Topic: Oh my 'Guord'

[Mrs Ava]

Not blowing my own trumpet (toot toot  ;D) but I always manage to get a great crop of wierd and wonderful guords which sit looking lovely in a fruit bowl in my dining room....until.....they rot and go yucky :o.  Do any of you have any advice in how I can keep them longer than a couple of months?  I think the longest they have survived is about 4 months.

[Doris_Pinks]

When I lived overseas in warm climes, when they were dry and rattled, we varnished them! (kept for years) Perhaps a spell in the airing cupboard would work towards drying them out totally, then the varnish :-/?
Hope this helps  Dotty P.

[jethro]

Definitely works, got some in the house had them 2 years, wife hates dusting them though, she also keeps throwing them at me shouting 'WHY DID YOU GROW THEM FOR,YOU SOD' i don't know, she wanted them in the first place. I suppose you just can't keep the woman happy and satisfied. Next year i'll grow a giant pumpkin and she what she says to that :o :P.

[Hyacinth]

I'm envious...bought a packet of ornamental gourd seeds this year - not one germinated. And I wanted to dry & varnish them, too. Put me off a bit trying again - or is there any special trick to germinating them, I wonder? - Lishka

[Mrs Ava]

Hi Lishka, I have no probs germinating them, do so in pots in very early spring in the greenhouse.  I slide them into the compost  side down to help stop them rotting, water once then leave them to it.  Usually up in no time - duff seeds maybe  ???  Try again, it is worth it, altho they are.....well....useless really  ;D but I love growing them and my children love all of the squashes more that anything so I get a kick out of growing them.