From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Pataskala,OH

How do I dry these things? They must take a lot longer then regular gourds. Should I leave them on the vine to dry? Or should I pick them and out them on my porch until they dry out? How do I get the seeds out? Do I wait until the gourd is dry and drill a hole?

8/13/2012 6:03:22 PM

formerly RGG

I think I would get them into a warm and dry place. They could rot if exposded to too much moisture.Is there any chance of me getting some seeds from you to use for watermelon grafting rootstock ?

8/13/2012 6:33:02 PM

Colorado

best bet is on the vine-put em on a palate if possible.the ones that I leave on the top of my trellise always dry the fastest.sun,wind help them dry faster-their ok freezing

8/13/2012 6:39:00 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

We always dried ours in the rafters of the garage...wipe them down with a fungicide and if possible hange them so they are not touching anything

8/13/2012 7:43:32 PM

Indiana

Have grown acres of hard shelled gourds for 21 years and this is what works best for us. Leave the gourds in the field until they have been hit with a hard frost. Then pick them and put them on Pallets just to keep air flowing around them. We leave them outside rotate weekly so that they dont freeze into a solid block in the winter. The big gourds like African wine kettle and Giant bushel can take from November all the way till next June to dry if done correctly. Be patient big gourds need time to dry you cant force them dry. Good Luck

8/13/2012 9:00:20 PM

Bowdon, GA

I have had almost 0% success getting any pear gourds over 100 pounds to dry. The shell on mine don't seem as thick as a bushel gourd. 60-75 pounders are easier to dry but sometimes crack. Last time I grew them I set them on a pallet on the porch and painted some Kocide on the blossom. They dried well but did crack some. Not sure why I can't get the big ones dried they ussually start leaking and rot after a few weeks.

8/13/2012 10:44:35 PM

Leave on the vine as long as possible....do NOT bring inside to dry....once off the vine keep in location out of rain but with good air circulation. I leave mine on front porch over the winter on a wire plant stand and turn often

8/13/2012 11:46:19 PM