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• I'll be working on some gourds in the next couple of weeks, I'll try to add some pictures of the cut and cleaned shells to the listing.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 05/31/2024

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• Calabash is a word people use to refer to gourds in general, even before they are dry, So I think what you are asking is how to dry, cut, and clean, the gourd. Here are the basic steps. Some of the other posts below have more detailed hints.
  
  1) Let the gourd FULLY mature on the vine and don't harvest until the vine is dead in the fall.
  2) dry the gourd. can dry outside or in a well ventilated covered location like a shed or garage
  DO NOT DRY THEM IN A LIVING SPACE! They will get very moldy (totally normal and fine) and can give of vapors that can make your eyes irritated.
  3) After dry (can take 6-9 months depending on the gourd size), clean the outside
  4) cut the gourd wherever you want to with a hand-saw, jig-saw, dremel cutting wheel, etc. Use something with fine teeth to avoid cracking and chipping.
  5) scrape the inside to remove as much of the foam-like inner layer as you can.
  6) For good acoustics, sand the inside smooth.
  (I add another step to get even better acoustics, but that's the one detail I keep secret because it makes the instruments and instrument kits that I sell, better than any other maker's. Hopefully y'all understand that)

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 05/31/2024

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• It's pretty normal to loose some leaves a week or two after transplanting. If new growth stays healthy, there's probably nothing to worry about.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 05/12/2024

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• I have a very limited supply, so I haven't posted them as in stock, but I can ship by request.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 05/01/2024

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• Caution: Growing giant gourds can be addictive... :)

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 02/14/2024

• Would you be willing to sell some of your seeds back to me?

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 02/28/2024

• Yes, I could probably do that.. The gourds have just finished drying the last couple months so I will be taking the seeds out here soon. I will let you know when I get them out and together. :)

  Posted by Zach Taylor on 03/24/2024

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• I hope to have seeds in the next few weeks. They won't be from my own gourds (I had a crop failure last year and don't want to sell suspect seeds), but the seeds I'll have will be from the stock that I will plant for my own crop this year.
  
  Finding seeds for good, large, calabash is quite challenging.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 01/12/2024

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• I grow mine in Northern NY, so I would think you should have no issues in Washington. The only time the soil temp is important is when germinating the seeds. Which you will want to do indoors about 6 weeks before you put the plants outside. I use a seedling heating mat and shoot for soil temps somewhere around 80-85F. In my experience, soil temps <70F have definitely slowed germination. The key once they are outside is lots of water and fertilizer. Skim through the Q&A below for more tips.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 01/07/2024

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• Unfortunately, I had a total african drum gourd crop failure last season, so I'm going to have to buy seeds myself. I could do one of two things for my customers, 1) point you to the place I end up buying my seeds from, or 2) buy bulk and re-sell to y'all. It wouldn't be right to sell someone else's seeds through my Seedwise account though and I wouldn't be able to guarantee the result. If Seedwise doesn't filter out my address, anyone can contact me at harmonysmuse @ gmail.com for info on alternate sources.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 12/14/2023

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• As noted above, I sadly won't have my own seeds to sell this year.
  By gourd harp, do you mean something like an n'goni or kora, or one of the versions that are more like a lyre? Have you found anyone that teaches a class on making gourd harps?
  
  I make and sell custom koras, n'gonis, bolons, and other instruments and have considered selling kits if you are interested. Kits would include a everything you need, including a gourd hardened with my proprietary process to significantly improve durability and acoustics. With or without a kit, we could arrange some one-on-one on-line instruction or support sessions by zoom to answer questions, walk you through any of the steps like skinning and pinning, or whatever you need.
  
  Contact me at harmonysmuse@gmail.com if you are interested in assistance making your harp.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 12/14/2023

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• If they are fully mature, they should dry fine. All you really have to do is set them somewhere dry with good ventilation and wait until spring or summer. Scraping off the thin green skin first will speed up the drying. I usually scrape it off with the edge of an old non-serrated knife. The shell underneath should be hard enough that they knife will not cause any damage. You can also make things go a little faster and minimize the inevitable mold by leaving a fan blowing on them, but not everyone wants to leave a fan on for 4 or more months.
  
  Let the gourds dry completely before cutting them. I have successfully cut some gourds before drying, but they are likely to warp or collapse. You can extract the seeds from the dry fibrous core after cutting open the fully dry gourd.
  The best tool for cutting the dry gourd is an oscillating tool (AKA vibratory saw). The hard part is cutting a straight line all the way around.
  

