About

Susan Watson Gourds is owned and operated by Susan (Susie) Watson. The gourds I offer for sale are grown by me on my farm located near Chiefland, Florida. I have been growing gourds off and on for 20+ years. I've heard it said over the years that you can't grow quality gourds in Florida, but I've never had any problem doing so. Our long, hot growing season is tailor made for gourds. One of the advantages of growing gourds in Florida is that they grow and dry in the same year as opposed to more northern areas where the gourds are grown in one year but not dry enough for sale until the following year. This means my inventory and selection is at it's peak when more northern growers are running low or even sold out of some varieties.

I first got interested in gourds in the late 1990's when I signed up for a gourd crafting class offered through a local community college. My husband and I had spent most of our lives as a commercial vegetable farmers, so naturally I had to try growing some gourds. I ordered a couple packets of seeds and planted them in my garden. To my amazement, I ended up with over 100 gourds! I was fascinated by the variety of shapes and sizes and I was hooked on growing gourds. That fall when I took the crafting course, my instructor invited me to bring my surplus gourds to class and she and my classmates could not get enough of them. I sold almost all my gourds. An idea was born. The following spring my husband Phillip and I planted a couple acres of gourds to sell and so began Fern Sink Farm Gourds. The following spring we participated as growers at the Florida Gourd Show. I was blown away by the creativity and quality of the gourd art displayed there and by the kindness and generousity of the people in the gourd community. I also picked up some new gourd crafting techniques and became an avid crafter as well as grower.

In addition to growing gourds, we raised beef cattle and did custom combine work. As our businesses grew and we aged, our work load got to be too much and something had to give. Gourds, being the least profitable of our enterprises, were that something. In 2005, we made the decision to stop growing gourds. With a large amount of inventory on hand and lots of loyal customers, I approached a friend and fellow gourder about taking over my gourd business and she agreed to do so. Giving up gourd growing was easier said than done for me and I continued to grow gourds here and there to keep her business, Fern Sink Gourds supplied, but had no involvement with the retail operation.

I lost my husband unexpectedly in January of 2016. I continued our cattle and combining businesses through the end of that year with the help of my nephew Scott. During that time, I decided that I wanted to get back into the gourd business, so I sold the bulk of our cattle and the combines and in March of 2017 once again planted gourds. I grow around 20 different varieties. Planting 2-5 acres per year depending on my current inventory.

Meet the Crew

One farmer, one farm dog and ten farm cats make up the crew at Susan Watson Gourds.