First and foremost, there are a couple important realizations about gourds I learned that are helpful to know if you are starting out on your gourd growing journey before we talk about how to clean a gourd:

• You can eat a gourd, but only while they’re young, and they’re often added to soups, stews, and salsas due to their bitterness and toughness.
• The time involved in growing and harvesting is lengthy.
• There’s mold involved, but it’s okay.

So why go through the process? In a world of instant gratification, there’s unpredictable beauty and something meditative about seeing the process through to a finished product you literally created from seed.

Already familiar/addicted to growing? Ready to clean? Read on!

Timeline

To use a gourd, the entire process of growing, harvesting, cleaning and creating is easily an entire 1 to 2 year-long timeframe.

If you start out with a seed in the spring (say it’s planted by May), let it grow through the summer, then you’re looking at harvesting your gourds in the fall around October.

Then, the gourds need the winter and next spring to fully dry out and harden their shell.

Cleaning for me usually takes place the next summer after growing. The actual cleaning process for a batch of gourds takes one afternoon.

Once clean, they’re ready for utilitarian or crafty use!

If you buy a gourd online, it’s likely already gone through this entire process, so keep this in mind when deciding whether to grow or purchase. I had no idea how labor intensive growing gourds were, and now I’m extremely grateful if I purchase one ready for use. All I have to do is create my final product! And surprisingly, gourds ready for crafting are pretty inexpensive.

Harvesting Gourds

The first step in using a gourd is knowing when to pick it.

Gourds develop their thickest skin and will properly cure if left on the vine for as long as possible. It can be extremely difficult to wait to pick a gourd when you’re itching to clean up your garden, but collective advice is to wait until the vine has turned brown and crispy!

Gourd Colors

I didn’t know this when I began my gourd growing journey, but there’s an outer skin layer that must come off for long term preservation.

Despite some of the gourds I’ve grown having beautiful yellow and green striped patterns, once they’re dry and cleaned, all gourds turn a natural tan color. However they do retain their surface typography!

It is quite astonishing that gourds come in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes. But in the end, no matter what the type, (even the white ones!) they will turn a predictable variation of brown with the exception of…

Mold

Instead of a color obtained while on the vine, surprisingly, there is another way a gourd may develop a beautiful pattern. A patina may develop through the natural drying process which often includes the growth of mold.

If you’re squeamish with mold, harvesting gourds might not be for you.

The mold is actually a helpful part of the cleaning process that loosens the outer, often colorful, but perishable layer.

Want to know a pro secret? Mother Nature will actually remove most, if not all of the skin for you if you keep it outside in the garden and let it do it’s thing!

I personally didn’t know mold should be expected when I first dried a batch of gourds. My first time drying, I was horrified to find my gourds, drying in an open paper bag, coated in a fuzzy white mold. Horrified, I ended up chucking an entire season’s worth in the trash. I chuckle now to think what a waste it was at the time.

Mold Safety

Keeping moldy items in your home is not safe. Store them outdoors when drying. (I just throw them in my garden bed and rotate periodically as described above.)

Using gloves and a particulate N95 mask should be all the protection you need when grabbing them from the garden prior to scrubbing clean.

While cleaning, keeping them submerged in water and soaked prevents mold spores from becoming airborne and a breathing hazard as well.

Gourd Cleaning

After the gourd is lightweight, hard, dried out, and I’m ready to use the gourd, I soak in a tub of water with a plate and weight on top to keep it submerged. I usually do a whole batch in a large bowl.

When the skin is soft and gooey after soaking a few hours, I use the edge of a metal spoon to scrape it off. The skin peels off like a charm!

The mold can sometimes leave a distinct color and pattern behind under the removed skin that I consider the unique character of the piece.

After cleaning, I let fully dry for a few days before decorating with a leather dye. After dying, then I wax and buff it.

The following are images of gourds after cleaning and waxing:

Once waxed and buffed, now the gourd is ready for the next stage of creative use!

If the brown tones are just not for you, other options include dying the gourd with a leather shoe dye or painting with acrylics.

Ideas for uses include hanging the gourds in a decorative fashion, making musical instruments, or carving into a birdhouse! Your options are only limited by your creativity.

Want to purchase a shakere necklace? I have them for sale in both adult and kid sizes. Contact me via email [email protected] or check out my Facebook marketplace pages such as this green chrysophase and this green and salmon colored necklace.

New to growing gourds and wondering what type of gourd to grow? I’ve been having a blast with small Tennessee Spinners with vines that are easy to meander through my garden non-invasively. I’ve not personally tried eating them yet, but being a small gourd, they might be worth a try! If I were to eat them I’d likely try adding them to a salsa or spicy stew since some of my favorite foods to grow are peppers and tomatoes (check out my post on fermented hot sauce!).

Like vine-growing plants? You might also be interested in checking out my post on what I’ve dubbed as a ‘playscape plant’: the Cranberry Fliederfarben Pole Bean. It’s a gorgeous purple striped bean that’s delicious when cooked.

Whether it’s gourds, peppers, or pole beans, I love experimenting with new items to add to the garden that spark inspiration for creative cooking, playful fun and artful living. What sort of things do you grow that excites you? Please leave a comment below.