Gourd planter - part 1 (Bushel Gourd)

Here's a bushel gourd, suspended by 1/2" chain. The gourd was harvested last year, and 6 holes are punched in the bottom.

The plants are Burro's Tail (Succulent), Jewel of Opar, and Sun Smile Morning Glory.

Dave

Dave, I really like your container..Guess I'd better start growing gourds. I looked up that morning glory & sure hope U save some seeds.. put my name down for some :)
Sugar

Will do!

Always wondered how long gourds would hold up as a planter. Course they are easily replaced when needed I guess. Have you ever used them before?

Never before, and I'm also wondering how they will hold up. I will know soon enough. :)

We used to Shellac them to last longer. (Inside and out)
That was in the "OLDEN" days. :-) Used them for dippers,etc. Probably could do the outside in plastic-coat now.

Such a clever planter! I wish we could grow gourds here. I attended a class where we made birdhouses from gourds, and it was great fun... now I'm out of gourds! It would be nice to grow my own.

How utterly clever Dave. I'll have to try that one of these years....

I agree! What a great idea, Dave. Would also be very interested in buying some of the your seeds. Is it hard to grow gourds? Can you grow them in Zone 6
Cordially, Dorise

Dave I'm envious! my shared garden with my s-l is doing good... we planted numerous types gourds and I want to get into gourd art. Trying to work out a trip to the 2002 gourd show in Austin Nov 3rd, hope we can go, so I can get some tips and ideas. sure hope our gourds continue to do well.

Dorise, gourds are annual so you can grow them anywhere that you have a long enough growing season. You'll want a good 90 days of growing season to get good gourds.

It might be too late for you in NJ. Anyway, I'd buy gourd seeds from a variety of sources, including Pinetree and Baker Creek. Good luck to you and tink in your gourd adventures.

Thanks Dave for the info. Will give it a try. If I buy the seeds this year, will they be OK to plant next season, or should I wait until I'm ready to plant?

You'd get fairly good germination a year from now, but I would wait until January or February to buy my seeds for 2003. That way, I'm getting seed that is new and guaranteed to have certain germination levels.

I did the same thing with mine except I didn't make it a hanging basket. I have it sitting on a metal chair in the garden.

I have a coup;e pf Basket gourds my DD grew a few years ago...need to do something with them. I'll watch to see some more ideas too...as I don't do house plants...yet! Jo

Last year a friend of mine bought a bunch of birdhouse Gourds and we painted them with floral designs. We had cut openings in them and put small plants in them. We sold them for $12.50 at a local festival. I gave my son one and he left it outside in a tree all year, the bottom finally rotted out after that. I think it would last much longer if the dirt & plant were taken out for the winter.

It's great fun to paint gourds. Here's a link to a picture of some gourds we painted at our local garden club meeting: http://davesgarden.com/s/356690.html