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After 18 Years Larry Haas has Developed a Healthy 'Love/Hate' Relationship with Hardshell Gourds

"Around 20 years ago I went down to Georgia. Instead of vegetable stands they had gourd stands. So I stopped in one time where there was a whole hay wagon full of them. There was an old house next to the wagon so I grabbed one, knocked on the door, and asked 'how much for this gourd.' She said, 'Four dollars.' I gave her the four dollars and I turned around and thought, 'I can do that up in Wisconsin.' "

And so began the career of Larry Haas, who has been known at the DCFM for the past 17 years as The Gourd Guy. During most of that time he's enjoyed a flourishing love/hate relationship with the gourds for which he's famous.

They're easy to grow," he explains, "but to get them really hard and dried and cured is the hard part. That's the hate part," he says, but you can't really believe him because of the broad smile spread across his face. "It took me about six years before they really got into my blood," he says. "And now I just love it." So there's the love part.

"I leave them right out in the field in the winter," Larry continues, "and they just dry naturally. In the spring time you throw out the bad ones and take the good ones and submerge them in water with a little bit of bleach." Larry then scrubs the loosened skin off the gourd. At that point, "They're ready to paint," he says. "A lot of people make drums out of them, bowls, musical instruments, and a lot of bird houses," he smiles.

Larry runs the business with his wife, Terri. They both take pride in the quality of their gourds, making sure that each gourd has been cleaned and "proofed" so that there are no soft spots or cracks that might compromise the integrity of the gourd. Larry and Terri are co-founders of the Wisconsin Gourd Society, the purpose of which is to educate the public on the culture, uses, history, and crafting of gourds and to provide a collective for artisans and gourd enthusiasts.

The couple lives on a small farm in the Blue Mounds area. While Larry works strictly with the gourds, Terri grows beautiful vegetables that they sell at the Wednesday DCFM.

Larry loves the market, "because I meet a lot of very interesting people," he says, adding, "It's a heck of a market." And to us that relationship sounds like pure love.

For More Information
Larry and Terri Haas 608-437-1944 thegourdguy@hotmail.com www.localharvest.org/farms/M15039