Gourds have been used in commerce for a long time. They are bought and sold or even swapped. It was through this commerce that many new varieties were discovered with seed exchanges. This continues today as artists exchange or sell gourd seeds expanding their options and creating new hybrids. This is quite easy if you self-pollinate. It is all a risk if you don’t want your gourds mixed. If you want complete separation, they need to be planted roughly one-half an acre apart.
There is nothing more fun, if you are a gourd artist, than growing your own gourds, if you have adequate space and live where the climate is conducive to success. Gourds are a little fussy to get started, some are known to not transplant well, and without pollination the plants will simply shrivel and die. However, once they are started and the second set of leaves appear, you are on the right track. There is much more to growing your own gourds and that information is available on the web and through gourd groups on Facebook. They grow quite quickly – you will be surprised and amazed at how quickly they take shape. They will climb to very high reaches or spread across the ground which is how many commercial growers grow them. They should be left on the vine until the stem browns and shrivel up. If one or two drop off, you might still consider trying to dry them out OR you can green clean them. Too, might also opt to use the Hawaiian technique called Pawehe, or Ni’ihua which means Hawaiian tattooed gourd. Those will be covered in another blog page.