The gourd-ness of West Central Gourd Patch on display Library

Club member Josie Klepinger and her mom, Jessica, proudly set up a display featuring a variety of gourds. The group of gourd enthusiasts who enjoy growing, crafting, and selling gourds meet on the second Thursday of March, May, July, September, and November. The meetings are held at Shawnee Prairie in Greenville.

Josie assists her mom with the role of Vice President for the club. At the time of joining the club Josie was seven years old. Now 11, Josie continues to take on more tasks to help share the passion for growing and crafting with gourds and educate others on the benefits. 

They save, trade, collect, buy seeds, and grow plants either indoors or sow directly in the ground. The growing season is spring through fall. Harvest begins when the vines start to turn brown. Gourds can either be green, scraped or air dried over the winter. Once dried there are endless possibilities to turn them into art. That art is currently on display at the Milton-Union Public Library. 

Josie’s grandma’s neighbor, Judy, invited the mother-daughter duo to a club meeting. Judy has since passed away but certainly would be proud of the gourd-ness they continue to bring to the community through the growth of the hard-shelled fruits. 

Hand making gifts year round from gourds grown on their farm outside of Laura, Josie and her mom have tried their hand at a plethora of uniquely designed items. Among the many handcrafted goods are sculptures, jewelry, bowls, purses, birdhouses, drums, luffa soaps, and children’s art. 

When asking the 11-year-old artisan her favorite item to craft from her homegrown gourds, she had a hard time choosing just one. “I like using a Dremel to cut the hard shell to paint. Also, I like using the wood burning tool to make designs.” Josie’s eight-year-old brother, Jed, added his two cents as well. “I like making drums.” 

Jessica shares her love for the process from cultivating the ground to crafting the gourds into a useful item. “We thought it was a neat idea to grow vines over our pen for summer shade for our pheasants. It turned out that that produced different fun shaped gourds. We then found out you can make items once they are dried out. We are always looking for new forms of art to do with our kids!”

A typical meeting consists of the operation of business information, then a hands-on demonstration is put on by one of the members, and refreshments are provided.

From seed to a sustainable good, gourds provide a vast array of useful gourd-ness. With a little patience and a sprinkle of creativity, you, too, can cultivate something special from gourds. 

Stop by the Milton-Union Public Library to get an up close and personal look at the handiwork of local gourd connoisseurs. The items will be on display through the end of January. 

This year’s Ohio Gourd Society annual gourd show is located in Delaware October 3-5.

For more information on joining the West Central Gourd Patch contact Tim at timmoss161@gmail.com or Jessica 937-206-3769.

West Central Gourd Patch

President Tim Moss

Vice President Jessica Klepinger 

Treasurer Charolette Moss

Secretary Beverly Hotmire

Advertising Carmen Howell

Marketing Sandy Butler