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British Columbia, Canada

Chris just weighed a 270 lb bushel gourd, I think this is the new WR? Congrats!!

9/20/2014 4:48:52 PM

Bethlehem CT

Congratulations Chris! That is one heck of a bushel gourd.

9/20/2014 5:09:56 PM

Muddy Waters

Congrats !

9/20/2014 7:21:45 PM

Karns City PA

Congrats Chris !!

9/20/2014 7:58:19 PM

Prestonsburg,ky

Congrats Chris. I know we were not looking forward to carrying it again. LoL

9/20/2014 8:38:09 PM

aurora, IL

Way to go, Chris! Good Job. :)

9/20/2014 9:14:29 PM

Kentucky, U.S.A.

What a beauty, Congrats Chris!

9/20/2014 9:27:29 PM

Alaska

Sorry 536 is the WR, nice try. Unofficially of course kinda like the last watermelon.

9/20/2014 9:37:18 PM

British Columbia, Canada

Um what?

9/20/2014 10:05:18 PM

British Columbia, Canada

I'm gonna stay out of this one.

9/20/2014 10:07:55 PM

Georgetown, Ontario

The only info I can find about the largest Bushel Gourd ever grown is 268 pounds. I would love to know more about the 536 pounder other than just the weight. Congrat Chris that's an amazing gourd! What seed was it on?

9/21/2014 7:15:39 AM

sevierville, Tn

grown from the 245 english. That was from the 177 westfall.

9/21/2014 8:28:22 AM

sevierville, Tn

How do you dry them ? I would like to keep it ?

9/21/2014 8:29:09 AM

Georgetown, Ontario

I have a couple nice ones on the 245 English as well (not 536 pounds though LOL but I'm pretty sure they will be PB's for me). I believe to dry them you leave them in a cool dry area, don't cut them, just let them dry naturally. They will get covered in mould that can be cleaned off after. I've seen a picture before from a commercial operation and they were just piled on skids sitting out in the field all winter. Smaller ones were placed on wire racks. Congrats again, and I can't wait to see the LG X BG cross!

9/21/2014 8:53:12 AM

sevierville, Tn

so how or when do you get the seeds ??

9/21/2014 9:50:45 AM

Upa Creek, Mo

Doug brought his 245 English by my house last year, those gourds are impressive in person. Congrats - that's a giant

9/21/2014 10:26:37 AM

Georgetown, Ontario

I guess once its dry the seeds will be rattling around inside it but that will be a while before its dry. I've always just cut mine open and dried the seeds and threw the gourd in the compost. Maybe if somebody has cut them open and removed seeds and successfully dried them after they will post here and let us know. I'm just going by what I've read that they shouldn't be cut open until dried.

9/21/2014 10:29:08 AM

Long Island,New York

Do you have any others? Here's what I'd do...find a gourd craftman/woman in your area and offer some gourds in return for thgier expertice in cutting open your dried gourd. Even promise them one next year too. They are familiar with and have the tools for a cut that wont ruin the kettle/bowl/whatever you hope to do with it. It will take months to dry so you have time to look around the internet or fall craft shows for a willing qualified artist/craftsman. I dry my stuff in the shed or in the yard till late winter when its mostly dry with a nasty moldy skin covering. Then i scrape the skin/mold off and wash...and continue to dry in basement. Mold makes neat patterns and some people like that...others like a clean surface which requires scaping a little earlier on in the process. Good luck and nice job.

9/21/2014 10:52:58 AM

East Tennessee

congrats that thang was awsome!!!

9/21/2014 10:55:06 AM

Williamsburg,KY

Ive cut gourds open green and saved the seeds but the gourd will not last once cut if not dried. I would leave it for a while and see if it will dry. In a few months you will know. I sent ya email Chris about this very topic.

9/21/2014 11:00:34 AM

Williamsburg,KY

Ok Spudley, where is that listed? Im sure we all want to know.

9/21/2014 11:04:58 AM

Wi

congrats!

9/21/2014 11:27:20 AM

bliss,n.y.- heart of Wyoming County

wow.. big enough for a gourd hot tub..congrats

9/21/2014 12:13:28 PM

Bottom of ohio

Nice job chris

9/21/2014 1:13:23 PM

Lancaster Kentucky

Great job Chris, i was really amazed

9/21/2014 1:15:12 PM

Wixom MI.

Cangrats chris !!! What record do you plan on going for next year ?

9/21/2014 1:22:05 PM

Ky

Sorry 536 is the WR, nice try. Unofficially of course kind of like the last watermelon.


Yeah and I caught a 1000 pound cat fish in a local pond last week

If you don't have pictures and a name and scale to prove it, it does not nor ever existed.


Chris Kent now holds a Double world record in watermelons and bushel gourds.


Otis

9/21/2014 7:14:10 PM

Joliet, IL

Hell of a gourd Chris!!!! Congrats!!!!!

