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Pictures of my bird house gourd vine.
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kkluv155
On The Way Up
Joined: 22 Aug 2008
Location: Louisiana (Map)
Posts: 87
PlantStew: 379 |
| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 10:32 pm Post subject: Pictures of my bird house gourd vine. |
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Just thought I would share a picture of my vine I grew last year. I was so proud of it. I planted 3 seeds and only 1 sprouted and this is the results. Gourds must really love chicken poop, lol.
this first picture is of the vine in my hand. When the summer was over the vine doubled in diameter since this picture.
this one is from a distance so you can see the chicken yard and how the vine grew and covered it.
and this is just some of the gourds up close.
I picked 84 gourds off the vine. I am still working on cleaning them and making bird houses with them. Will show pictures of them when I finish them later.
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kaseylib
Showing Great Promise
Joined: 28 Dec 2007
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 636
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:43 pm Post subject: |
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Awesome, and a great way to grow them. I've had minimal success growing them in my garden, but I can luckily buy the gourds at area garden stands. The wrens here love to nest in them. I also make bird feeders out of them. Just cut two large holes on the sides (and one on the bottom that's covered with metal screening for drainage) and fill with a hulless seed like sunflower hearts. The birds love them!
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Sjoerd
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toni
Mistress of Garden Junque
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Joined: 07 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:56 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, I would love to have them growing like that.
Don't you let them dry before working with them? Are they easier to work with then?
I have three in the backroom that have been drying since last November, they are just about ready to clean and drill holes in.
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kkluv155
On The Way Up
Joined: 22 Aug 2008
Location: Louisiana (Map)
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 12:06 am Post subject: |
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| toni wrote: | | Don't you let them dry before working with them? Are they easier to work with then? |
yes you have to let them dry completely or they will rot. That is why I am not finished cleaning them yet. It takes about 6 months for them to dry all the way through. I keep my seeds also. I have 2 completely full wal-mart bags of them and I am only half way through. I hate to throw them away. Thank you for your replys.
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Netty
Chaotic Gardener
Joined: 04 Nov 2006
Location: Southern Ontario zone 5a
Posts: 4965
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 12:48 am Post subject: |
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Wow! What a healthy vine! I planted birdhouse gourds this year but we had so much rain that they all drowned 
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Peppersage
Showing Great Promise
Joined: 28 Jul 2008
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 330
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 1:14 am Post subject: |
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That's a good way to grow them, that way the chickens can get the grasshoppers, that come to eat the vines. Those are some very nice gourds, and chickens.
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dooley
Official Garden Turtle
Joined: 03 Jul 2005
Location: Arizona, U.S.A (Map)
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 3:17 am Post subject: |
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We used to have chickens. I love your setup for them. Chickens can keep the weeds down. You would think we never fed them the way they pounced on each one that came up. Do yours wander outside or has some escaped? Dooley
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kkluv155
On The Way Up
Joined: 22 Aug 2008
Location: Louisiana (Map)
Posts: 87
PlantStew: 379 |
| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 4:01 am Post subject: |
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The truth is we had too many roosters and my hubby couldn't bare to butcher them so he let them loose in the yard. They were hurting the hens. Now those roosters are on a nice farm with plenty of hens and acres to roam on.
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dooley
Official Garden Turtle
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 4:12 am Post subject: |
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When we had to get rid of ours because the county said we didn't have enough space we gave them to people who had forty acres. I'm sure they loved it. dooley
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Droopy
Slug Slaughterer
Joined: 11 Aug 2007
Location: Western Norway (Map)
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 6:55 am Post subject: |
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What a sight your vine is!  We can forget about growing them here without a greenhouse, so I'm glad you're showing what they can grow to when they thrive.
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Wrennie
Showing Great Promise
Joined: 21 Nov 2007
Location: Catskill Mountains NY
Posts: 644
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 5:16 pm Post subject: |
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Wow! What a vine! Nice
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gardengater
Knows Their Stuff
Joined: 30 May 2008
Location: NC
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 6:59 pm Post subject: |
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Lovely vine and I'll be the chickens love their yard. W'd like to see your birdhouses when they are done.
gardengater
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kuntrygal
Texas Rose
Joined: 02 Sep 2007
Location: Texas ~ Zone 8
Posts: 1857
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| Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 10:43 pm Post subject: |
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I would love to have have a bunch of the birdhouse gourds. Love to paint them and either give them as gifts or sell them. They are hard to come by around here. Guess not many folks grow them.
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EJ
Allotmenteer Extraordinaire
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Location: Essex
Posts: 1612
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| Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 9:29 pm Post subject: |
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What a fab way to grow the gourds. Gives me ideas for the allotment. So do you start to clean the guords when they are still fresh, straight from the plant, or do you store them whole for a while first?
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