Sounds fun!! Some day I plan to do the same, but will probably buy the gourd. Clifton Hicks builds gourd banjos and has a few videos explaining his process. Good luck on your build.

youtube.com/watch?v=dEc3bFIHPvs

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The biggest curve is getting the right height front and rear for a good gourd to neck fit. Get a thick gourd to help prevent pot crack age when pushing in the pins to mount the head.

I takes about a year to grow and then dry gourds. Save yourself some time and buy a gourd (or three) from these folks.

welburngourdfarm.com/?srsltid=...-oS1DbeL1

Well, I went away for two weeks and the slugs ate my gourd seedlings down to nothing. So... that's the end of this post.

I may still make a gourd banjo with a gourd I buy somewhere else.

As my wife put it: when I built my kayak from a stack of boards, I didn't grow the actual trees.

I started building gourd banjos a while ago, it’s a good time. cwitulski.com

I’ve ordered from those folks but learned a few years ago that there’s an Ohio Gourd Society of growers and craftspeople. I recommend poking around to see if you all have the same nearby!

Here in Oregon, I successfully grew some gourds for one season, but it's tricky. I got a couple good ones which was all I needed. I've tried to grow them more casually since then, just throwing seeds around, and it doesn't work so well. What works is careful preparation. I chose a plot with sunny southern exposure, prepared it with horse manure and laid down a soaker hose. I strung string supports all along the side of my house for the vines to grow on. I planted 8-10 seeds and started them early, they need a long growing season but note, they will not get going until the soil is warm. Then I just made sure they got lots of water. I pollinated the flowers as they appeared with a brush. Immature gourds often rot before getting big. Once they looked like they would survive, I removed the many others on that vine as they appeared, leaving only 2-3 per vine to account for losses. Doing all that got me 6 gourds of which 3 didn't rot over the winter.

If/when I decide to buy a gourd and build my own gourd banjo which size and type of gourd should I look for you?

Thanks.