Harvesting Your Gourds

It is so exciting to walk through your garden and see the new crop of gourds hiding under the now wilting vines and gourd leaves!  I have notice some surprises from my plantings this year; obviously the seeds that I planted were not genetically "pure" because I planted banana gourd seeds and what has grown is a blocky squash looking gourd.  But the fun is in the crafting and they will be craft worthy next year.  Next year you say?!  Yes, gourds need a year to dry and cure before you can use them. 
You cannot be too anxious in harvesting your gourds because the best way for them to dry is on the vine!  Leave them attached to the vine until the vines are dry and brown.  At this point, some of the gourds will drop on their own if they are trellised.  If they are on the ground, let them lay until winter as the weather will assist in the drying and the curing process.  The Amish gourd farmers do not harvest theirs until the following spring, so it does not do them any harm for them to stay outside.
Once your new gourd crop is collected, they need to be stored in an open crate or box for air circulation for them to dry well.  You can put them in a barn or shed to cure over winter.  I chose to leave my egg gourds outside and they dried nicely.  Now, during this curing time, the once beautiful looking gourds will become moldy and dirty looking.  Do not throw them out and assume they are rotten!  This is the natural curing process.  A gourd has a waxy skin on the outside that protects the gourd as it grows on the vine.  This waxy skin is what is disintegrating and the reason why it takes on such an appearance.  Underneath, your gourd is drying and getting harder so there is no need to worry.
  Once your gourds are dry, they may be prone to mice attacks; they enjoy the seeds, so you may have a few casualties in storage.  I have attached a few pics of my gourds and some mold patterns on the gourds, which can be quite interesting.  I hope you have a wonderful gourd crop this year and have some gourd surprises in your garden!

example of gourd mold

Egg gourd growing

My mutated banana gourds