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Central Pennsylvania lauralie1978@yahoo.com

This will be my first year growing them and I have a few questions about them.

Are they a hard shelled gourd (hollow inside with a hard shell)? If so, what's the best way to preserve them after harvest?
Are there any good crafts to make with them or any neat ideas to do with them? I was daydreaming up ideas to turn them into bird feeders if they are hard shelled.
Is there any way to avoid the mold that gourds get (different drying techniques, washing with bleach, etc.)?

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

2/5/2007 11:05:14 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Shannon we take them an put them in the rafters of the shed..some where dry is the key. They will mold and look like they are rotten let them be. As long as they keep their shape. You can wash them with bleach when they are completely dried out to remove the outer mold layer. This will make them a buckskin color. I am sure there would be a good market for extra long gourds like we grow. Most gourd enthusiast have never seen gourds this big.

2/6/2007 8:54:47 AM

Long Island,New York

Some people make digereedoos outa them.

2/6/2007 5:20:20 PM

Central Pennsylvania lauralie1978@yahoo.com

What the heck is a digereedoo...LOL

2/7/2007 8:59:23 AM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Shannon (with the boy's name) you need to get out of Pennsylvania more even people in Wisconsin know what a digereedoo is...I have also seen rain sticks made from them.

2/7/2007 9:55:46 AM

Central Pennsylvania lauralie1978@yahoo.com

OMG! I googled them and found this site http://www.didgeridoogallery.com/
I couldn't stop playing with the mouse long enough to find out anything about them...LOL! Check it out LOL!

2/7/2007 10:49:50 AM

Central Pennsylvania lauralie1978@yahoo.com

Hey Shannon (with the girls name) do you have any instructions on how to make the rainsticks? My kids would love them!

2/7/2007 10:56:07 AM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

well just google rainstick gourd...basically you use a drill and skewers through out the gourd, and some sort of fill.

2/7/2007 12:20:34 PM

Central Pennsylvania lauralie1978@yahoo.com

I'll do that thanks!

2/7/2007 3:49:39 PM

Montoursville, PA

I hung my gourds in my boiler room dangled from the ceiling. They dried in about four weeks. I poked a hole in the very bottom (blossom end) and shook some seed out while others took a bit of proding with a coat hanger hook.

I had intentions to close the hole, clean it, tint it green and hang it back in the tree for the next patch tour...saying nothing of course. I guess you know about he road to hell being paved with good intentions. :)

2/7/2007 4:04:16 PM

Central Connecticut

I have dried a bunch of them by hanging them outside from the same arbor that they were grown on. I have not lost any due to rotting or outside precipitation. The seeds from these gourds will not germinate well because of the freezing conditions, so I usually dry a couple inside.

2/10/2007 8:20:53 PM

Montoursville, PA

Glenn............can you lead me to any of those who have built a diggeridoo out of a gourd. I saw a cool cat at the Ocean City Maryland Beach playing a ten foot or longer diggeridoo. He was a bit strange but he sure could make that sucker talk. The coins were just flying into his hat which was the object of the very rare music.

2/12/2007 8:00:26 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Doc are you going to start preforming:)

2/12/2007 9:17:58 PM

Montoursville, PA

I could be tempted to try diggeridoo music. It certainly is different. However the music person on the West Coast who sells them apparently is not into talking shop on the fine details. One he may not know. Two he may only import and sell them. Three I may have been asking for trade secrets. Four..........I sure would not pay the going price for the shown instruments. In this case just a peek at one is not enough.

2/18/2007 11:40:53 AM

Central Pennsylvania lauralie1978@yahoo.com

Dwaine, here are two sites that explain how to make one from PVC pipe. I would use the same techniques on a gourd.

http://www.didjshop.com/shop1/make_your_own_didgeridoo.html

http://ctct.essortment.com/didgeridooshow_rkuc.htm

2/18/2007 2:46:28 PM