Birdhouse Gourds made into bird houses!

 In the Garden

About 3 years ago, I decided to try something new and grow some birdhouse gourds.  I guess I must have had some bad seed that first year because nothing grew.  I tried again the next year and got a lot of nice, good sized gourds!  I harvested them and brought them inside to dry down.  They are green when you pick them but then turn brown and become hollow as they dry down.  Here are some gourds growing in the strawberry patch...

I find the flowers of the birdhouse gourd absolutely gorgeous!  They are frilly and delicate!  The bees love them!

Here are the gourds I harvested in 2021...

I took them into the house and set them out to dry down...it took months!  I don't know what I was expecting but I guess I thought it would be faster.  

Slowly, the green started to turn to brown...

Then, some even peeled and shed their outer layers.  I read that this is normal.  

Some fungus started growing on them and, again, I had read that this is a normal part of the "aging" process...

Finally, they were dried down and so I scrubbed all the fungus off...

Then, I used a drill to make a hole in the front and made holes in the top to put in a string to use as a hanger.  I then, used leather dye to "paint" them different colors!  From left to right, these are orange, green, mahogany, and light tan (which is the most natural color).

I will have these for sale at the Farmer's Market.  I think I am just going to sell them by size...2 inches per height.  While doing some research, I discovered that there are also Apple gourds that are shaped like a big apple and Martin gourds that look like a big pear.  I ordered some seed of each of these and we will see how they grow this year!

Have an eggcellent day!

~Denise