I have quite a few gourds left over from decorations I got form a friend. Don't know what I should do with them.
Should I compost them as is? I'm a little afraid of having a million gourds next year. My compost wether being totally done or not will be added to the garden in the spring. Not sure if the winter month's will take care of the seeds or not.
I could take out the seeds and roast them I do love Pumpkin seeds roasted, cooking some up tonight. Not sure what they would taste like or even be worth it. I have a wide variety of gourds so not really even sure what kinds they are so no idea what to do with them.
Also there are some gourds that could possibly make birdhouses out of. I'm not really sure how to properly dry them for this reason.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Dono
Some pics for the fun of it.
[img]https://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj185/gixxerific/DSC02929.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj185/gixxerific/DSC03033.jpg[/img]
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gixxerific
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applestar
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Great photos! 
The smaller gourds with long necks will dry out nicely and the dried seeds rattling inside make great "QUIET" maracas for your daughter. Different one will make different sounds. Just bring them inside and keep them on top of the entertainment center or some other warm dry location. She'll no doubt enjoy using them to play house with as well. if my DD's are any indication. Some of ours just stayed on the play kitchen shelves until they dried out.
If these maracas get broken, you can always plant the seeds.
I've never tried making them, but you can also macrame beads (or jujube seeds or tiny shells sold for craft purposes) -- I.e. tie beaded strings in a net pattern -- around the larger dried gourds for more sharp sounding sound-makers.
For birdhouse gourds, there are two methods. One is to let them get spotty with mold AND dry. (In other words, if they get moldy, don't panic, just put them in the garage or shed or somewhere out of sight and forget about them). Later, you can steel wool the moldy stuff off with 10% bleach solution to clean them up, then cut holes. The other method is to cut holes now, take out the seeds and most of the pulp (like making Jack-o-lanterns) then submerge them in water until the stuff rots.
(Yeah I know 
Supposedly, this prevents the ugly mold spots and completely removes the soft parts, resulting in an unblemished, thin but tough shell. Said to get quite stinky in the process, however.)
If you're concerned about them sprouting and don't want to save the seeds, you could always take the seeds out, dry them and put them in the bird feeder. FRight now, my one feeder is full of chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches, (as well as occasional cardinals). My other feeder is full of finches. eeding the birds in the wintertime establishes your garden as a good place to be. These birds climb all over the fruit trees picking bugs out of the tree bark in the spring. The chickadees and finches also take care of the early aphid invasion before the ladybugs arrive.
The smaller gourds with long necks will dry out nicely and the dried seeds rattling inside make great "QUIET" maracas for your daughter. Different one will make different sounds. Just bring them inside and keep them on top of the entertainment center or some other warm dry location. She'll no doubt enjoy using them to play house with as well. if my DD's are any indication. Some of ours just stayed on the play kitchen shelves until they dried out.
If these maracas get broken, you can always plant the seeds.
I've never tried making them, but you can also macrame beads (or jujube seeds or tiny shells sold for craft purposes) -- I.e. tie beaded strings in a net pattern -- around the larger dried gourds for more sharp sounding sound-makers.
For birdhouse gourds, there are two methods. One is to let them get spotty with mold AND dry. (In other words, if they get moldy, don't panic, just put them in the garage or shed or somewhere out of sight and forget about them). Later, you can steel wool the moldy stuff off with 10% bleach solution to clean them up, then cut holes. The other method is to cut holes now, take out the seeds and most of the pulp (like making Jack-o-lanterns) then submerge them in water until the stuff rots.
(Yeah I know Supposedly, this prevents the ugly mold spots and completely removes the soft parts, resulting in an unblemished, thin but tough shell. Said to get quite stinky in the process, however.)If you're concerned about them sprouting and don't want to save the seeds, you could always take the seeds out, dry them and put them in the bird feeder. FRight now, my one feeder is full of chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches, (as well as occasional cardinals). My other feeder is full of finches. eeding the birds in the wintertime establishes your garden as a good place to be. These birds climb all over the fruit trees picking bugs out of the tree bark in the spring. The chickadees and finches also take care of the early aphid invasion before the ladybugs arrive.