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 11/23/2023

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• Sorry I missed this when posted, but hopefully my answer will help out next year. You can use any fabric that doesn't hold or absorb significant water, ideally a stretchy synthetic mesh. I usually make my gourd hammocks out of "Power mesh", but that's probably overkill. Something like tule wouldn't be strong enough for large gourds.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 11/23/2023

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• Sorry I missed this when posted, but hopefully my answer will help out next year. Must of my gourds grow suspended from a trellis, but I've never had any rot because they grew on the ground. Sitting in consistently wet mud probably wouldn't be good though. Putting a layer of mulch or sand underneath is probably a good idea for extra caution.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 11/23/2023

• Hi, I raise basket gourds (they can be very VERY big). They are too heavy for any of my trellises and prefer to sit on the ground anyway. I set each one up on its own stack of wood pieces, 12"long x6"wide x2"thick, to keep it out of the mud. That way, most of them do ok all season.
  I am in FLorida, we can have heavy rains and really hot days. If the gourds sit in the mud, they rot and die. If you don't have a heavy big trellis, they will end up on the ground anyway. Cinder blocks sound like a really good idea I will try them next summer, they will drain better than the wood blocks..

  Posted by Marnie Hutcheson on 11/25/2023

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• Most countries restrict shipping seeds from other countries.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 11/23/2023

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• Male flowers tend to grow on very long stems and the base of the flower tapers to the stem. The female flowers bloom closer to the vine and have a more bulbous base. My plants tend to produce male flowers for 2-3 weeks before female flowers.
  You can encourage fruiting by trimming the tips off of vines to prevent them from growing any longer.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 08/05/2023

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• unfortunately, no

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 07/28/2023

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• So sorry I missed this when you posted! I water frequently and a lot. They don't like drying out. If possible, water every day unless you've had heavy rain, especially if weather has been hot. Depending on the plant size, several gallons per day per plant is not too much.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 07/28/2023

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• I'm glad your vines are doing well! I fertilize mine with miracle grow at least once per week. A great way to give them a shot of nutrients is foliar feeding. There are lots of YouTube videos on this. After the vines are as large as I want, probably in a few weeks, I switch to a fertilizer with high phosphorous and potash and low nitrogen to encourage fruiting over vines/leaf growth.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 07/05/2023

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• Unfortunately, I cannot ship seeds to Mexico. Sorry

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 06/20/2023

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• Thank you for contacting me. See my response to your email for more information.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 05/26/2023

• I updated my pricing and availability for the listing.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 05/26/2023

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• If you can send me an email at harmonysmuse@gmail.com, I'll send pricing info on the gourd and shipping. If you have a particular use in mind (decorative, bowl, instrument, etc.) I can help select the best of my stock for your application.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 04/11/2023

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• yes. The seeds are good. The gourds like heat but be sure to keep them consistently watered.
  
  I also sell the dried and cleaned gourds and finished drums and other instruments if you are interested. When sold as instruments, I harden the gourds inside with a proprietary process to make them significantly stronger and have better acoustics than any you can find elsewhere.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 04/03/2023

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• I just realized I left out an important letter. The post should have started with "I" test my seeds before i sell them.
  Anyway, the test seeds all germinated successfully, so sales are open, but my supply is very limited.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 04/03/2023

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• based on current shipping options, depending on your location in Spain, the cost would be approximately $30 including shipping. I won't have any seeds available until this year's harvest is dry and I can test them to be sure they will germinate, probably in February.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 12/07/2022

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• seeds from this year's harvest are typically ready in late winter or early spring after the gourds dry naturally. If you are looking for big gourds, I have one that I hope will yield good seeds. I'll test the seeds as soon as I can to confirm they are viable, but that won't be until January at the earliest. I do have some seeds now from large bushel gourds. they aren't as big as the african drums, but they can get bigger than a basketball.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 11/02/2022

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• When I'm trying to grow the largest gourds, I let a few gourds get established (baseball to softball size) on each plant and then start cutting off all female flowers (the one with bulges below the petals) after that. You can either just start cutting off all of the flowers or leave the male flowers for the bees and humming birds.
  
  Some extra gourds will surprise you and manage to start growing anyway. You can cut off any gourds that you don't want to keep growing.
  
  Instead of removing flowers after just a few gourds are established, another strategy is let a bunch grow large enough to get a sense of the shape that they will be before you cut off the ones you don't want.
  
  In mid-summer, when the vines start getting out of control, I clip off all new vine tips too. Theoretically, this makes the plan put the energy into the fruit instead of more vines, but I haven't experimented with letting some vines grow untamed to see if the theory is true.
  
  The most important thing is to get your plants started early. I start mine in pots inside at least 4-6 weeks before the last frost date. I might go a month earlier if I'm going to move the seedlings into greenhouses.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 10/05/2022

• When I'm trying to grow the largest gourds, I let a few gourds get established (baseball to softball size) on each plant and then start cutting off all female flowers (the one with bulges below the petals) after that. You can either just start cutting off all of the flowers or leave the male flowers for the bees and humming birds.
  
