When to Plant Gourds: Find the Time for Your Seeds

It’s so exciting to get gourd seeds!  You may want to rush right out and plant. But slow down… let’s give timing a little bit of thought. There are considerations!

Gourds thrive in warm climates with long growing seasons. Each gourd needs lots and lots of time on the vine to mature fully. Only gourds that are really mature will develop that nice hard shell. Most gourds take four months or more (from starting the seed) to be mature. You may read 120, 130, or even more “DTM” (days to maturity) on a seed pack. That’s far longer than a tomato! 

With the first hard frost in the fall, the plant will die. So, it’s tempting to stretch the season by planting the gourds early in the spring. Tempting, but inadvisable. Cool soil and cold weather will stress your young plants. When I’ve planted gourd seedlings (young plants) outside before the soil is warm, I could practically feel them glowering at me and shivering resentfully.

Here in upstate NY, in plant hardiness zone 6a, we start our seeds indoors in early May. With a bit of TLC, our seedlings are already sending out tendrils and vines, raring to go outside just 4 weeks later. And that works well, because in early June, not only is the chance of frost over, but the soil is warming up nicely. The young gourd plants won’t suffer much transplant shock at all.

Where are you growing gourds? Are you in a southern area, with a nice long growing season? If so, it might make sense for you to start your seeds right in the garden, outside, once the soil warms up. That’s nice for the plants, because gourds (and other members of the squash family) really don’t like having their roots disturbed. They’re a bit particular that way. 

If you’re in a cooler area, as we are, don’t just avoid frost, but avoid cold soil too, so your plants don’t shiver and glower and get stressed. Start your seeds indoors about 4 weeks before you’ll be planting them outside. For us, that’s May 1st. When will you start your seeds?

You can read about ways to pamper your plants in other articles on this site. Happy growing!