A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 Gourds

Someone was nice enough to send me some gourd seeds last year (my memory is gone). I bought a metal thing and planted the seeds. Now I have 2 very heavy, green gourds. What next?

So glad you asked this question, Sheri!
I, too, have some pretty nice sized green birdhouse gourds and was wondering the same thing!

Anyone?

I have read up on these cause I did manage to plant a few and have a few up.

one place I read said leave them to die on the vine then you can either leave them to dry there or hang them in a dry place to dry. (It did say mice are bad to eat a hole in them and eat the seeds)

I'll see if I can find that information it was on my other computer and haven't been able to get that one up lately.

hi there! I have a few different kinds of gourd seeds and forgot to plant them this year but I've read that you just let them stay on the vine and then when the vine dies you hang them in a dry place or something where they can dry in. you'll know when they're good and dry when you can shake them and hear the seeds rattle around :-)

thanks.

Mike57 grows some gourds..
Maybe he'll be peakin' in on this..
*if he doesn't see it... somebody PM
him in a day or two*

I have 5 birdhouse gourds I grew this year,
was wonderin' the same thing...
Mine are still hanging out there...


Those were alot of fun to grow this
year... wouldn't mind growing them again..

Hey Sheri and Belinda,
What kinds' did you grow???

down in crafts back aways Mike57 explains the process real good I think. He has pictures and everything.

I'm very interested in all this too. Like Weezie, I have about 6 birdhouse gourds still hanging on the vines which I noticed today are getting moldy - the vines, not the gourds.

Anyway... here is a link to Mike's post, but the pictures don't come up!

Mike\'s gourds

I grew some last year!!!
I left mine on the vine& its NORMAL for them to get mouldy,you can scrub the mold off or just scrub a lil and paint over it like I did on mine.you KNOW they are ready when the vine dries up that they are attached too.good ventilation helps(why I left in place)they DO take a bit to cure.they are done when you can hear the seeds rattle inside.Mine dripped from the bottom,but the one I tried to poke holes in colapsed and was mis shaped.sometimes when i'd shake um you could hear the innards slosh.you may want to create "slings" to hold them as they dry so they don't fall off and go "spalt!" or try what i did.I took a coat hanger and shaped it to my needs and part of THAT was taped to the gourd vine.then when vine was dried out i snipped and hung at back of yard on my summer plant hangers.they can smell when drying so don't recomend indoor drying& scrubing outter shell can maybe help with the drying not takeing till next august.I did use a lil,bleach when scrubbing.I really missed not haveing any this year.i thnk i tried planting too early,then my 2nd planting was too wet& they rotted.I grew birdhouse gourds last year.if someone grew some loffa....please share with me.
hollar back if need more help

njoynit....I think I might have a few luffa gourd seeds left over from a trade on another site that I can send you if you want me to :-)

my northern buddy said they will cure faster if remove from vine when the vines dried up,but you will want to hang them so don't re shape them.she did hers on back porch& may have a slight smell but if use bleach on outside of them on the mold.that will diminish some of the smell& said 3-4 months,but that can still vary.when the inside is drying up you may get drips.

I'd love some luffa seeds.I was really hopeing to grow some this year.My sis use luffa spounges& was wanting to surprise her for christmas,guess will be NEXT christmas.I hear ya can wash dishes with um!have ya?

Njoynit, Sent you a PM!!!

got it!

My gourds are still very green and I don't hear any seeds rattling around. They're very heavy. The vine is withering up though, but we've had a lot of dry weather.

Just picked my birdhouse gourds off the very dried up vines. We've had a few frosts here already, so it's time to bring them indoors. This was my first time growing them, and they aren't very large, but I'm thrilled with them anyway. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for them to dry out...

Hey, If I didn't know any better,
I'd say you snuck into my yard,
and took pictures of my exact gourds!!!!!!

Interesting Weezie!

So, now how do we get them bigger and better next year?
These seem too small to make birdhouses out of -
except maybe the one on the left...

but, they can be painted and make great gifts, or small planters!

I have never tried growing gourds, but I think I'll give it a try, any sugestions?

******Stephanie