9/21/2014 7:52:34 PM

East Jordan, MI

All I know is, it was heavy to cart to the scales.....lol
Congrats Chris!

9/21/2014 9:20:28 PM

Idaho

Hi every one I'm new on this site. Go to our Facebook page and look at what you can do with a gourd. That size of gourd would be worth a lot of money if you can get it to dry without it collapsing. I am with the Idaho gourd society and we create works of art out of the lowly gourd. Take a look at the FB page and look under gallery. It's pretty remarkable what we can do. Congratulations of that monster gourd!

9/22/2014 5:45:56 PM

Ltb

congrats chris kent 350 now a bushel gourd wr

9/22/2014 6:14:29 PM

Colorado

Congrats chris,thats a slunger. Ive heard of 290 lb bushel gourds Harry hurley??so I'm not so sure 270 is a WR.

9/22/2014 7:42:37 PM

sevierville, Tn

i believe there is a bigger one from another grower that will hit the scales later !

9/22/2014 10:41:35 PM

Georgetown, Ontario

Chris, what was the CC on the bushel gourd?

9/23/2014 7:28:16 PM

sevierville, Tn

85.5 "

9/23/2014 9:20:02 PM

sevierville, Tn

i used the melon chart for an OTT. it was estimated at 250 so it went 20 lbs heavy to that chart. Doug english said they will be heavy since there is no cavity in them.

9/23/2014 9:21:46 PM

Ky

How big is the Doug English Bushel Gourd this year

9/23/2014 10:12:46 PM

British Columbia, Canada

Do you plan on keeping seeds Chris?

9/23/2014 11:09:41 PM

Webster Groves, MO

Otis,

I have 2 that hopefully should surpass my personal best. I will take them to the Republic weigh off on Oct. 3. The fruit are probably at their peak now and they are prone to lose weight once they are mature. Congrats to Chris on his whopper! He is a great ambassador in raising awareness of these fun plants. Doug

9/23/2014 11:10:15 PM

sevierville, Tn

seeds = yes. ah... how many seeds do these thing have ????

9/24/2014 6:18:49 AM

Bethlehem CT

They have lot's of seeds. (I filled up half of a quart zip-loc. from one gourd.) I would recommend letting the gourd age for a couple of months before retrieving seeds. Last year I took the seeds right out of my 187, I had a really difficult time getting the flesh off them. Plus the germination wasn't as good as the seeds that I let age and ferment in the gourd.
On a separate note. I had a tough time drying out my gourds last year. One of them started to leak and it stunk up my shed. Another one I tried to move, and I cracked it open. I know Dan Westfall has dried them successfully in his unheated barn, he usually waits until they are dry to retrieve the seeds. He said that they can take a loooong time to dry out. If I remember right he said up to a year.

9/24/2014 7:32:24 AM

Corbin, KY

I dried a couple smaller one in unheated building. When they started stinking I would wipe them down with bleach and water. They finally dried out before rotting.

9/24/2014 10:11:16 AM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Cool Dry and out of the sun. Hang them if possible

9/24/2014 1:31:33 PM

Bowdon, GA

I have never had a giant pear dry out without forming large cracks. And most of the 100+ pound ones rotted. I have wondered if the bushel gourds with the thicker rinds can be dried sucessfully

9/24/2014 11:48:07 PM

Williamsburg,KY

Out of the seven I grew last year, two dried very nice. The others were not mature enough and finally broke. Skin thickens after they stop growing. Leaving them in the field as long as possible to harden skins works best.

9/25/2014 6:43:04 AM

Buffalo, MN (Billsbigpumpkins@hotmail.com)

Chris congrats on the bushel gourd. Are you going to try long gourds.

9/25/2014 9:01:56 AM

Netherlands

"Ive heard of 290 lb bushel gourds Harry hurley??"

Harry Hurley is/was a giant vegetable grower who holds the world record for runner bean. He was especially known for growing giant bushel gourds and he used to sell seeds from them through Carolina Gourds and Seeds.

9/25/2014 9:49:03 AM

Colorado

I couldn't find anything reported heavier than 265/268on the internet, so Ignore my 294 dream.

9/25/2014 3:28:34 PM

Colorado

Pots legal in Colorado- he he

9/25/2014 3:29:49 PM

N.c.

Harry Hurley's wife said the biggest bushel gourd he ever grew was 165 pounds.

9/25/2014 4:11:52 PM

Bowdon, GA

Harry shows up on here from time to time, his handle is H3. He knows alot about gourds

9/25/2014 10:23:18 PM

Going Green

Great Gourds! Dan Westfall says cut them open now while fresh and you will find a white fluffy type of meat. Using a knife cut the meat and you will find the seeds. The mature seeds will be hard and brownish as opposed to white and soft. dry them a minimum of 1 days before you store them. I was at republic and Doug's Bushel Gourd was 279.? pounds. I took 2nd place with a gourd that was more than 100 pounds lighter. Congrats Chris, Valiant effort. Congrats Doug on the 201 world record!

