they lay all over my yard ... darn kids ... lol

they last until FREEZE .. frost is irrelevant ...

day heat ... tends to aid ripening... they change colors ... so i would go with shade ... until temps spike abate ..

and i am presuming intact.. not cut pumpkins .... they dont take heat at all ...

ken

they can be left there all winter .. and by spring.. they will be like maracas ....

and then the kids find them.. and walk around the yard playing with them.. until they start breaking apart.. and the next thing you know.. you have a couple dozen plants.. growing gourds for next fall ... though the actual cultivar has degenerated .... meaning you will have some cool unique gourds ..

also.. if you buy a couple of the birdhouse gourds.. they will be ready for you to make into birdhouses ....

ken

Thanks Ken. That makes sense putting them in the shade. The temperature is bouncing back up close to 90 this week-end, so the warm sun needs to be avoided for awhile yet.

yeah .... do keep note that i am in ground freeze z5 ... compared to you ...

i doubt yours will freeze dry over the winter.. like mine do ...

in z7.. most likely they will rot ... unless you figure out how to dry them ... probably by hanging them off the damp soil ....

ken

"and then the kids find them.. and walk around the yard playing with them.. until they start breaking apart.. and the next thing you know.. you have a couple dozen plants.. growing gourds for next fall ...."

Ken, am I reading it correctly that gourd can overwinter outside in zone 5?

I have been thinking about growing some gourd but I thought it was too cold for them in my zone (zone 6).

dave ...

they are freeze dried maracas in spring.. but the seed is viable.. but not quite true to prior form ... many of them are in an unheated club house.. aka ... shed ....

the plants die .. well.. this year in late august from the drought .... or by first frost ...

where in the world did you come up with the thought that gourds wont grow in MI ... there are a dozen pumpkin fields down here in adrian MI .... havent you seen any out your way ... pumpkins are gourds ...

in fact.. we have been buying the 89 cent weirdos.. the last few weeks.. to expand what we grow ... i have been wondering if the tiny ones will have viable seeds ... but the kids like the project ... the whole sterile named cultivar thing ....

did i clarify that???

ken

Ken, thanks.

Hmmm.... I guess I sort of knew that gourds grew in Michigan, having seen them in farmers' market. I just went to an apple farm last week and saw some pumpkins but I never linked them with gourds.

But I thought they are long-season plants that need to be started indoor, or in a greenhouse, or at least a cold frame. Is that is true?

Maybe I should give it a try next year.

nope ...

they are harvested in OCT .... so there is plenty of time to sow them in mother earth.. and let her warm herself in spring ...

most veggies.. we want then when tomatoes come due in june ... so we force them ... and they are near dead by sept ...

but you need to think of gourds and pumps.. like you would kales.. cabbage... brussel sprouts ... the cool season harvest crops ...

and keep in mind.. i am not talking about the foo foo pumpkins .... the giants.. etc.. total ripoff in my experience .... never got one to grow with any vigor ... the seeds in the pack are usually sterile.. or dead ...

and most of our gourds.. are not even properly planted.. nor watered ... ... basically the description of a weed.. lol ...

just give it a try next spring.. and try to remember to report back ...

good instinct.. i bet a buck.. you can grow any one you see/get at the local farmers market .... but god know where wallyworld ships them in from .... just ask the farmer who is selling them ....

ken

Good info. Thanks, Ken.