  Some extra gourds will surprise you and manage to start growing anyway. You can cut off any gourds that you don't want to keep growing.
  
  Instead of removing flowers after just a few gourds are established, another strategy is let a bunch grow large enough to get a sense of the shape that they will be before you cut off the ones you don't want.
  
  In mid-summer, when the vines start getting out of control, I clip off all new vine tips too. Theoretically, this makes the plan put the energy into the fruit instead of more vines, but I haven't experimented with letting some vines grow untamed to see if the theory is true.
  
  The most important thing is to get your plants started early. I start mine in pots inside at least 4-6 weeks before the last frost date. I might go a month earlier if I'm going to move the seedlings into greenhouses.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 10/05/2022

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• Laura,
  
  Are they pollinated by bees or are you hand pollinating? If you are sure they are pollinated, the plants may be calcium deficient. You can sprinkle bone meal on the ground for steady release, but it's easy to give a quick-update treatment by foliar feeding. If you haven't done that before, here's what works for me.
  
  Make a few gallons of calcium solution:
  1) Get some crushed oyster shell or limestone grit (NOT LIME), sold as calcium grit for hens at any farm store (e.g., tractor supply, Agway, etc.).
  2) Put a few pounds or more in a bucket of water and let sit outside for a few days. (quantity and time are not precise, but more grit and longer soak makes a stronger solution)
  3) Pour the water off of the grit through a few layers of cloth (e.g. old pillowcase) into a garden pump sprayer. (e.g., https://lowes.com/pd/…)
  4) In the evening or at night, spray the solution directly on the gourd plant leaves (top and underside) until they drip.
  5) Repeat every few days. Hopefully you should see improvement in a week or two.
  
  You can make a solution quickly by adding a few cups of grit to a big pot of water and boiling for an hour. (use a pot you don't care gets scratched up). Cool to room temp before straining into your sprayer.
  
  You can send me some pics of your plants and close-ups of the rotting buds and I'll let you know if I have any other suggestions.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 08/02/2022

• Laura,
  Did your gourds recover and produce successful fruit?

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 10/05/2022

• Hi, the plants did recover but, a very hungry groundhog found them so tasty he devoured the patch. I noticed you spoke about growing these gourds on a trellis. I put up 16x4 cattle panel trellises and will grow these off the ground next year:). PS: How do you dry your gourds?

  Posted by Laura Hill Timpanaro on 10/08/2022

• Your response slipped by me when you posted, but I can answer your questions now. First, a couple of hints about cattle panel trellises. There are two keys to getting them strong enough to support 100-pound gourds. #1) a round arch is weak and flexible, an arch with a sharper curve at the peak is much stronger. Google "gothic arch" to get the idea. the peak isn't a sharp corner, just a tighter curve than the sides. #2. support the bottom 3 or 4 feet of the sides with t-posts. Depending on your soil, a 4 or 5' post should be about right after driving it in. Each arch needs two posts, but you can overlap adjacent arches so that one post supports the joint.
  
  On to drying: The simplest is just leave them outside over the winter and they will probably be dry sometime in late spring, depending on climate. Gourds will dry much faster if you scrape the thin green skin off the entire gourd. I use the edge of an old NON-SERATED carving knife that is a little flexible, but any reasonably hard edge will work. I've used credit cards (they work, but are slow and give me hand cramps), various rulers with hard plastic or metal edges, scraps of plastic or metal from my workshop, etc. Please be careful to not cut yourself. Gourds will dry much faster if they are in a worm well ventilated area HOWEVER, be aware that they will get moldy (that's normal and OK for the gourd, but not so good to breath) and be aware that gourds can release a chemical into the air that is very eye-irritating. A few gourds your basement, garage, or porch is probably OK, but I learned about this the hard way while drying a bunch of gourds in my basement. I ended up with my eyes burning so bad that my wife had to drive me to the E.R.
  
  If you are really impatient, I have had success scraping the skin off, opening the gourd, and hollowing it out after the harvest. A well matured gourd with a hard shell should handle this fine. A gourd that didn't really have enough time on the vine might be dryable this way, or might just rot regardless of what you do.
  

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 11/02/2022

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• I would love to support you, but unfortunately, I sold out of these seeds early in the Northern Hemisphere spring. Sorry I forgot to update the listing.
  I expect to have seeds available again starting around next February or March and will probably sell out by May. If you contact me early next year, we can arrange to get seeds shipped to you.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 08/17/2021

• Okay great! How is the best way to contact you? Email?

  Posted by Pierre Loiseau on 08/20/2021

• I was thinking of you, but I did not have any seeds to sell. Weather was bad here this summer, so the crop was very limited, but let me know if you are still interested and I will save some for you from this year's crop if I can.

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 10/05/2022

• I have seeds available now, but supply is very limited. Are you still interested?

  Posted by Soahn Kuehner on 04/03/2023