How do you clean a gourd out?

[daffodil]

My neighbor wants to make a bird house out of a gourd. How do you get the seeds out of it? Do you just cut the round bird hole opening and let them dry or ??? I think the thing is a pumpkin but she thinks it's a gourd. I guess we would know once she cuts into it??? It looks like a green and orange pumpkin. Shaped like a long pumpkin, tall and narrow sort of.

[AlchemyAcres]

My neighbor wants to make a bird house out of a gourd. How do you get the seeds out of it? Do you just cut the round bird hole opening and let them dry or ??? I think the thing is a pumpkin but she thinks it's a gourd. I guess we would know once she cuts into it??? It looks like a green and orange pumpkin. Shaped like a long pumpkin, tall and narrow sort of.

You'll want to let the gourd dry several months until it's cured.
Cutting or drilling into the gourd before it's cured will lead to rot.


~Martin

[DM]

My neighbor wants to make a bird house out of a gourd. How do you get the seeds out of it? Do you just cut the round bird hole opening and let them dry or ??? I think the thing is a pumpkin but she thinks it's a gourd. I guess we would know once she cuts into it??? It looks like a green and orange pumpkin. Shaped like a long pumpkin, tall and narrow sort of.


I've grown a bunch of different ones over the years. The best way to drill a hole in them (after they are dry) that i've found, is to use a hole saw.

Once the hole is in them and they are hung up, what ever bird that wants to use it for a "house" will clean it out for you.

DM

[Pokeberry Mary]

I've done some artwork using birdhouse gourds. You do have to let them dry --very well--before you cut into them and it takes alot to clean them at that point as they will get all moldy and gross looking. It can take many months to dry them. My husband cut the ones I used as birdhouses with a hole saw and then we just tried to scoop out what we could.

Once they are dry and ready you also need to waterproof them. I used Thompsons water sealer.

Mine have been in the garden a couple years now- in a very humid and hot environment and are still as hard as ever.

If you look online you are sure to find someone out there who does gourd crafting. There are guilds and even books on it. :)

[StatHaldol]

I used to grow gourds and luffas for the kids. They got a kick out of watching them grow since they grow so quickly here in the Louisiana summers.
We would pick the gourds and put them in a storage room for several months (usually until the end of the next summer).
I have a bit that cuts a 2 inch hole. I just cut the hole and got a coat hanger and removed the seeds and the insides. By this time everything on the inside looked a lot like dryer lint. As another poster said; you'll have to seal them. They grow like weeds here. If you plant a few plants; you'll have lots of gourds. We had about 30 of them taking up space in our storage room. We had a garage sale and set them out on the table as an afterthought. All of them were gone in two hours...at $5 each!

Anyone ever grow luffas? They are fascinating to watch. Right after we planted them our elderly neighbor came over when they started to mature and said, "I see you planted some running okra." I told him they were luffas and he said "You can call them whatever you like but we call them running okra." "I've eaten a lot of 'em; but you have to eat them when they're young, after they get old, they look like a sponge." LOL!

[Mom5farmboys]

My mom grows the birdhouse gourds and makes birdhouses out of them too. You let them dry for several months and they will get a black powdery mold on the outside of them. Once the gourd has dried completely wash the outside with some bleach water and it will remove that mold. Then you can cut your hole and decorate however you like.

[Anon001]

Anyone ever grow luffas?

I have them in the garden every year.

[flatwater]

I've grown gourds for years now. Whats fun is to wait until your gourd is about half grown then scrape a design of some sort in the skin. After you scape the skin off, your design will be left on the gourd.

[TNDadx4]

Anyone ever grow luffas? They are fascinating to watch. Right after we planted them our elderly neighbor came over when they started to mature and said, "I see you planted some running okra." I told him they were luffas and he said "You can call them whatever you like but we call them running okra." "I've eaten a lot of 'em; but you have to eat them when they're young, after they get old, they look like a sponge." LOL!

That's too funny! I've never grown them, but now want to :) I'm going to plan them for next years garden.

[oeb]

How do you cook luffas? Will they produce good in northern climates or is this pretty much a southern crop like okra? If luffas taste like okra and will produce in the cool alleghenies, I'll be planting some next year.

Otis

[Anon001]

How do you cook luffas? Will they produce good in northern climates or is this pretty much a southern crop like okra? If luffas taste like okra and will produce in the cool alleghenies, I'll be planting some next year.

Otis

Luffas are not an okra type fruit. They are grown for the "sponge". When they are dried, skinned, and the seeds removed they are good replacements for dish rags, bath washcloths, etc. Next time you are in a department or bath store, look at the luffa sponges they sell.

The only time a luffa is edible is when it is still small. But they are usually grown for the "sponge" not for food.

Paul

[daffodil]

Luffas are not an okra type fruit. They are grown for the "sponge". When they are dried, skinned, and the seeds removed they are good replacements for dish rags, bath washcloths, etc. Next time you are in a department or bath store, look at the luffa sponges they sell.

The only time a luffa is edible is when it is still small. But they are usually grown for the "sponge" not for food.

Paul

I grew them one year for the sponges but I ended up throwing them out. I think they rotted. A friend just visited and said she ate a gourd. I'm wondering if she meant the luffa. We didn't think gourds were edible.

[Franz©]

Easiest way to clean out a cured gourd is with a pressure washer.

The second easiest way is with a short piece, about a foot, of speedometer cable chucked into an electric drill. Even a piece of the outer part of a lawnmower throttle cable works.

[CarolAnn]

Daffodil - gourds are in the squash family, so I believe the reason most people don't eat them is they were bred for interesting shapes and colors rather than for sugar / flavor content. They'd still be OK to eat, but maybe not so tasty. On the other hand, there's so much variety, she might have had a delicious one!

I had some huge club-shaped gourds volunteer one year. They were all more than 3' long, and some were curved like a "C". I sold lots of them at a craft fair (still green & they probably rotted later) - by knotting a rag around one end and the sign said "Teenage Mutant Ninja Gourds." The vines absolutely stank (stunk?) - so I doubt if they were edible. I never did find out how they got into my garden!