Bottle Gourd Harvest

[Cats Critters and Garden]

First a bloom picture from this spring:

The small ones being washed:

The total harvest:

My little sister is going to paint at least one and is looking for ideas if you have any!

 

[journey11]

Wow, those are huge!

I grew a bunch year before last and made a few bird houses and handpainted a couple to give to family. Thought I'd get around to doing the rest, but never found time--so I stuck the extras in my yardsale and got $1 each out of them--made about $20 just on gourds!

I've seen people paint them to look like snowmen or santa, things like that. Then sell them at craft fairs.

ETA: I did keep a half dozen of the wee little ones I had. I thought I'd make them into minature bird houses, really dress them up with gold and sparkles, and hang them on my Christmas tree. I'll get around to it eventually!

 

[jojo54]

I googled bottle gourd crafts after reading this because it sounded interesting and found this link that showed Xmas ornaments and a snowman birdhouse. Too cute!

I may have to try growing them for some fun next year - that and/or loofah gourds.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=GHx...esnum=2&ved=0CBoQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

[Cats Critters and Garden]

She is not happy about holiday skipping and is putting in a request for Halloween ideas.

 

[journey11]

Thanks for the link, Jojo. I really like the look of those woodburned gourds!

You should definitely try them, they are not hard to grow at all. There is another one called a Bushel Gourd that is supposed to make giant round hollow gourds, very similar. I am going to try those next year. I hear they can get very big, like the size of a bucket.

ETA: Cats, they're shaped just right to be a ghost too!

 

[Cats Critters and Garden]

She is painting one as a Jack'O Lantern right now, pictures will be coming when finished, but says a ghost is next.

 

[beavis]

you can drill a large hole in one side and they make excellent birdhouses!

 

[dragonlaurel]

Cool ! Wish I had more room to grow some.

 

[digitS']

you can drill a large hole in one side and they make excellent birdhouses!

I suppose I may have made a mistake here.

First of all, they are about the earliest of the gourds to mature (. . . as I was told by a gourd enthusiast). So, I grew some of these bottle gourds.

DW got a hold of nearly all of them but I did drill a hole in one and hung it out in a tree. No birds showed up the 1st year. But, by the 2nd year, it had rotted and the floor had collapsed :/.

My mistakes are probably 2-fold: the gourd would have lasted better if it had been painted. And, I should have brought it in over the winter .

In my experience, birds like to have a full season to appraise the usefulness of a birdhouse before moving in. An example was demonstrated by my neighbor who covered an outside wall of her garage with houses for the birds (I just counted them: 9). Not 1 of them was used as a nest. Then, that neighbor moved, leaving the birdhouses. I think ALL of those birdhouses have been in use their 2nd and subsequent years .

Steve

 

[lesa]

Nice harvest, Cats! I always grow these (lots of fences to cover). They are the only thing I actually sell out of my garden. I have made them into birdhouses and have birds occupy them. They really can't be left out in the winter.
House wrens have been my tenants. By the way, if you hang too many bird houses (not that I would), you might be surprised to find the house wrens make pretend nests in all the houses they aren't using... to keep the population down, I guess.
If you have fences to cover these are the best. I had a customer ask me if I had hung them all up, over my fences.... um, no, mother nature did it!!!
I am sure you will think of all kinds of fun projects to do with these!