Most of the pumpkins were going bad, so next year I’ll go earlier in the season. We did get some great gourds though, of every size, shape, and color you could imagine. I don’t know what it is about them that’s so appealing. When I got home I decided to Google how to cure them. I knew there was a technique and years ago I found out that that technique isn’t to just store them in the shed or garage. They really go bad that way. What I found on the Internet is that all gourds really need is lots of air. The wind outside is what dries and cures them slowly so they don’t rot. It’s a shame that they do lose their bright colors, but it’s still a neat process. I have no idea what I’m going to do with them once they’re done, but I think it’s just the process of doing something that’s what’s most appealing to me.Here’s just a few of them
What the web sites don’t warn you about when it comes to curing gourds are the squirrels. A couple days after Halloween, I placed the gourds on my back patio and spread them out neatly on a plastic shelf. I planned on rotating them every few days (as instructed) so that all sides had a chance to be exposed. However, our first time out there to rotate we found some of our gourds were missing. I had had a gut feeling our “pet” squirrels would be tempted to come eat our gourds but I didn’t actually believe they’d have the nerve to come all the way up to the house. However, there was evidence in the yard.
Gourd guts were all over the place. I was a little peeved. I couldn’t tell which of my unique little gourds were now missing. At first I thought I could out smart those little critters by barricading my gourd shelf with a laundry basket placed over the top of it. I should have taken a photo of that…looked silly, but I thought what the heck. Those squirrels won’t come back now. I was wrong. The next day there were more traces of stolen gourds all over my patio. I knew I’d have to get more creative to out smart the squirrels around here. Here’s what I came up with:
Ok, what this is is my gourds now confined to a plastic milk crate on top of the swamp cooler, with that plastic shelf now covering the top of the crate. (Later, I had to place a heavy rock on top to keep the shelf from being blown off). This is more than 6 feet high, and being covered like it is I figured I’d won. I was afraid they wouldn’t be exposed to enough air in that crate, but so far so good. It’s been 4 weeks now and I’m still rotating. Some sides of each gourd are beginning to cure. They lose some of their color and become very dry, but as long as they are still hard with no mush they are curing properly.
Here are some pics of one of our pet squirrels who we feed regularly. I attached a basket to the back fence with a plastic dish inside for their treats…mostly breads, but they’ll eat crackers and cookies too. I once had half of a blueberry pie that was a week old and the kids weren’t going to eat it. I set it outside and it was gone! (I hope that didn’t give them indigestion or anything).
Cute little fella. Abby, 11, loves every living creature in the world just as much as I do, but I am not at a place right now to allow real pets, no matter how much she begs. Told her she could have all the squirrels she wanted, though, and that we’d keep them in the back yard and feed ‘em treats. She’s ok with that for now.
Ok, what this is is my gourds now confined to a plastic milk crate on top of the swamp cooler, with that plastic shelf now covering the top of the crate. (Later, I had to place a heavy rock on top to keep the shelf from being blown off). This is more than 6 feet high, and being covered like it is I figured I’d won. I was afraid they wouldn’t be exposed to enough air in that crate, but so far so good. It’s been 4 weeks now and I’m still rotating. Some sides of each gourd are beginning to cure. They lose some of their color and become very dry, but as long as they are still hard with no mush they are curing properly.Here are some pics of one of our pet squirrels who we feed regularly. I attached a basket to the back fence with a plastic dish inside for their treats…mostly breads, but they’ll eat crackers and cookies too. I once had half of a blueberry pie that was a week old and the kids weren’t going to eat it. I set it outside and it was gone! (I hope that didn’t give them indigestion or anything).
Cute little fella. Abby, 11, loves every living creature in the world just as much as I do, but I am not at a place right now to allow real pets, no matter how much she begs. Told her she could have all the squirrels she wanted, though, and that we’d keep them in the back yard and feed ‘em treats. She’s ok with that for now.
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