By Benjamin Bear, owner
I come from a long line of farmers. My family has worked the ground in and around our county for 250 years I grew up a farm kid working the very ground that we now grow our gourds on. As a kid and young adult, I've grown every fruit and vegetable possible in our climate.
In 1989, my wife and I decided to start our own business. We rented a farm and did what we knew how, we grew fruits, vegetables, and dried flowers for the wholesale market. We were successful at this but noticed it was easier to grow crops like pumpkins, Indian corn and ornamental gourds.
During our slow winter season I loved to play in my wood shop. Sometimes I would sell what furniture I made, but mostly it was for fun.
While on a trip through the New England Farm Markets I saw a really odd looking gourd, shaped like a goose. I bought two and took them home. I broke them open and took out the seeds. This was the first time I had ever really seen a hard shell gourd.
Even though my family had grown ornamental gourds for my whole life, I had never seen one with a thick shell. We introduced this new goose gourd to our local customers as a fresh gourd to be displayed along side their pumpkins, corn shocks and Indian corn. As it always happens, local farmers began to grow goose gourds too. After several years of this, we began to find some gourds left over at the end of the season.
All other crops would have rotted in the field when you didn't harvest them, but not these leftover gourds. They just dried and got even harder shells. Being a rather curious farmer, I took some into my wood shop to see what could be done. I saw there was potential in them, but would have never dreamed they would take us where they have.
It has been ten years now since I cut open the first gourd. We no longer grow any fruits or vegetables, just gourds, lots and lots of gourds.
Our seasonal vegetable farm has now become a year round gourd farm that employs close to 20 full-time people. We grow, clean, craft, finish and ship every gourd we sell.
I would like to thank my wife, Denise, our family, and all of our employees for making our gourd farm so successful.
-Benjamin Bear
