- Variety Info
- Sowing Info
- Growing Info
- Learn More
Variety Info
Days to Maturity: 140 days
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Type: Hard-Shelled Gourd
Native: Zimbabwe
Hardiness: Frost-sensitive annual
Exposure: Full sun
Plant Dimensions: 15'–30' vines
Variety Info: Corsican is a lagenaria type gourd. Mature green gourds are 6"–10" in diameter, and 3 ½"–5" deep; the shape resembles a wheel of cheese.
Attributes: Frost Sensitive
Sowing Info
When to Sow Outside: RECOMMENDED. 2 to 4 weeks after your average last frost date, and when soil temperature is at least 60°F, ideally 70°F.
When to Start Inside: 2 to 4 weeks before your average last frost date, recommended for areas with short growing seasons. Sow in biodegradable pots that can be planted directly in the ground.
Days to Emerge: 5 – 10 days
Seed Depth: 1"
Seed Spacing: 2–3 seeds per mound
Thinning: When several leaves, thin to 1 per mound
Your hardiness zone is
Growing Info
Harvesting: Hard-shelled gourds should remain in the garden as long as there is any life left in the vines. Some gourd growers leave gourds in the garden during the winter, which adds to their characteristics for craft projects. Use a sharp knife or pruners to cut stem leading to gourd, leaving 1"–3" of stem for a handle.
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Stratification and Scarification- ChristianRated 5 out of 5 stars6/21/255 Stars
Great!!! Germinated withing the minimum germination time!!
- Jenni R.Rated 5 out of 5 stars10/2/245 Stars
I would like to receive WHOLE EARS your brightly color corn.
Which best describes you as a gardener? Intermediate - Luela S.Verified BuyerRated 5 out of 5 stars9/23/245 Stars
I love your seeds! I haven’t planted anything from this order, but everything I’ve ordered in the past has been terrific! Thank you so much!
Blessings, Luela
Which best describes you as a gardener? Intermediate - Mark A.Rated 2 out of 5 stars8/26/242 Stars
Planted these gourds, promised sister who does crafts some of them. 3 seeds germinated from whole pkg. I'm sorry they did! they put out vines EVERYWHERE. One vine is at least 20 yards long. Smothered everything else on the 30ft long trellis. I got tons of flowers but not a single gourd. It is now almost Sept and powdery mildew is killing the vine. It even reached way over onto my pepper plants, and I constantly have to redirect it. Must have had over 100 male flowers. Not a single gourd.
Which best describes you as a gardener? ExpertBIBotanical Interests8/26/24Hey Mark,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts in a review. Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we are committed to ensuring your experience is positive. The Corsican Gourd produces vines that are 15' to 30' in length, so its vigorous growth isn't surprising! We share its size both inside the seed packet and on our website, as it's quite a big grower and needs a lot of room. As recommended in the extended info inside our seed packet, we encourage people to prune vines at 8 feet to encourage branching and more gourd production.
However, you described lots of flowering but no gourds. This species flowers at night, and as a result, it's reliant on nighttime pollinators more than daytime pollinators. We often recommend hand-pollination for this variety when someone sees a lot of flowering but no fruit production.
Excess nitrogen in the soil can promote the growth of more foliage and fewer fruits, so this might also be a concern; if you regularly fertilized the plant, it'd explain the really long vines but no gourd production. We generally recommend one initial fertilization with a balanced fertilizer when planting. Otherwise, we don't recommend fertilizing this variety, although some gardeners have had results from using a single dose of a liquid, phosphorus-based fertilizer to spur additional flowering and fruit production during the season. I hope this information is helpful. Thank you once again for your input. Keep on growing 🌻️
- Elizabeth V.Verified BuyerRated 5 out of 5 stars8/14/245 Stars
I am enamored by this gourd! Such a beautiful plant.
Which best describes you as a gardener? Beginner