Crops & Breeds › Vegetable Garden
🥒 Gourds
Vegetable Garden · growing reference
| Days to maturity | 110 days – 130 days, by type |
|---|---|
| Germination | 10 days |
| Direct sowing | +5 days vs transplants |
| Spacing | 24″ in the row × 60″ between rows |
| Planted as | seed |
| Water | ~1–2 in a week |
When to plant
In USDA zone 6, for example: Plant out around Apr 22, once your last frost has passed.
| Spring | |
|---|---|
| Zone 3 | May 22 |
| Zone 4 | May 14 |
| Zone 5 | May 3 |
| Zone 6 | Apr 22 |
| Zone 7 | Apr 8 |
| Zone 8 | Mar 22 |
| Zone 9 | Feb 27 |
Dates are the typical window for each zone's average frost dates — your own last frost can differ by a couple of weeks. Zone 10 and warmer is effectively frost-free: plant to the season, not the frost. Southern Hemisphere: shift six months.
Gourd Types
- Hardshell · 130 days · 3–8 gourds/plant — Lagenaria — bottle, birdhouse, dipper, and kettle gourds (shapes are varieties); grown to a woody shell, then cured for months off the vine.
- Luffa · 110 days · 4–8 sponges/plant — The sponge gourd — let it mature and dry to peel out the fibrous sponge (or eat it young like a squash); soak the hard seed and give it heat.
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