Mold!

Help! My hanging to dry gourds are getting fuzzy mold on them. What can I do to stop the process?

Donna

belledonna...I thought that was normal...someone...like Dave, windsurffer or horseshoe will come along and tell us though. HEY YA'LL...Hurry up here. Jo

I'm sure I read last year that this is normal - when they all get through drying and molding - just soak them in a bleach solution and scrub it off.

yes, it will scrub off, but the darker spots will remain...but I think they give them character.... Belle...go to the thread windsurffer did on ...I think...egg gourds...she showed how to scrape them...this is supposed to keep them from molding. Jo

Belledonna, this is my first year growing gourds; I've never dried them before. I have a book called "Gourds in Your Garden". It states that if you didn't specifically remove the epidermis from the gourd after harvesting, "...the gourd will become somewhat dirty and covered with a peeling, flaking or slightly molded outer layer." It suggests soaking the gourd in warm water first for up to an hour. You'll have to weigh it down since gourds will float when they are dry. You can add detergent or household disinfectent in the water while soaking the gourds, but it's not necessary. After the gourds have soaked, you can more easily scrape off the epidermis with a scrub pad from the kitchen. It recommends a copper pad. Then, you are to rinse and let dry.

Hope this helps...

The above is to be used on DRY gourds I believe...Belle, can your gourds be dry already? Jo

Thanks, Jo, you are right. This is for DRIED gourds. I think Windsurffer gently removes the mold periodically during the drying process, but I'm not sure how she does it.

Nope not dry already. Glad to know the fuzzy will go away!
Thanks ya'll!

Bell my advice is to wipe them. Mold is normal but if you wipe them with at dry clean cloth it will cut down on the spots, I do this every time I see mold forming on mine, don't worry your gourds will be fine.

Thanks! The recent rains have caused the gourd population to explode! Now I have more and bigger ones than I know what to do with! Guess I will be busy painting em and making bird houses for a long time!

:-)

That's wonderful Belle! Your extended growing season has helped, too, I'll bet :) Can't wait to see some pictures when you harvest!

BTW, like Wind, I've been gently cleaning mine, too, but with rubbing alcohol. I had read about that somewhere and I'm hoping that in addition to keeping the mold at bay, it will help decrease the overall time needed to dry them.

Please post some pictures when you can :)

This message was edited Monday, Oct 7th 9:43 PM

Belle I wish I could say the same but I had to pull all my vines, they started to rot and die back. A lot of my smaller gourds didn't make it. Good luck with yours and I will be waiting to see all the gourds that you harvest and decorate later.

Morph they are going to get some mold on them no matter what you do it's apart of the drying process.

Good to know that, Wind ~ thank you. Are you feeling better now?

Next year I would love to get a small group of us together to go to the Gourd show held here in the Ohio chapter of the American Gourd society!

No,not much but I have to do some thing to keep from loosing what little mind I have left.

That sounds nice, but they want just a little to much for their gourds.

Wind, when I ever get them dry I would be happy to send you some? I have more than I can handle. I'll try and get some pictures of my overgrown garden to ya'll soon.

Hope you feel better soon!

hugs
d

Yes, I agree that for the ones that were still on display when we arrived, they were much more than I would ever want to pay. Growing them and then crafting them is much more fulfulling anyway.

They did, however, have many wonderful ideas! There were so many different ways people had crafted their gourds that I think it is worthwhile to visit and get new ideas about what one can make with gourds. Also, they were very friendly and were willing to talk about their own growing experiences. One couple from Illinois were talking about their shorter growing season and how hard they had to work to keep their gourds growing right on time.

Bell your such a sweetheart and thank you, I look forward to receiving them. Thanks for the well wishes,it seems to be winding down to just my head. The aches and fever is gone thank God.

Morph I agree they are very nice people and the ideas are just great. I also have a gourd society email me their ideas and different things to do with gourds. I like to live with my gourds for a while after they dry and then figure out what to do with them.When I get in one of those moods to craft I can do my best work.

I have some that are dry now. They have spots. If you know how to clean it up I will be happy to send you some? Send me an email and let me know the address. Maybe it will cheer you up some to have some little ones to work on
:-)

Bell I never received this one as having an new post, don't know what's going on but glad that I check in to see what is going on in the gourd world or I would have missed it.
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