Drilling holes in gourds when drying question
wilderness1989
18 years ago
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janmar
18 years agohklimsa
18 years agoRelated Discussions
Drying gourds
Comments (2)There a lot of sites to 'Google' through. Gently wash off the fuzz in a sink of warm soapy water with a scrub brush, making sure to get off all the the mouldy layers. We have used bees wax to shine up & show off the gourd pattern. You can just cloth shine the skin also. There is a process to use to prepare for painting. There are different size holes to drill for different bird species if using as bird houses. If my DH can put his hands on the pages of info I gave him several years ago when he grew a couple dozen gourds, I'll add the sites to this thread. Good luck scaps, Sharon...See MoreQuestion on drying gourds
Comments (3)It`s up to you...you won`t hurt it either way(as long as you`re careful taking the peeling skin off!. if you remove it now, it`ll be a lot easier to clean when you`re ready to craft it. You can make some neat patterns on drying gourds by removing sections of the skin during the drying process and leaving others intact. This can give you some really neat color variations on the completed gourd. This is an example on a Mexican Bottle:...See Moreproblem with gourds drying
Comments (8)Hello there Steve.In answer to your question about my comment about growing time - from the time the seed germinates to the time the vine dies and the gourds can be harvested safely is approx. 120 days...Never be temped to pick your gourds early - even if you think they have finished growing - WAIT till the vine is COMPLETELY shrivelled up and dead dry before harvesting your gourds....the longer you leave them on the vine the better chance of having hard thick shells. The top of the gourd stem should be dead dry - not green at all - and when it is at that stage - then harvest - if you have frosts where u live you might need to harvest the gourds before the first frosts arrive. BUT try and leave your gourds on the vine for as long as possible to avoid the shells being thin and shrivelling. Cheers....See MoreBushel Gourds How to Dry Them?
Comments (4)Sandie-I wish I had some of your big gourds! I have a hard time finding them in this part of the country. The only advice I can give you about drying is to sit them off the ground so the air can circulate all around,like on pallets.I think the ones the goats knocked off will be ok.I certainly wouldn't drill holes anywhere in them.Put them in a dry place if possible and never dry them in your house.The mold can be really bad for your sinuses and lungs.Since they are so big it will probably take several months for them to dry,depending on temperatures and such.They are dry when the seeds rattle inside.What are you going to make with them? Good luck with them.......Lillie...See Morewilderness1989
18 years agojanmar
18 years agocraftercheryl
17 years agogenepa
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