Our Gourd Farm

I have always loved to grow gourds.  Even when I was a little boy gourd growing was filled with surprises and always enjoyable results.  On our normal travel routine I have often planted gourd seeds and then had to leave them on their own to produce or not for the season.  This year, though, with extended time at home, Trish and I have been able to not only plant but nurture and pet the gourds  as they make their productive way through the season.

Part of our gourd farm.

We have eleven hills of plants growing at various places around the house.  Most of them are where they can go up trees and some vines have already reached about twenty feet. They are now blooming like mad and there are about twenty-five small gourds, some up to about four inches long.

Can you find four little gourds on this vine so far?

The gourds bloom at night beginning to open up after the sun goes down.  They have both male and female blooms and it is quite easy to tell the difference.  The female bloom structure is visible different from the male and the females also have what looks like tiny gourds at the base of the bloom.

It is easy to pollinate them by hand as we have few bees on the island and don’t trust the night insects.  At the edge of darkness we go out each evening on our pollination trip.  We locate a waiting female blossom, then pluck of a male blossom nearby and touch them together.  This almost always results in success and you can tell by morning if it has worked.

Caught in the act of pollination!

We are growing four different kinds of gourds this year and hope to have a bumper crop.

Why do we grow gourds? You ask.  One reason...it is fun!