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Bethlehem CT

I thought you guys might enjoy this, I was going through some of my seeds and I found a note from Dan Westfall from January of 2013. Most of our bushel gourds are descendants of the 177, therefore I found it may be worthwhile to share what Dan told me about it's history. Here is what he said;
In 2003 I requested some seeds from a gourd grower in Kentucky. He sent me some seeds from his biggest gourd and in 2004 I grew a 122 pound gourd. I save the seed from my biggest gourd every year and plant them the next year.
Bushel gourds are easy to grow but do need a lot of room. One plant will cover a 30x40 area. I try to grow 2 gourds per plant. I start my seed indoors at the end of March and plant them in my garden the first of May. They like the hot weather we have in Missouri. Once they are planted they don't require a lot of care. I water Them twice a week and that is the most important thing. Bushel gourds are a long season plant taking 180 days to mature. I pick them right after the first light frost and put them in my barn to dry. It takes the big ones about a year to dry. "

12/12/2017 8:10:55 PM

Bethlehem CT

I find it kind of ironic how popular it has become to grow Giant bushel gourds. My request for bushel gourd seeds back in December of 2012 was to use the 177 seeds as a rootstock for my melons. They did make an excellent rootstock!
Using the 177 seeds as a rootstock is analogous to using a 2009 Wallace seed as a guitar pick. LOL How could I have known? I actually found out in the fall of 2013 that the 177 was pretty special. That spring I had one extra 177 plant that was leftover after all my grafting was done. I threw it into the garden and it grew a 187 and a 177 pounder off that plant! Still I could never have predicted that the competitive growing of bushel gourds would grow in popularity as much as it has.

12/12/2017 8:23:50 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Funny thing is the 177 Westfall was include in the Giant Veggie Exchange, Which is why I chose to grow it. Jodi wanted a Bushel Gourd to make something out of. So I planted it in a 8 x 6 spot, Just think what would have happened if I actually tried to grow it in a good spot. It turned in to the Largest Gourd Ever Grown..Just did not have the 312 Est weight and was 18% lightat 265.5 lbs

1/6/2018 11:48:30 AM

Lexington, Ky

Linus, there may be a lesson there?

1/6/2018 8:41:53 PM

Bethlehem CT

Wow! What a seed! It still may be the best one, not sure how many are left though!

1/7/2018 8:01:08 AM

sevierville, Tn

Shannon, so that 265 was grown in 48 sq feet ????

1/7/2018 9:32:01 AM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

The gourd itself was actually grown on a vine that had snuck through the fence onto the lawn.

1/7/2018 12:14:51 PM

Bethlehem CT

Shannon did you prune down to just one gourd or did you leave more than one on the plant?

1/7/2018 4:56:26 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Only one gourd on the plant.

1/7/2018 5:47:54 PM

sevierville, Tn

so the vine/leaf area was bigger then the 48 sq ft. like how big ? but the roots were in 48 correct ?

1/7/2018 7:47:58 PM