My birdhouse gourd seeds won’t sprout. What am I doing wrong?
I have the seed, too, and intend to soak the handful intended for the purpose overnight before planting. Not always needed to germinate, but in my dry environment, a simple fix.
I will also use potting mix that doesn’t lean heavily on peat moss. I believe melons/squashes like less acid in the ground. (Might add gypsum just for that reason.)
Having never grown birdhouse gourds, this is my approach first time around. No doubt someone with experience will respond with real knowledge…
1 Like
To answer your question we probably need to know WHAT you are doing - right or wrong 
Just planted them directly in my garden rows and around the poles of my arbor. I have read that these types of plants do not transplant easily, so I did not try planting them in trays with potting soil.
How warm is your soil, in F degrees? Gourds need very warm soil to germinate. If the soil is cool and dry they will wait for warmth and moister. If it is cool and wet they may rot. Sometimes it helps to cover soil a month before proposed planting with clear plastic to help it to warm up. Also, I have better success with soda bottle greenhouse. Cut bottom off of 2 litters soda bottle, and cover single seed with it right after planting. Push it an inch or two in the ground, so it is not blown off by wind. Keep cap closed until germination. Right after germination if weather is still uncertain, remove the cap and keep the bottle open for the day and closed for the night. When you ready to remove the bottle do it slow and move it around a bit - the soil may lift with it otherwise. Good luck!
2 Likes
Excellent advice!
Would 1 gallon clear plastic milk jugs work about as well as the 2 liters soda bottles? I don’t have any soda bottles but have plenty of milk jugs.
Might want to use a heat mat under your seedling trays
1 Like
The bottles work a bit better, as they are really clear, but milk jugs are opaque. But they are better than nothing. About problems with transplanting . All cucubits do not like to be transplanted, but when season is not long enough it is only way to grow them. I made special pots for them that allow planting without root disturbing.(If you not oppose PVC pipes).
Cut 4’’ long piece of 3 inch diameter PVC pipe(pipe) and cut it in half. Mark bottom with a number of the pot, you will need it next year to find right halves. Now place two halves together and insert pressure testing cap, pre-drilled for drainage. Fixate to halves together with a piece of painter tape on both sides. Fill with soil and plant your seeds. Use heating mat and plastic tray cover.
When you are ready to plant outside, hold the pot horizontally and remove the bottom. Now, still holding the pot tight remove or cut painters tape. Take this pot still holding it horizontally to the ready hole. Carefully move it to vertical position right near the ground and place on the bottom of the hole. Take to halves of the pot apart and cover hole with soil as usual. The hole should be checked with the fully assembled pot first, you will not be able to correct the depth after you plant already in the hole.
1 Like
It takes long time to germinate. Be patient, nick a corner and soak before plant it helps
2 Likes
I’m still having bad luck with gourds seeds germinating. Package that the seeds were in stated that it takes 10-12 days to germinate. The May 4th planting resulted in only 2 of 10 seeds germinated. The May 13th planting resulted in 0 of 13 seeds germinated. Planted 6 gourd seeds 3 days ago and I have not got much hope for them either. Going to plant 14 gourd seeds tomorrow after soaking them in water overnight and I will be finished with gourd planting. I guess that I need to buy a soil thermometer to be better at this. Maybe, but it’s hot enough to run air conditioner here.
Okra seed germinated near them just fine. Soybeans planted last week in the dust with nasty herbicide merely yards away sprouted great.
I’m a lousy gourd farmer. 
Here are my two lonely gourd plants. They are about 7 inches tall. Package says they should grow 10-15 feet. Need to build something for them to climb up.
2 Likes
I started my gourds indoors on a heat mat and had superb germination, transplanted just fine. After that I have more than I can allow to grow. This one sprouted from inside my compost bin.
Drying them is difficult and I haven’t had any takers moving into the houses. I hung them on either side of my shed and under my soffit.
Squash beetles love these things and they take a decent amount of time to mature. Good Luck!
4 Likes
This is my first year of planting gourds. I’ll have to read about drying them and whatever. I’m guessing that you’re trying to get purple martins in your gourds. How many gourds do you generally get per vine?
I planted one seed in an okra row hoping that it would climb up the okra. I’m thinking that it is important to get it off the ground.
@tennessean Depending on how long your season is, you can get a lot of gourds per vine. We had terrible weather and bug problems last year that led to a very low stand. Probably had about 10 birdhouses grow which yielded about 150 fully hardened gourds. Martinhouses also yielded a lot, but a lot didn’t harden. Bushel is one of our favorites, but they are pretty low yielding. Also, we just grow them on the ground. We would like to trellis them, but it’s been a low priority. On the ground, the shapes get funkier, which it kind of fun.
1 Like
I’m learning stuff every day about gourds. Had to do a search on “Bushel gourds”. Found that they can be used as baskets. Can bushel gourds be also used as birdhouses?
I bought my first package of 10 seeds at Walmart which was labeled “Birdhouse”. Planted them on May 4. Only 2 sprouted. Thought was that I planted too early so I bought another package with many more seeds at a garden center. None of them has sprouted yet. I guess I can save seeds this year for next year.
I read that gourd plants require a lot of water. Probably not a good idea to plant them amongst tomatoes. 
No bushels aren’t used as birdhouses because they are huge. Maybe if you have a very large cavity dweller there they could be? Gourds need a lot of heat to germinate, but I wouldn’t say they are a particularly thirsty crop. We usually try to get at least 80 degrees a couple inches deep. The seeds also have a very thick seed coat that takes a good amount of water to soak up compared to pumpkins, but too much and not enough heat and they rot. We scarify them with sand paper and it usually takes about a week to start germinating and another few days to emerge.
I’m in Western Oregon, so it can be pretty tricky to have the right combination of conditions for germination, but in the 4 years growing them commercially we’ve always had a pretty good crop. Last year we had probably the worst possible conditions and still ended up with about 500 medium to large gourds, which is about all we can handle.
Oh on the interplanting among other plant types, thier vines can easily grow over 25 feet long in all directions, so that’s something to consider. Much larger vines than even the biggest pumpkins.
2 Likes
On the seed package from Walmart, it listed the plant spacing as 18". and to sow at 1" depth. Growing height was 10-15’. I have a row like this. If all germinate there will be around 9 vines. I can see some problems.
I really wish that I could get the seeds to germinate around my 24x12x10 arbor.
Back in the winter I went by a local farm supply store that had birdhouse gourds for $13 apiece. They seemed expensive at the time, but I can now see why. Do you shellac yours and completely finish your gourds for whatever that are used for before you market them?
For future attempts, we have also started them on inside and had no problems transplanting
1 Like
Yes, that is what I will try next year. What size cups or whatever do you start the seeds in?
Started in very small cells then moved to compost pots about the size of a solo cup.
1 Like
As I remember, the plants took a lot of square feet. Not as bad as a luffa gourd, but pretty big.
1 Like