 
