Hello,

This is my first time growing hard-shell birdhouse gourds. I planted
the seeds in late June. It sounds like a late start but anything
earlier this year would've dealt with 9 inches of rain and daily
temperatures in the 50sF for highs (our first 90 degree day was 9
weeks later than avg). If I had put them out any earlier the seeds
would've almost certainly rotted. Luckily July was much more average,
and the plants are doing very well on a fence. I really enjoy the
night-blooms, I've never seen a flower which blooms at night.

One gourd right now is extremely large (9-inch dia), and is supported
off the ground by a piece of styrofoam. Three others are growing but
they are all still green. I was wondering how big these gourds are
suppose to get before they finally start drying up? I'm afraid I'm
gonna run out of growing season. Is there any way to use un-ripe
gourds for smaller birds?

I was wondering how everyone else has dealt with hardshell gourds in
the past, curing them, etc., and what might help them survive. So far
I've been trying very hard to keep the bottoms dry (one large gourd
has already rotted from a wet base...I cut him off and threw him out
so other gourds would grow faster). When are they ready to pick?

I tried contacting the purple martin association but they recommended
I buy the book. They said there's many ways to go about curing the
gourd. It's hard to believe that the gourd won't rot while curing,
simply drying up over the winter and being ready to hollow out in 5-6
months. I've dealt with pumpkins and squash and when they go bad in
5-6 months it's not a pretty sight. Any other hints or advice would
be appreciated, thanks

Dan
nw NJ - 80 in. of snow, 25 in. rain in past 12 months...and in the
dead center of Isabelle predictions

dstvns wrote:

Hello,

This is my first time growing hard-shell birdhouse gourds. I planted
the seeds in late June. It sounds like a late start but anything
earlier this year would've dealt with 9 inches of rain and daily
temperatures in the 50sF for highs (our first 90 degree day was 9
weeks later than avg). If I had put them out any earlier the seeds
would've almost certainly rotted. Luckily July was much more average,
and the plants are doing very well on a fence. I really enjoy the
night-blooms, I've never seen a flower which blooms at night.

One gourd right now is extremely large (9-inch dia), and is supported
off the ground by a piece of styrofoam. Three others are growing but
they are all still green. I was wondering how big these gourds are
suppose to get before they finally start drying up? I'm afraid I'm
gonna run out of growing season. Is there any way to use un-ripe
gourds for smaller birds?

I was wondering how everyone else has dealt with hardshell gourds in
the past, curing them, etc., and what might help them survive. So far
I've been trying very hard to keep the bottoms dry (one large gourd
has already rotted from a wet base...I cut him off and threw him out
so other gourds would grow faster). When are they ready to pick?

I tried contacting the purple martin association but they recommended
I buy the book. They said there's many ways to go about curing the
gourd. It's hard to believe that the gourd won't rot while curing,
simply drying up over the winter and being ready to hollow out in 5-6
months. I've dealt with pumpkins and squash and when they go bad in
5-6 months it's not a pretty sight. Any other hints or advice would
be appreciated, thanks

Dan
nw NJ - 80 in. of snow, 25 in. rain in past 12 months...and in the
dead center of Isabelle predictions

Unfortunately, you're likely to run out of summer before your
gourds mature . . . depending on the variety, it generally takes
90-120 days from transplanting to first harvest. And,
honest-to-goodness, as long as you keep them in a dry spot,
they'll dry up on their very own over the course of a couple of
months after harvesting.

Chris Owens




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I can't help you much except to say that some will make it
and dry out and some will rot. It's a crap shoot.
You can help a bit by keeping them dry and apart from each other.
I've read it helps to wipe them off with a weak bleach solution
from time to time to kill off any mold or fungus that may try
to ruin them from the outside.
What happens on the inside is just luck mostly.
I hope yours is good!!

