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DCL
Gourds are a great way to decorate naturally for the autumn season. I get a bunch of them and put them in a copper colander and it turns into a great centerpiece. If you've got a green thumb and want to try your hand at growing your own, it's not really that difficult.
How to Grow Gourds:
1. Many gourd seeds can be found at local garden centers.
2.Gourds are similar to growing squash, they need warm weather and soil that contains lots of compost and is kept moist.
3. Gourds grow well on a fence or a garden trellis. Growing the plants on fences means the gourds will have less blemishes, as there is no contact with the ground. Fencing is great for the smaller, ornamental gourds.
4.The small ornamental types such as bicolor pear can be spaced 18 to 24 inches apart. Place a small bed of sand under each gourd to protect it from slugs.
5.Young gourd plants do not like frost. A late spring frost will kill your tender seedlings. They will succumb to the first fall frost, unless you cover them. Make sure to cover them if the threat of frost exists.
6.Harvest in the fall after the first frost. Even a heavy frost will not harm a mature crop.
7.A good indication that they are ready to pick are brown, dried stems.
