Growing Birdhouse gourds is always easy, and fun to see what shapes nature provokes. The vines are left in the field all winter as the heat and cold, wet and dry of the elements add to the curing process. The following summer the fruit is picked up and stored away until the mood strikes me to do something creative with them .
The second step is to scrub the mould off the shells and allow them to air dry. To make a simple bird house, just cut a small hole in the belly of the gourd and hang from a tree limb with a cord. I liked hollowing them out, saving the seed for next year’s planting, then paint, stain, or woodburn designs onto them. Great as giveaways! Not suitable for holding water though.
Our supply of rough dried gourds has been a great resource for workshops .
