gourds

[Harvey R. Stone]

My neighbor has gourds and two or hanging over our fence. I am sure he would like me to have them. When should I pick them and how do you dry them? Phyl

[Phisherman]

Reecently I saw a large gourd that looked just like Rush Limbaugh. Harvest the gourds before the first frost, hang them to dry where they will get lots of air movement, and hope they don't rot. You can remove any mold (after they are dried) with a weak bleach solution.

[animaux]

Leave them on the vine as long as you can. When the stem starts to harden off, remove it, do not nic the gourd in any way or it can rot and store it in a very dry, warm place. It takes anywhere from 6 months to a year to fully dry. It will dry cleaner if you wash it off with a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water and dry it off. After it's dry, you can do what you want. I use a wood burning tool and make bowls, and decorative items. You can also paint them and if the base is about 12 inches in diameter, you can drill a hole about three inches up from the bottom, paint it white, and hang it for purple martins. They recommend at least a 12 inch diameter bottom or the baby birds can fall out.

Victoria