Gourds quit growing when its too hot

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

I planted my gourds very early this year, they were doing great. I think that I have about 22 usable gourds from 5 stalks, if they all mature properly. I also planted some about 1 month later.

It got extremely hot here recently, in the mid 90s every day, so I watered my gourds a whole lot.

The thing that surprised me is that the gourd vines & fruit on all of the plants, young & old, quit growing. The gourds are not getting larger, the vines have not grown but about 12 inches in the last 3 weeks. No matter how much I water them, they do not grow. The gourd vines usually cover the entire garden, but this year, they only cover about 1/3 of the garden. I found the following on the internet about best temps between 70 - 85deg, so I think they are right:

North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service
North Carolina State University

Gourds are very closely related to cucumbers, squash and melons. They have been grown for both ornamental and utility purposes for many years. Several societies have been established to bring together people who are fascinated by the uniqueness of these plants. I got the following from the internet posted by the university of N Caroline:

Climatic Requirements ? Gourds are tender annuals that thrive in areas where the temperature is 70 to 85?F. About 100 to 180 days are required to mature most varieties. Starting plants in containers will lengthen the season and improve quality for the long season types (mostly Lagenaria):

[Guest]

Emil, I'm in Pearland ( Just south of Houston) , and my 6 vines never got over 12' , and stopped growing and setting fruit 4 weeks ago. I used to water them about 2 gallons a day, but stopped when it seemed that might be hurting them. Only got 3 gourds about 6" out of all that work. Got a second 8' diameter hill planted a month after the first and those 8 plants are about to play out also - 2 or 3 small gourds from those 8 vines. I planted a third 8' diameter mound last week and those seedlings are about 4 inches high. This is my second year at planting gourds. had 6 mounds last year , but lots of the seed was from bad sources. out of 24 vines ,I got 4 8" gourds ,a half dozen 7 inchers , and the rest small. The vines got about 16' long and had big leaves - may have been all that rain last June. Now what I don't know about growing gourds would fill a book, and I never pass up a chance to read about what you and the others have in the way of gourd tips , both here and at the clubhouse, but I'm comming 'round to one conclusion - After seeing pictures of these huge piles of big gourds in Alabama and California- I don't think Hank did it this way.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Tom, last year most of my early gourds died due to all the rains .

I was lucky to get an early start this year, I have between 22 and 24 gourds that are 9 to 12-1/2in, but everything stopped when it got so hot.

The secret here is to plant early, and hope for a mild or cool June. This year of course is much hotter than normal, but I noticed other years that the early gourds are the largest.

[Guest]

I have five plants that have taken over the fence. There are about 50 gourds (different sizes and shapes). I haven't noticed if they have stopped growing or not. I water them some every other day, but do not drench them. The weather in Arkansas (Newport) is hot and dry. We have not had a significant rain here in about 2 months. This is the first time that I have tried to raise any gourds. Hopefully, I will be able to make a few (some for myself and some to share.)