Growing Gourds
Seed Germination
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When you are growing gourds, normally seed germination
will occur in the ground naturally, once the ground temperature reaches a
certain temperature, however for those who live in colder climates, some people
prefer to germinate the seeds by manually, then plant them. There are some
advantages to this, you get to know that the seeds you planted had already
started rooting and you know those seeds are viable, and another advantage is
getting an earlier start. you can also speed up the germination process by
putting the germinating seeds in a warm place.
The method we found to work best for germinating gourd seeds is to
take a ziplock baggie, get a paper towel wet and gently wring out the excess
water, you want it wet but not dripping. Fold the paper towel into 4ths or
8ths, the set the wet folded paper towel flat inside the baggie. Now, line your
gourd seeds in rows on top of the paper towel leaving at least a half inch to an
inch between each seed to avoid root tangling.
To speed up the seed germination process you need a supply of
warmth. Gourds as well as gourd seeds like warmth. One of our favorite methods
of warming up the seeds is to place them on top of a TV set or computer monitor
that will be warm and left on 24 hours per day, at least until the seeds
germinate. Modern day LCD tv's and monitors will not provide this warmth, but
anything similar will work. You want a place that when you lay your hand on top
of it, it is warm to the touch. Not hot, you don't wnt to cook the seeds, but
warm.
Smaller gourd seeds will germinate faster, larger seeds normally
take more time. We have had seeds germinate in 24 hours time, although the
typical time is around 3 days. If you seeds do not germinate right away, do not
give up yet, we have had some seeds take as long as 10 days, even though other
seeds in the same baggie and from the same gourd germinated in 3 days.
Once the seeds have germinated, handle them with care and get them
in the ground or planter right away. If you wait until the seeds have grown
through the paper towel and tangled with other seeds, you can have a problem
seperating them and can damage the roots trying to get them untangled. We have
on occassion had seeds tangle so badly, we did not even try to separate them, we
just buried the entire paper towle, the roots will grow through it, and they can
be thinned out later.
If it is still cold outside, you can also plant these seeds in a
planter or peat pot, however peat pots should be wrapped or placed in an
identical sized planter as they surface acts like a wick that will dry them out
rapidly.
Once your seed germination is complete, place your seeds in the
ground with the root pointed down or place the root under the shell
horizontally. While the common misconception in growing gourds is to plant the
seeds point down, if you germinate a seed and watch it sprout, you will notice
the root automatically turns 180 degrees and grows down the length of the seed
from the point to the rounded back. Gourd seeds are larger than many other
seeds, and the point is actually used like the point of a stake to cut it's way
to the surface. The gourd seeds always come out of the ground pointed side up,
with the first baby leaves still hanging down inside the shell, once they have
broken the surface they will normallt pull free of the shell.
Our experiments have found a greater success rate with seeds
planted horizontal or pointed up, rather than the point down as this causes the
root to have to turn the seed underground. Also plant the seeds about as deep
as the seeds are long, not too deep and not too shallow.
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