10/30/2014 11:34:27 AM

Fuquay Varina, NC

Hi guys, I have been reading and sometimes responding this year. For about 10 years I grew about 12 acres of gourds to sell. I got so tired of that I haven't grown any gourds for the past 7 years. 3 years ago I grew 1 giant bushel gourd, took it to the NC state fair. Jan 2013 I came down with the shingles on my face, I am still trying to recoup from that mess so even this summer I wasn't up to doing too much growing as I thought I would. To those that sent me various seeds, thanks. I will grow them next year. Question for Holloway-what is a giant pear?? Are you referring to an giant African Wine Bottle gourd? This year I didn't do much with my bushel gourds plants(just didn't feel that great, didn't lay any lines down, fertilize, nutrients or weeded them UNTIL they started putting gourds on. If you want big gourds don't do it this way.

11/11/2014 4:56:14 PM

Fuquay Varina, NC

The biggest bushel gourd I grew was 190 lbs. Never tried to grow a big one as my only intentions were to sell them. Usually sold them for about $40..The most I got was $75.00 which you can certainly get today.

11/11/2014 5:03:56 PM

Bethlehem CT

Hi Harry welcome to this forum. I hope your health will cooperate and you will be able to grow next year and into the future. What Jake Holloway is referring to is the giant pear shaped gourd, that we refer to as pear or giant pear gourds.
I am not sure if it is the same thing as the African Wine bottle gourd.
Here is a picture http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=231241

11/11/2014 5:08:14 PM

Colorado

Hello mr. Hurley. The giant pears are shaped like a oversized birdhouse gourd. Leonardo urena grew one that weighed 155lbs in around 2008.Most of the big G.P.'s are from those genes. Theyre less fleshy inside than bushel gourds. They are easier to dry but weigh less than a equal sized bushel gourd.

11/11/2014 5:18:01 PM

Fuquay Varina, NC

I just looked at the pic at http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=231241
It looks like a cross between the bushel gourd and the African Wine bottle. In the late 1990s I grew some AWB weighing 70 lbs. So cross that with the big bushel and you can conceivably get a giant pear of good, decent weight and nice shape. When I was crossing gourds it would take about 5 years of growing them out to maintain similar shapes. Beside the giant bushel everybody is trying to grow now, we also grew bushels that were not giants weighing 40-50 lbs. I never let those bushels cross with the seeds of my giant bushel but for a pear shape gourd it would be perfect. For gourd artist the giant pear would be in demand.

11/11/2014 5:40:19 PM

Williamsburg,KY

If anyone is interested I will have seeds from the gourds in the trailer. Im allowing them to dry naturally. I did not hand pollinate, so they crossed with each other Im sure. Giant Bushel Gourd and Giant Pear Gourd. I never weighed them but they were way heavy for me to move let alone pick up by myself. http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=231241

11/12/2014 9:55:17 AM

Long Island,New York

H3....I believe you were originally from up this way (Long Island?) and if so would you be able to shed some light on what the biggest watermelon was for the island? If not I apologize...not sure anymore where I heard that from. Thanks, Glenn

11/12/2014 2:20:11 PM

Fuquay Varina, NC

Hey LIpumpkin: Not from L.I.from NJ. I think the closest weigh-off to you way back would have been Topsfield,MA and back in 1997-98 they didn't have a class for watermelon. Don't know what they have now. You can check with(if you can run them down) Wayne Hackney(New Milford,CT 860-354-4924) or Tom Cone 978-470-0668) Don't know if they are alive or moved or anything. I carried a 208 lb. watermelon to WPC(Collins,NY) in 1984. Most weigh-off sites never really got interested in watermelons until sometime after 2000. I did most of my stuff before 2000

11/15/2014 4:18:24 PM

Fuquay Varina, NC

smoky mtn pumpkin, Pumpkin Shepherd & cojoe ..."smoky mtn pumpkin    Sevierville,Tn.    ok, countykid on the GVGO board said on sept 2011 "268lbs is the World Record on Gourd" is that still standing and by whom ??"

I have not heard a response to smokey mtn's question. Does anyone know and where did the seed come from?? Thanks

12/22/2014 4:38:28 PM

Ky

The current world record is

2014 279.5 Bushel Gourd Grown by Doug English

otis

12/22/2014 7:56:21 PM

Colorado

Maybe Dan Westfall can give us the history on his line of bushel gourds. I know he grew a 142# which produced his now famous #177. I'm curious whos seed line he started with.

12/22/2014 8:16:24 PM

Fuquay Varina, NC

ditto..but does anyone know who grew this 268er, name, when and what seeds? This might be elusive..

12/23/2014 2:16:24 PM