You are right about pumpkins but that's why folks don't
make birdhouses out of them :-))

Peace!!
Dan D. Louisville KY good ole USA

Go to this link for all the possible information you could ever want.

www.purplemartin.org


On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 07:11:56 GMT, (dstvns) opined:

Hello,

This is my first time growing hard-shell birdhouse gourds. I planted
the seeds in late June. It sounds like a late start but anything
earlier this year would've dealt with 9 inches of rain and daily
temperatures in the 50sF for highs (our first 90 degree day was 9
weeks later than avg). If I had put them out any earlier the seeds
would've almost certainly rotted. Luckily July was much more average,
and the plants are doing very well on a fence. I really enjoy the
night-blooms, I've never seen a flower which blooms at night.

One gourd right now is extremely large (9-inch dia), and is supported
off the ground by a piece of styrofoam. Three others are growing but
they are all still green. I was wondering how big these gourds are
suppose to get before they finally start drying up? I'm afraid I'm
gonna run out of growing season. Is there any way to use un-ripe
gourds for smaller birds?

I was wondering how everyone else has dealt with hardshell gourds in
the past, curing them, etc., and what might help them survive. So far
I've been trying very hard to keep the bottoms dry (one large gourd
has already rotted from a wet base...I cut him off and threw him out
so other gourds would grow faster). When are they ready to pick?

I tried contacting the purple martin association but they recommended
I buy the book. They said there's many ways to go about curing the
gourd. It's hard to believe that the gourd won't rot while curing,
simply drying up over the winter and being ready to hollow out in 5-6
months. I've dealt with pumpkins and squash and when they go bad in
5-6 months it's not a pretty sight. Any other hints or advice would
be appreciated, thanks

Dan
nw NJ - 80 in. of snow, 25 in. rain in past 12 months...and in the
dead center of Isabelle predictions

"dstvns" wrote in message
...

nw NJ - 80 in. of snow, 25 in. rain in past 12 months...and in the
dead center of Isabelle predictions

Hi Dan, I can't help with the gourds, I hope it works out for you, and
keep us posted.

Be careful with Isabelle, let us know asap how you get through the
storm!

Shelly

I hung my gourds up in the basement utility room where the furnace is
located. Each gourd was hung up so that it does not touch the others
(to avoid spreading rot). I lost about one gourd in 7 or 8 to rot.
The others dried nicely by spring and I remove the blotches with a mix
of 1/4 cup bleach and a drop of dishwashing liquid to a quart of
water. After drying you can prime/paint them or use an outdoor finsih
with UV protection. Harvest your gourds before frost or when the
vines dry up.


On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 07:11:56 GMT, (dstvns) wrote:

Hello,

This is my first time growing hard-shell birdhouse gourds. I planted
the seeds in late June. It sounds like a late start but anything
earlier this year would've dealt with 9 inches of rain and daily
temperatures in the 50sF for highs (our first 90 degree day was 9
weeks later than avg). If I had put them out any earlier the seeds
would've almost certainly rotted. Luckily July was much more average,
and the plants are doing very well on a fence. I really enjoy the
night-blooms, I've never seen a flower which blooms at night.

One gourd right now is extremely large (9-inch dia), and is supported
off the ground by a piece of styrofoam. Three others are growing but
they are all still green. I was wondering how big these gourds are
suppose to get before they finally start drying up? I'm afraid I'm
gonna run out of growing season. Is there any way to use un-ripe
gourds for smaller birds?

I was wondering how everyone else has dealt with hardshell gourds in
the past, curing them, etc., and what might help them survive. So far
I've been trying very hard to keep the bottoms dry (one large gourd
has already rotted from a wet base...I cut him off and threw him out
so other gourds would grow faster). When are they ready to pick?

I tried contacting the purple martin association but they recommended
I buy the book. They said there's many ways to go about curing the
gourd. It's hard to believe that the gourd won't rot while curing,
simply drying up over the winter and being ready to hollow out in 5-6
months. I've dealt with pumpkins and squash and when they go bad in
5-6 months it's not a pretty sight. Any other hints or advice would
be appreciated, thanks

Dan
nw NJ - 80 in. of snow, 25 in. rain in past 12 months...and in the
dead center of Isabelle predictions