The answer really depends on how big you want your patch to be. When you begin to grow your patch use unroasted seeds(lol i couldn't resist) plant 3 or 4 seeds every 6 or so inches about 3 inches under the dirt water and wait. Now as far as when the best time to begin your patch is in June. This gives the patch time to become established prior to the ';dog days'; when the temperatures get really high. Either way you need to water regularly if you want to have a nice patch. The seed that I would suggest for your patch is whatever you pull out of your pumpkins this October. I once through a handfull of these into a compost pile and the next year had a huge patch. Not that I wanted them but I got them---- :) As for Gourds, well I would assume the same process being that Pumpkins are Gourds... Good luck with your patch and be nice to the Great PUMPKIN Charlie BrownAny advice on planting a pumpkin patch?
First off, keep the pumpkins away from everything else. Once they start growing not only will they need space but they will spread season after season. You should see sprouts in about ten days, if not try a different batch of seeds. Hit your local feed store for information about which pumpkins and gourds to plant and when the best time to start them for your area. Hills are best because they'll be able to get enough sunlight as well as good drainage, you don't want the bottoms to rot out on you.
You did not say where you live, but that is a really important consideration. Even the smaller pumpkins and gourds will require a growing season of 3 months or more, and they will want warm weather for optimal growth. In most of the United States, there is virtually no chance for pumpkins or gourds planted today to reach maturity before the colder weather sets in. So unless you live in a climate where it is warm all year, you should wait until next spring when the weather is reliably warm, which is May - early June in much of the country. I live in northern California, in a milder coastal region, and even though we don't get snow or many hard frosts, there is no way that a newly planted gourd or pumpkin would produce anything before cold weather kills it.
As far as size and type, get some seed catalogs and read up on it. Seed catalogs are excellent sources of information on how to germinate the seeds, how much room the plants need to grow, and how best to tend the plants. Some good ones which also have online catalogs are Thompson %26amp; Morgan, Park Seed, Stokes Seeds, and Burpee Seed Co.
So unless you live somewhere semi-tropical, the best things you can do right now are to research what types of pumpkins and gourds you wish to grow next year, and to improve the soil where your pumpkins and gourds will be growing. Also give some thought to how you will trellis your gourds, since they will grow most efficiently if you provide a vertical support for them.
All the knowledge you gain from your research, and all the increased fertility in your garden soil as you add compost, etc., will help to insure that next year's pumpkins and gourds will be incredible.
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