Did you hear about the frog who went into the bank to get a loan? For collateral the frog brought a small statue of Goofy, a knickknack from his home. The banker, Miss Patty Whack, was dubious until the VP came in and said.......wait for it......it's a knickknack Miss PattyWhack, give the frog a loan......................ackkk. Couldn't resist.

Sorry PattyWhack, I don't know when to start gourds here. My two attempts to grow gourds failed. There is a Gourds forum on GW though, maybe someone there can help.

LOL, Mary! PattyWhack, here's a link to growing gourds. I can attest it is a very simple, easy plant to grow. I can't promise the vines won't take over your yard! I propagated a few seeds several years ago. I gave one to my neighbor who planted it on her side of our backyard fence and I planted one on my side. Between the two plants, we harvested over 50 gourds. Another plus to growing gourds is that the plants and blooms are beautiful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing gourds

They grow wild all over my property down in S.E. Az.

I think they must be very adaptable; I've seen them along roads in NE AZ and between Phoenix and Tucson.

Spring. Does fine in full sun and heat. If you need seeds let's know. Need a large trellis. Good for shading other veggies.

I am native of Minnesota, moved to Buckeye a few years ago. Grew gourds like weeds there! My supply for crafting is running quite low!! Thanks for a info, may start them in March.....Mary my Grampa tagged me with Pattywhack and it has stuck!! LOL

Can you share crafting ideas and gourd prep. Many of mine started to shrivel, especially if I didn't cut a hole open and empty out the contents, but even after doing that some shriveled and some didn't.

This is what I have done. After the vines dies, cut the gourd off, leaving a few inches of stem on. Leave them laying not touching each other. In a year (more or less), they will be light weight. They do get moldy....that is a good thing! If they shrivel throw away, I never had many to throw, but that was in MN. When dry, soak in water, and scrub...and scrub some more. Many times the mold leaves cool markings on them. I use a wood burner, paints, colored pencils, sewn beads, about anything you can dream up. I will try to take some pics to give you some ideas if you would like. Hope this helps!