Lagenaria

Speckled Swan Gourd, (Lagenaria siceraria), Seeds 100-105 days to Maturity. An extravagantly lovely swan-necked ornamental gourd. With their graceful form and alluring color, swan-necked gourds are naturally ornamental. This variety’s large round base is topped with a thick curved neck with a bulbous tip, giving its swanlike effect. The medium green fruits, speckled with light green speckles, weigh about 3 lbs and are approximately 3″ wide and 16″ tall. Ideal for selling at fall markets for decorating or painting once dried. Days to pick the first ripe fruit from the time the plant is transplanted in the garden. For thousands of years, gourds have been grown and used by many cultures as useful tools and utensils. Today we mostly think of gourds as decorations, birdhouses or containers. Growing Gourds: There are a few basic requirements that must be met before attempting to grow gourds of any kind with any real success. Gourds of all types require a lot of sun, water and a long spell of warm weather. Gourds need about 100 to 180 growing days in order to fully mature. They also need lots of room. They can either be trellised or left to run on the ground. Good soil is obviously a must for any plant to grow. Planting in Hills: One of the most popular methods for growing “any” plants from the vine family is to plant them in “hills”. To do this, dig a hole about a foot deep and two feet in diameter in an area where it will receive plenty of sun and water. Then fill the hole about 1/4 to 1/2 way with cow manure or some other form of compost. Next, cover the manure with about 3 or 4 inches of dirt and space from about 6 to a dozen seeds around the ‘hill’ and cover them up. As they grow, their roots go down into the manure and are thus self fertilizing. Once they are well started, say about 2 or 3 leaves each, thin down to the best 2 or 3 plants. With good sun and water, they will soon begin spreading their vines. Just beware, the vines will soon overtake a large area, so don’t place the “hills” too close together. It is not uncommon for the vines of the larger gourd species to easily reach 20-30 feet in length. Assume that a plant can handle and grow 2 good gourds each, so you could expect 20 gourds from 10 plants, depending on your local and length of growing season. Keep in mind that the more gourds per plant, the smaller they will be. Maintenance: Gourds need consistent watering, especially once fruit has set. You can feed by side dressing with organic matter or a balanced fertilizer when the vines start to blossom. Use caution when weeding, since gourds are shallow rooted. If pollinators are not abundant, you may have to pollinate by hand, by removing the male blossoms and dusting them onto the female blossoms. The female blossoms can be distinguished by the tiny immature fruit at the base of the flower. Harvesting Gourds: Gourds are ready for harvesting when the stems dry out and turn brown. Cut the gourds with a few inches of stem intact. Harvest all gourds before a hard frost. Immature gourds will not last long, but frost will ruin soft skin gourds entirely and even a light frost can alter the color of hard skin gourds and affect their ability to dry. Discard bruised and spoiled gourds. They will just begin to decay in storage. Curing Ornamental Gourds: Gourds need air to properly dry. Lots of air. So if you pick your gourds early, DON’T put them some place where they will not get good air flow, like in a cellar or a small room. Curing or drying ornamental gourds requires time. There is no shortcut. The outside of the gourd must dry completely and then it will take another several months for the inside of the gourd to dry and cure. Lagenaria gourds can take twice as long to dry as Cucurbita gourds. Start by cleaning the surface of the gourds with soapy water and allow them to air dry. You can wipe them with rubbing alcohol to further ensure the surface dries completely. Place in a well-ventilated area away from direct sunlight for about 1 week. The skin will begin to harden and change color. After a week, the outside of the gourd should be well dried. Move the gourds to a well-ventilated, dark area where they can remain for at least 6 months. Spread them in a single layer and be sure none of the gourds are touching each other. Allow for air flow under the gourds by placing them on a screen or vented surface. It may be easier to hang larger gourds for drying. Check your gourds every day or two and discard any that begin to decay, shrivel or get soft. If mold appears, see if you can wipe it off with a dry cloth or one dipped in bleach. If the gourd is still hard, it should be fine. Turn the fruit every couple of weeks, to dry evenly and prevent rotting. When the gourds become light and solidly hard and you can hear the seeds rattling inside when you shake them, they are ready for use. At this time you can carve, paint, wax, shellac or decorate your ornamental gourds any way you wish. Hard-shell gourds may still be rough or peeling and can be smoothed and polished up with steel wool or fine sandpaper They should last indefinitely. Letting Nature Dry Gourds: If the gourds are picked before maturing, then they are much more susceptible to rot. If you want to leave your gourds right in the field attached to the vines, they will dry on their own. Gourds will dry out in the weather just fine. No, it won’t hurt them to get wet from rain, nor will it hurt them to freeze. Yes, a hard freeze will kill the vines and leaves, but mature gourds will do just fine. Commercial growers don’t pick their gourds from the fields until they are fully dry. Sowing Speckled Swan Gourd Seeds: For best results, please follow the instructions in the order provided. Scarify: Soak in water for 2-4 Hours Germination: Sow 1/2” to 1″ Deep, Keep Warm and moist (Not wet). Sow only after soil temperature has warmed up. About the same time you plant corn. Earlier indoors and transplant if you have a short growing season. Be sure to give Gourds plenty of room on the ground or train them up a trellis. Germination: Seeds Packets are labeled with seed name and sowing details. Seeds have not been pretreated unless specified in the listing. Seed is not a specific Cultivar (Variety) unless specified in the listing. Due to the many factors involved in successful germination, Seller cannot be responsible for buyers growing methods or mistakes. I have provided what I believe to be a good overview on this page (which you are free to print for further reference), however, it is still recommended to check specialist literature for more details and practices specific to your climate and soil conditions to avoid mistakes in the germination and growing process. Shipping and Discounts: All items are set up to automatically discount as follows: Any promotional offers are discounted by using the “Add to Cart “only.To qualify for any discounts, items must be paid together, on the same eBay invoice.If paid separately, no discounts will be applied though seller reserves the right to ship together.If there are any questions or concerns about the amount due, please message me before paying so I can address all of your concerns before there is a problem. Buyer assumes responsibility once payment has been made. International Buyer’s: It is the buyer’s responsibility to know their countries customs laws. Plant and plant materials including seeds may be restricted from importing to your country. Please check with your customs agency and or post office before purchasing. Upon purchasing this item Buyer accepts the risk of item being confiscated and/or destroyed by customs and Seller will not be held liable for this. If you are on my exclusion list it is because: “Plant and plant materials including seeds” are restricted from importing to your country, it is enforced by your country and there is a high rate of customs checking for this. Import duties, taxes, and customs charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer’s responsibility. Please check with your country’s customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to buying. Tracking is not available for International items. International mail varies from 10 to 30 business days (postal working days) and some countries require certain International items to be picked up at your post office. Upon processing your order, you will be sent a customs number, your shipping date and your shipping address, which you will need in order to retrieve it from your post office if you are required to do so. If these are not picked up in a reasonable time they may be returned or discarded. All mail items are subject to inspection by customs when crossing into another country. If stopped for inspection this will cause serious delays in receiving your item(s). You may or may not be notified of this. This may require you to pick up your package from your post office.