Stop what you are doing..!!!!!!!!
Gourd drying is a natural process. Putting it in the oven will bake it and ruin it for crafting. If you insist on making something for this Christmas from gourds...go buy some that are already dry. Leave your fresh crop of gourds for next year.
Take some time and read through these forums so you can understand the need for patience and care in working with gourds.

Jan

Yes, you can do this, but it's iffy at best. Yes, some will be ruined, but some won't. Best results are achieved by natural air drying, but if you want to experiment, I'm putting a link here to the American Gourd Society's oven dry instructions. If you have an ugly one you won't mind losing, experiment with that one. Check instructions, and good luck. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Gourd Drying Oven-Style

I agree with what's been said above. Gourds tend to balk at being quick-dried. I would definitely classify "drying birdhouse gourds in the oven" as experimentation, not as a sure-fire method! As caseyst says above, pick an ugly gourd, if you feel compelled to give it a try. Then again, to the true gourd lover, is there ever a gourd we raise that we can truly deem, ugly?

Here is a link that might be useful: Birdhouse Gourds

Oh I've grown some that would give you nightmares! :)

Hi everyone! I harvested my first gourds this year. I planted about a dozen birdhouse and apple gourds on natural trellises, but I only got 6 gourds ranging from medium size to very small. One thing I know I will have to do next year is get them in the ground sooner than I did this year considering I live in WI where summer seems to be a thing of the past lately.
As I said, I planted them to climb a trellis I made from a neighbor's tree she cut down.
Can anyone give me some guidance please? Would it be better to let them grow on the ground or on a trellis? I read the link posted by Caseyst regarding oven drying. It said to wait until we get a light frost before cutting them. I cut mine about a month ago and they were green. Are they supposed to be green or should they have gotten brown? Frost here didn't happen until just this week--go figure.

WOW Casey! Thanks soooo much! So they really are green when cut-Yes? I have mine in the basement on racks. I probably should put a small fan on them for better circulation. I do have a workshop down there so I can check on them when I go down there but sometimes I don't for a week at a time. (The door to the basement is outside) People around here say it takes a year to dry them. What can I do to incourage next years crop to be bigger and produce more? Would I use vegetable fertilizer or something else? Also, can you recommend some good seed sources? I ordered from Burpee the first time and they were ok, but I ordered 'birdhouse' gourds and I got a package of a mix so I didn't know what was what. Even so, the gourds I did get are all alike except for sizes even though the seeds were diferent. I seem to remember learning, a long time ago, that once a few gourds get a good start, dead heading some of the flowers will allow more energy to go to the "babies" instead of more flowers. Have you heard this? What do you think? And what pests do you know are an enemy of the vines? I hope you don't mind so many questions.
G

Well, all I have to add is... I had awful luck bringing them in... then I discovered that all I had to do was LEAVE THEM outside all winter... I had left some in the field not figuring on using them.. and inside I had to mess around and they still molded... spring came, I went out to clean up, an lo and behold, they're waiting, all beautifully dry. Wisest to be patient and let Mother Nature do the job.

We always leave ours outside for the winter to dry. Right on the vines if they are hanging. They dry best for us on top of chicken wire so the air can circulate all around them.

I agree with leaving them outside to dry. They come out much better and it's much easier to find them in the spring.

I have a lakota squash that was given to me to cook with. I have scraped out all the meat and hate to throw away the beautiful shell. Is there any way to preserve it?

Are you sure it is a Lakota squash? They do not dry and should not have a shell to speak of, in any case if it is a Lakota squash whatever you have left over will unfortunately rot. Just take lots of pictures if you like it.

I heard that greeks cut the gourd on the top fill it with stones to clen up the seeds. After they fill the gourd with salt to absorbe the moisture. Any experience with this method??

Question,

I planted birdhouse gourds for the first time. I ended up planting late around June. The plant took over my greenhouse. But it only produced one gourd that grew very slowly. Fall came and the temperature dropped. All of a sudden this plant decided to start producing and now it's got a dozen gourds and half the plant is dead from the cold. The new gourds are growing really quick. I'm wondering why it waited till almost winter before fruiting especially when the plant itself was growing like a weed all summer. Even with pruning it back.

Thanks