Re: gourds

I just used watered down craft paint in orange then used a gloss sealer. They look great in with leaves and other fall stuff. I would tell you I would send a picture but it will probably be too late for this year. Look at www.franniesgourds.com online. They have some beautiful gourds painted. 
Tricia
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jesse Bell" <silverhawk@flash.net> 
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 10:43 AM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] gourds
Man, I had gourds like that. They were in my garage forEVER, and were fine when I went to craft with them. And the seeds were still GOOD. Amazing. Are you painting the Corsicans to look like actual pumpkins, like tolle painting? Or just painting them orange with a face? You'll have to send some pics! 


Patricia <pdickson@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
 I have to tell you to that the last time I grew birdhouse gourds was in
Missouri when we lived there. I grew them on a chain length fence. When we
found out we were moving I boxed them up and they have been in my attic in a 
box most of the 10 years we have been here. It is amazing how durable they
are.
I grew some Corsican gourds since we have lived here and now I am having fun 
painting them like the ones I saw in California this year. They make
beautiful pumpkins for fall decorating.
I want to plant some of the seeds next spring that I got out of some of
them to just see how long the seed stays good. Fun!
Tricia
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jesse Bell" 
To:
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 9:42 AM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] gourds



Depending on the size of the gourd (I have Corsican gourds this year that
are quite heavy and when they dry I have to sit them on something, not
hang them, because of the weight). If it is a bird-house gourd or
something in that range, I would let them hang on the vine until the first 
frost. It gives them all the growing time they need. They do not have to
hang on the vine all winter, just pick them or cut them off (I leave some
of the stem on it) and put them in a relatively dry place until next
summer (garage or shed). Usually it will develop a black or dark grey
mold on it while it is drying. This is normal. While drying, If the
gourd puckers or wrinkles, or looks like it is shrinking some, then it was 
not mature enough to pick. The late season gourds do that sometimes. You
know the gourd is dry and ready to craft with when you shake it and you
can hear the seeds rattle a little bit inside. When you are ready to do
something with them, take bleach and water and
scrub them down with a Brillo pad or steel wool. That gets most of the
dried on mold off of it. AND - last but not least - when you are cleaning
out the insides of the gourd, or using a drill or sander on them - DO IT
OUTSIDE. The dust is killer - even if you don't have allergies. Trust me
on that one....


Bonnie Holmes wrote:
This is the second year that I have tried to grow gourds and I now have a
good number of them...still green on the vines. When do I pick them? How
do I let them dry out before I do the finishing that was suggested
earlier?


Bonnie Holmes
holmesbm@usit.net

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Jesse R. Bell

"All that we are is a result of what we have thought." - Buddha

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"All that we are is a result of what we have thought."  -  Buddha

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