We have a long, hot growing season which is perfect for this particular gourd. I have found from personal experience and then by reviewing the literature that it does no good to plant seeds or seedlings in the ground until the soil temperature has warmed to at least sixty five degrees. If you plant seeds when the soil is cold and damp they will rot. If you plant seedlings in the same conditions they will be weak and spindly and fall victim to disease or pests. I lost most of my seedlings in 2010 due to the prolonged wet, cold Spring. The seedlings that were not destroyed by the late frosts were consumed by pests before they could get started.
Even though we have an adequate growing season I start the African Kettle, Martin House and other large Lagenaria Gourds from seeds in peat pots on a heated mat then under artificial light when the seedlings emerge. I start them in mid-February to ensure strong plants ready for the ground around the first of April. I start them in a minimum of four inch peat pots which can be purchased in most garden centers. The gourd will suffer transplant shock up to two weeks if its roots are disturbed. The peat pots prevent shock if the seeds are not started too early resulting in roots protruding through the peat pot before the ground has warmed sufficiently for transplanting.
I purchase seed starting soil and moisten it well before putting it in the peat pots. I don’t normally soak my seeds overnight but some growers do. I also do not nick or cut the shoulders off the seed as is recommended by several writers. I plant two or three seeds in each container. I plant them one-half to one inch deep depending upon their size. I have them in an enclosed mini-greenhouse otherwise I would cover the container with plastic wrap or place them in a plastic bag to aid in keeping them moist and warm. They should not be allowed to dry completely nor should the soil be soggy.
The seeds usually germinate in a week to ten days on a heated mat. The first leaves to appear are smooth edged, round cotyledons. The leaves that appear next and subsequently have irregular edges. It takes about six weeks to have four true leaves and that is the ideal stage for transplanting into the ground if the soil temperature is at least sixty-five degrees.
Once most of the seedlings have emerged I place a fluorescent light fixture on chains and keep it three inches above them until transplanting. With consistent light up to fourteen hours a day my plants have strong, healthy stalks with abundant, healthy leaves. If you don’t provide adequate light the plants will become leggy and weak as they reach for a light source. Such plants will likely not survive transplanting and if they do they will be prime targets of insects and disease.
I have never “hardened off” my seedlings because it is usually consistently warm before I put them in the ground. If you want to follow this process you would place the seedlings in a warm sunny location several hours each day for one week before transplanting.
The soil needs to be warm and well fertilized. Rather than add commercial fertilizer I depend on well composted steer manure from a neighboring dairy or in handy bags from Walmart or garden centers. We remove and dispose of the vines after the crop is harvested in the fall. We rototill the ground in the fall and again in the spring in order to disrupt the life cycle of cucumber beetles and squash bugs.
If you grow vertical you can utilize as little as 18” square. You could even grow jewelry or baby bottle gourds in a wine barrel or other large container. Their roots do get huge however so It’s best to grow larger gourds in the ground! I grew some ten pounders along a fence by a hot driveway when we lived in town. They loved the reflected heat of the concrete and the neighbors loved the ones hanging on their side.
To be continued
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