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Prairie Du Sac Wi

I misplaced my set of seeds that I ordered, so I re ordered and now my plants are just developing their first true leaf..will they still have time to give me a good sized gourd by Oct weigh off time. I'm not looking for 130 inch, but is 100 possible?... this is my first year growing these...thank you.

6/28/2015 2:27:42 AM

Jericho Vermont

Not knowing your climate it is hard to answer that. Long gourds vines can grow quite rapidly once they start. The other nice thing is that the fruit itself only grows for 35-45 days. I would definitely go for it and take good notes so you will know next year what is most opportune time. I am late this year and only have a plant at 4 feet but if they weather is decent I should still get an early August pollination to give me a shot.
Best of luck!

6/28/2015 7:02:34 AM

Partlow,Va

You are not too far behind me but I have warmer weather. I would think 100" is doable for sure. The only problem could be if you harvest it while it is growing you might not get any viable seeds. LG's need to stay on the vine at least a couple weeks after they stop growing for the seeds to finish.

6/28/2015 11:56:42 AM

Jericho Vermont

As an fyi I pick my long gourds 2 days after there is no measurable gains and harvest the seeds the day after the weigh off. The long gourds may sit on a dry floor for up to 2 weeks before weigh off but I don't like to risk them swinging. My seed viability on the 124 and the 129 have been excellent. We harvested around 350 seeds from the 124.

6/28/2015 1:17:18 PM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

Last year when my gourds reached the ground and I gad to dig holes, I attached 2x4's to the trellis with screw eyes and heavy cord and at the bottom I used a stake and cord so it wouldn't swing. I taped the gourds on with black electrical tape that would stretch as they grew. After I thought they had stopped they ended up growing a little more over 2 weeks. When I was sure they were done I added some duct tape and stored them about 3 weeks in the garage until the weigh off. I took the seeds out around Nov. 1 and had great germination. The year before my gourd was still growing about 1/2 inch per day at the weigh off and I got no viable seeds. They were hard shells, fully formed and hollow, and I waited a month after the weigh off to harvest the seeds.

6/28/2015 3:02:18 PM

Muddy Waters

Theres plenty of time.Push the plant in the grow stage.My LG only have 4 leafs right now.Lots of time left

6/28/2015 10:15:28 PM

Prairie Du Sac Wi

Awesome guys. Thank you for your comments. I will keep at it and we'll see what happens. Any sized gourd I get will be my PB. That's the easy part about growing a new kind of giant for the first time!

6/29/2015 10:52:31 AM