Gourds should be grown in full sun in well drained soil. This does not need to be overly rich, as more leaves than fruit will be the result. When they begin to spread, set some bush, old rolls of wire or old sawhorses for them to climb over. But if a crooked neck is desired, they may ramble on the ground, as hanging up seems to straighten the neck. When large Sugar Troughs, or Chinese Water Jugs form, see that they stand upright to form symmetrically.
The gourd flowers bearing the staminate blossoms will develop in the first few weeks. At first I was at a loss to know why the white flowered gourds on my choice Lagenaria were not setting fruit, until I examined a blossom to find only stamens in it. Later on I found other blossoms with hard knobs at the base of the bloom – the young gourd. There was a pistil in these blossoms. The white blossoms of these gourds bloom in the evening and during the early morning hours and are delicately beautiful. The Chinese have a saying “as beautiful as a gourd flower” and we find the flower pictured in design on much of their pottery, glassware and paintings. They are especially fond of the large Chinese Water Jug, a double gourd which to them suggests immortality as its symbol.
When frost threatens, we think about our gourds. The yellow flowering do not stand too much frost and should he gathered when ripe. This is indicated by a dry tendril nearest the stem of the gourd; the inability to dent it by the thumb nail; or its resistance to gentle pressure. After the ripest have been picked and stored in a dry place, the rest of the vines may be pulled, stacked and covered on frosty nights. However, the white-flowering Lagenarias can stand more frost and may be left out longer. They are a green color but will turn brown when ripe. We are going to make birdhouses out of some and decorate the rest. We usually pull ours before a hard frost if they are ripe enough, as we want to clear off the garden for a fall plowing. Leave on plenty of vine and allow them to dry on a sunny back porch. Snow comes early and unexpected here, so it is best to play safe. These gourds are heavy, but will get lighter as they dry. They do not grow as large here as they do farther south, but often perfect specimens develop. Next year a new place in the garden must be the gourd patch as they do not do well planted in the same place on successive years.
This year I grew a surprisingly large number of the more unusual gourds in a rather small space. Among those which I liked best were the Ten Commandment, which is also called Holy, Finger, or Crown of Thorns; a large white bell-shaped gourd; and the miniature, a very small green-striped gourd, with a neck sometimes straight, sometimes crooked. Those having to straight neck are lust right for making the head of those dolls made from small bottles, as the neck of the gourd fits nicely into the bottle’s neck. They may also be used grouped in charm strings, or in charm bracelets. All the white gourds arrange nicely with black Devil’s Claws and the various black beans, such as the English Bean and the Chinese Salad bean, both of which have black durable shells. One gourd was a perfect Turk’s Turban, with four brightly colored gourds protuding from the top of the main gourd. This, however, is a type of squash, and its time of keeping is limited. While edible, it is mainly used as an ornamental, as is also the Turk’s Cap, which one year I grew in quantities and used as pumpkins for culinary purposes.