Anyone ever heard of....

[Libby]

Gourd?
What is it? I think I have a rough idea but struggle to find any.
Can anyone help?

[Tigger]

Hi Libby,
I've only come across gourd before in relation to ethnic musical instruments. However I found this definition...

gourd
Any of a group of plants that includes melons and pumpkins. In a narrower sense, the name applies only to the genus Lagenaria, of which the bottle gourd or calabash (L. siceraria) is best known. (Family Cucurbitaceae.)

© Research Machines plc 2005. All rights reserved. Helicon Publishing is a division of Research Machines plc.
from http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0010864.html

It seems that its not so easy to buy gourd in the UK (couldn't find anywhere on google, though plenty of american sites) you may need to grow and dry your own.

Any idea what you might do with it?

Tigger
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[Libby]

Yes.... I want to make a bowl...
I have seen something similar once before and "Gourd" was used so I wondered if it was available over here<sigh>....never having heard of it before....
Now I am wondering what I could use instead....

[Tigger]

Maybe you could buy a pumpkin round halloween, find out how to dry it out, and then make a bowl that way!

http://www.solutions.uiuc.edu/content.cfm?series=4&item=510&Parents=0%7C67 tells you how to dry one!

Here is some info on growing then drying gourds, but if your like me, you couldn't wait that long!!
http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/gourds.html

Let us know how you get on!
Love
Tigger
xxxxxx

[Quilter]

The nearest vegetable in the UK to a gourd is a Butternut Squash - the ones with a rounded bottom and long thinner neck. It would take about a month to dry it out.

I found another article on drying gourds that might help as well.

http://www.gardenersnet.com/vegetable/gourdsdry.htm

[Libby]

Oh...Butternut Squash...now that's an idea.
Thank you ever so much....I shall have a look for some when I get into town next.