How long for gourds to dry

The gourds have been adequately dried when the seeds rattle inside. Once cured, the small ornamental gourds can be used as they are. They can also be waxed, shellacked, or painted. Once completely dry, the large gourds can be smoothed and polished with steel wool or fine sandpaper. The smooth, hard surface can then be painted, stained, or waxed. Links to this article are strongly encouraged, and this article may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Horticulture and Home Pest News, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

If this article is to be used in any other manner, permission from the author is required. This article was originally published on August 25, Gourds should be dried in an area that has good air circulation. This is very important. In fact, they can be left outside to dry. Just remember that the cold will damage the seeds. I dry mine in the garage. Place them on a card board mat, with enough space between them so that they are not touching. You need to leave them alone.

Aside from rotating them occasionally and removing the ones that are rotting, let them dry for a month or more. Large, heavy gourds may take as long as 6 months to completely dry. You may find that a crust or mold appears on the gourds as they dry.

This is normal and not a sign that they have gone bad. After they have completely dried wash them in warm soapy water with a steel wool pad.

This way, they will get full sunlight and plenty of air circulation. If it rains, and you feel you must, you can simply cover them with a plastic sheet or tarpaulin of some sort. When the rain is gone, uncover them. In fact, the rain often helps wash off a lot of the mud and debris from the garden. Drying gourds need ventilation to dry properly. Temperature is not a factor in the drying process of mature gourds. Moving air is. My wife is trying to dry gourds in our garage in Wisconsin and several have started to rot.

Is there any way to prevent this? One , No matter how hard you try and prevent it, some gourds will always rot. These should be discarded immediately before they infect any of the others.

If that number seems about right, them leave them alone where they are. If available and you feel it necessary, put them under an overhanging roof somewhere out in the open where wind can get to them. If this is not available, put them on an old shipping pallet as shown above out in the open.

They really need a lot of moving air. This is probably the one major factor for drying gourds. Three , Although not always, some gourds will obtain a mold on the outsides. It is a natural part of the curing process. Push on the gourd. If it is solid, then the gourd is only molding. The gourd is beyond any help and you need to discard it. The materials and membranes inside shrink drastically during the drying process and become the outer wall of the gourd.

This is known as hardening off. The outer skin solidifies and becomes very hard. Yes, gourds cut early will dry, but the final product is going to be a little lower quality than if left to their own accord. Call us 24x7 [email protected]. Before we start, remember that we have a wide variety of dried gourds available for purchase here on the Amish Gourds website. Skip all the hassle, work, expenses, and uncertainty that comes with growing gourds on your own. Our expert Amish farmers have generations of experience and grow absolutely gorgeous gourds.

Click here to view the gourds we have for sale on our website. There are a number of different methods to dry gourds and the particular method anyone uses will be up to them.

If you want to pick your gourds early and place them on pallets, then fine, they will dry. However; there is more chance of your gourds rotting when you do this. If the gourds are picked before maturing, then they are much more susceptible to rot. The newspaper will help keep all of the gourds from rotting if one in the bunch starts to. It's also there to help keep bruising down. For smaller gourds, like the ones pictured curing here, transporting them in a large rubber-maid container works great.

The less you handle them the better. It will keep the chances of them bruising very low. Once you have all of your gourds wrapped in newspaper and carefully put into a container, place them in a dry, and well ventilated area. Some gourds can stink quite a bit during the curing process, so we don't recommend keeping them in the house. Avoid placing them in direct sunlight, as it tends to fade the colors and check often for any signs of decay among your curing gourds.

Remove any damaged gourds quickly, before it can spread to the others.