Birdhouse Gourds

[catjac1975]

A good frost helps to harden the outside.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I grow them on the side of a shed covered with some scrap roofing metal. It gets ridiculously hot in the sun but that doesn’t bother them. They can sure take the heat. I trellis them there but some grow on the roof of the shed, some run out on the grass and grow, and some hang. Shape is fine whether hanging or flat on something. Do not worry about supporting the gourds like you would need to melons. They will stay attached to the vine.


Definitely leave them on the vine until the vine is dead and they are as cured as they will get. After a couple of frosts I set mine on a trailer bed in that open shed to continue drying. Two were immature and rotted but the other 10 or so are still there drying. They are still wet, not even close to the seeds rattling. I haven’t done it yet but I’m tempted to drill a couple of holes in the bottom to help speed up drying. I’ll eventually drill those holes anyway so any rain that blows in can drain out.

 

[journey11]

Might help. I do that too when I'm making them into birdhouses, so the rain will drain out and not make the babies soggy.

 

[Jared77]

Thank you for all the replies. I ordered them from Baker Creek & they are the large or normal sized gourds not miniature variety.

I figured I'd start them when & like I do my pumpkins. Usually 6-8 weeks ahead of planting & I use peat pots. Tear the bottoms off and plant them. I do 1 seed per pot & I get really good pumpkins doing that so long as the critters leave them alone. Feed them when I put them in, then refeed around 4th of July and it works.

Good to know about the frosts. I'll be sure to leave them out through that. Sounds like getting them was a good decision on my part. I know my daughter will be thrilled when I tell her why we're planting them.

 

[catjac1975]

I leave them in a large tub with drain holes in a lightly covered location. The best year I ever had I decided to put them in a shed and a cool cellar. The shed and cellar were terrible. Though they dried faster the mold coated them thickly. The ones left outdoors developed a skin that peeled off on it's own and developed a nice patina on the rind.

 

[Jared77]

How long did they stay outside before they got that patina?

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

I've got a packet of seeds, planning on trying them next year.

Will leaving the gourds outside affect the viability of the seeds?

 

[catjac1975]

I had a broken gourd left in a flower bed and it sent up a plant without help. You could always bring some in. There will be gourds that break, and some that rot without drying. You could bring those in. I always buy fresh seed. I am worried about germination. Try the dinosaur gourds, also. THey are very cool.

 

[catjac1975]

I leave them out all winter. When I am ready to make birdhouses I wet them down with pure bleach and leave them out in the sun. I have had big gourds last as long as 10 years as a birdhouse, some only a couple of seasons. The big thing that breaks them is if you hang them where they will hit something in the wind. Wear a mask when cutting or sanding them. There is a lot of mold inside them. I got real sick once after building them. I think it was from the mold. If you cut the hole first, remove the seeds, then do the bleaching you can bleach the inside also. There are some great books on gourd art. I never followed through with it however. I have too many things I love to do already, and it needs some pricey tools to do the cool stuff. I stick to the birdhouses.

 

[Jared77]

Good to know. I just want to build some bird houses with my girls & will probably give some to the nieces/nephews so they can build some too but a Ill have them all prepped so they can focus on decorating them. Off to google gourd art