When you picked your gourds, did they still have green stems? I know they say that you should wait to pick them until the stems turn brown, but that may not be possible in every situation (ex: early frost). I grew birdhouse gourds this year and plan to make birdhouses from them for next year. Everything looks fully grown but the stems are still green and most of the leaves are still fairly healthy. We're in southern Ohio and expect first frost come the third week of October. We garden on a large scale, and I use cover crops over winter to add biomass and nutrients back into the soil come Spring. My concern now is that the gourds won't "brown off" their stems until near frost, but if I have any hope of starting cover crops this Fall, I'll need to broadcast seed in in the next three weeks (seed should be spread one month before frost). The reason I say all of this is because if you had to pick your gourds when the stems were still green but you still got wonderful gourds from them in the end, then perhaps it wouldn't be too much of an issue for me to pick them early (if required) so that I can still get cover crops in. Please let me know your thoughts. Kind Regards, Michael
I went ahead and picked mine, even with green stems, last year. They dried fine :) just took a tad longer! I’m going to try leaving the ones I grew this year on the vine, to see the difference.
I just cut like 12 of mine off the vines because they start to look moldy. 😐 I realized halfway through that that was normal. So I left about 17 on the vines. Do I leave them or lay them out? I don’t want to ruin them. They did so well!
When you picked your gourds, did they still have green stems? I know they say that you should wait to pick them until the stems turn brown, but that may not be possible in every situation (ex: early frost). I grew birdhouse gourds this year and plan to make birdhouses from them for next year. Everything looks fully grown but the stems are still green and most of the leaves are still fairly healthy. We're in southern Ohio and expect first frost come the third week of October. We garden on a large scale, and I use cover crops over winter to add biomass and nutrients back into the soil come Spring. My concern now is that the gourds won't "brown off" their stems until near frost, but if I have any hope of starting cover crops this Fall, I'll need to broadcast seed in in the next three weeks (seed should be spread one month before frost). The reason I say all of this is because if you had to pick your gourds when the stems were still green but you still got wonderful gourds from them in the end, then perhaps it wouldn't be too much of an issue for me to pick them early (if required) so that I can still get cover crops in. Please let me know your thoughts. Kind Regards, Michael
I went ahead and picked mine, even with green stems, last year. They dried fine :) just took a tad longer! I’m going to try leaving the ones I grew this year on the vine, to see the difference.
@@JesusLovingHomesteader Thank you! That helps! I love this time of year. Stay safe and God bless.
@@michaelthescreechowl9427 I agree completely! I’m so excited to begin our fall garden. God bless you and your family as well. Happy Gardening!
Do these have any other uses other than being a natural birdhouse? although very cool in itself!
Plant Pots, birdhouses, and in other countries their used to hold Water 💦, like water Jugs :)
I just cut like 12 of mine off the vines because they start to look moldy. 😐 I realized halfway through that that was normal. So I left about 17 on the vines. Do I leave them or lay them out? I don’t want to ruin them. They did so well!
Hello! So, no holes to take off the insides? How long you let them dry outside? Thank you
Thank you