PlantCare

Growing & Harvesting Gourds

Caring for Your Plants

Watering - 1" a week is ideal. Use a rain gauge in the patch to monitor. Too much and too little (or inconsistent) amounts of water should be avoided; water in AM; use soaker hoses to avoid getting water on the leaves.
Fertilize - Once every 2 weeks. Switch to one without Nitrogen once blossoms begin to form
Mulching - After soil is warm, add 3" mulch to reduce weeds. Keep a few inches away from plant stems
Check for Diseases - Visit your gourd patch every day. Check the underside of leaves and the stems for aphids or other pests
Trimming the Vines - When they get to be about 10' long, trim the end to encourage more lateral branches. Female blossoms appear on the lateral branches, while male flowers are on the main vine and appear first.
Hand Pollination - Use a small paint brush or Q-tip to take pollen from the male blossom and gently brush it onto the center of the female blossom. Doing this routinely most evenings will greatly increase your yield. Pollen production is decreased in very hot weather and hand pollination doesn't work very well in the rain.

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