Menu Home Clipart Gallery Gardening Resources Gardening Books Vegetables Angelica Artichokes Asparagus Beans Broad Beans Buckwheat Cilantro Cress Crown Vetch Drying Gourds Galangal Garden Cress Garlic Chives Ginger Hairy Vetch Horseradish Japanese Taro Jerusalem Artichoke Legumes Lima Beans Masterwort Moon Planting Morel Mushrooms Mushrooms Onions Pumpkins Radishes Sweet Corn Radicchio Rhubarb Rocket Salad Salad Cress Shiitake Mushrooms Sunflowers Tomato - Fruit Or Vegetable? Vegetables - Shade Vetch Water Cress, Winter Cress Yams Sections Garden Notes Garden Design Annuals and Perennials Flowers Fruits Houseplants Glossary of Terms Lawns and Groundcovers Pests Soils and Fertilizers Trees and Shrubs Vegetables

Drying Gourds Gourds should be cured or dried for at least two to four (2 to 4) weeks before using. Many gourds used for utility purposes such as dippers, bird houses or other containers should be pierced with a wire at the neck and hung until thoroughly dry. A dried gourd will be lightweight and sound hollow when thumped.

Wash gourds before drying to be sure they are free of soil and other garden debris. Gourds are often dipped in a weak bleach solution of one (1) part chlorine bleach to ten (10) parts water to sterilize the surface and prevent rotting.

Hang gourds for drying in a warm location with little moisture. After drying, the gourd's exterior can be polished with wax or shellac.

A few gourds will develop interesting fungal patterns on their surface as they dry. The fungal growth doesn't appear to alter the quality of the dried gourd and may actually improve its appearance.

| Gardening Books
 

Please read the Copyright Information.

 

Garden Notes - Main Index