Here's How

1. Select seeds of the type gourd you wish to grow. Bottle gourds make good birdhouses, but there are also selections for dippers, pipes, "warties", swans and more.
2. Select a sunny space with a sturdy support. Gourds grow rapidly and require a lot of space, so if your garden is small, think vertical!
3. Since it could take 16 to 20 weeks for mature fruits, consider your climate and growing season. Seeds may need to be started indoors and transplanted out in order to have mature fruits by first frost.
4. When all danger of frost is passed, prepare a "hill" of garden soil that has been amended with compost. If you have no access to compost, use well-rotted cow manure mixed with garden soil.
5. Flatten the top of the "hill" to an area of 10 to 12 inches, and on the flattened part plant 4 to 5 seeds at least 4 inches apart. Water well.
6. The trellis or support need not be beautiful, since it will soon be vine-covered. However, it must be very sturdy.
7. Provide plenty of water to support the bounding growth. Don't allow the plant to become limp due to lack of water.
8. Allow the fruits to ripen on the vine until after the first frost. The vine will wilt and all of the gourds can then be easily found.
9. When cutting the fruits from the vine, allow at least 3 inches of stem for hanging the fruit to dry.
10. You may wish to clean the surface of the fruits in a weak bleach solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water. Allow the fruits to dry then hang from the stems in a cool, dry place.

Tips

1. When we say big, we mean it. Gourd vines grow like kudzu, so be prepared for a a bit of a horticultural oddity.
2. Don't be in too much of a hurry. It could take 6 months or longer for the gourds to completely dry out.

Here's How

1. Moisten three layers of paper towels with warm tap water. Gently squeeze out the excess so that there is no drip.
2. Select 10 random seeds of the same lot, and place them on the wet towels. Space the seeds so that they do not touch.
3. Select a plastic bag to seal the towels. With a permanent marker or grease pencil, note the name of the variety and the current date.
4. Gently roll up the towel so that each seed stays moistened on both sides, and place loosely in the bag. If the bag is not a self-sealing type, use a twist tie or twine to seal it closed.
5. Store the bag in a place where temps will stay within the range noted on the original seed pack. For commonly grown vegetables, 70-80 degrees F. is usually sufficient.
6. If the seeds require darkness to germinate, place the plastic bag in a darkened place or inside a paper bag.
7. After 3 days and every day for 3 weeks, remove the towel from the bag and examine to see if any have sprouted. After a short peek, roll the towel back up and place it back in the bag, and reseal.
8. At the end of 3 weeks, determine the number of sprouts from the ten seeds.
9. If you have nine sprouts, your germination rate is roughly 90%. Eight sprouts, 80%, and so on.
10. To figure out how many of the tested seeds to plant for a given number of plants, subtract the germination rate from 100%. The result is the percentage by which you should overplant.
11. Add that percentage of the original total (the number of plants you want) back to the original total for a rough number of seeds to plant.
12. Example: I want 100 plants, but my germination rate is only 30%. I'll need to overplant by 70%. Seventy percent of 100 seeds is 70 seeds, so I add 70 seeds to the original 100 for a total of 170.

Tips

1. Seeds for this test should be from the same lot.