How to Grow a Snake Gourd

Gourds have been grown worldwide for thousands of years. These members of the squash family have proven endlessly useful. Hollowed out, cut into useful shapes, dried and often decorated, gourds in many cultures become musical instruments, masks, pipes, dippers, water jugs, canteens, jars, scoops and cooking utensils. The snake gourd (Trichosanthes anguina), sometimes also called the club or caveman’s club, produces long, thin, cylindrical fruits 3 to 6 feet long. Snake gourds taste something like zucchini when picked very young, sliced and steamed. Grow vines alongside a very sturdy fence or other support.

Peat pots
Snake gourd seeds
Potting mix
Well-rotted manure
Compost
Shovel
Trowel
Grass clippings, shredded leaves or other mulch
10-10-10 fertilizer
Wide boards (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  Start snake gourd seeds indoors four weeks before garden soil is thoroughly warm. Gourds are warm-weather vegetables but need a very long growing season, and seeds will rot if planted in cold, wet soil. Plant seeds in potting mix and individual peat pots, because gourd roots don’t tolerate disturbance during transplanting.
- 2
  Choose a sunny, well-drained planting area adjacent to a fence, sturdy and tall trellis, or other suitable support. Gourds get very heavy. Thoroughly cultivate the soil. Add 3 or 4 inches of manure and compost, and work it into the top 6 to 8 inches.
- 3
  Transplant young snake gourd plants so they stand 2 feet apart, if growing separately, or in hills of two plants, spaced 4 to 5 feet apart, with rows 5 feet apart. Mulch the planting area thoroughly -- keeping the mulch at least several inches from the plant stems -- to conserve soil moisture and deter weeds.
- 4
  Water gourd plants consistently, especially during hot, dry weather, to keep soil evenly moist. When vines begin to “run,” side-dress plants with 3 pounds of 10-10-10 of fertilizer per 100 square feet of planting area.
- 5
  Harvest gourds when their stems dry out and turn brown -- ideally before frost. Cut gourds from the vine with several inches of stem attached. Don’t drop or bruise gourds during harvest, as this increases the possibility of decay during curing.

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